Present Day (Emily's Room)
The room around them kept spinning. Her mind felt like a rolling pin wheel. She felt like leaving but couldn't leave because of how weak she was feeling. There was a large sinking feeling that felt like it was pulsating from what felt like the middle of her head to her chest. Placing her cold right hand on her head. She could no longer hear the other woman who became increasingly louder with her concerns. She trembles as she begins to notice her breathing increasing as if she was fighting for air.
Emily gets closer to the other woman and lays her hand on top of her shoulder while trying to make eye contact with Chloe. Chloe's obvious distress being the main focus in her mind was startled by Emily being so close..
Chloe while looking up at Emily. "WHAT!"
Emily swiftly removes her hand away from Chloe's shoulder and gets away from Chloe's level of sight. "I just thought you should know that we're going to be alright."
Chloe loosens up her tension and begins to get up from the bench she was in. She let's out a long sigh. "I need air."
"Chloe?" Emily asked bewildered as she follows chloe out of her dorm room. "I don't.."
Emily jogs up toward the other woman to walk along side her.
" I don't.." Chloe repeats as she tries to get a train of thought of going. The hall both women are walking through have a few upper to underclassmen in the hallway. Laughter and a few gasp start to fill the hallway.
A green frisbee whips through the air. Emily sees it headed toward her but ducks a second too late.
"Oh yeah, yeah!" One freshmen says on the opposite side of the hall. "You guys got the Ice queen."
"Oh my gosh...are you okay Em," Chloe says immediately trying to see where Emily was hurt.
"It's no problem it just my left eye, haha" she fake chuckles. " Just one of my eyes I usually see out of." Emily says holding her eye and trying to play coy.
"HEY…" Chloe says picking up the frisbee in her right hand. "WHO THREW THIS?" She yelled as she looked around for someone to come forward.
Silence filled the hall as people looked at this tiny high pitched red-head trying to lecture people in the hallway.
Chloe proceeds to walk a little further in the hallway to make sure she is addressing the now growing crowd in the hallway.
The red-head took a deep breath and felt the need to give a very important lesson, "I'll have you know this isn't an Ice Queen…. this is Emily Junk the child of a legacy and the leader of the Barden Bellas acapella." She said pointing at her with the disk while she was slightly hunched holding her eye.
The hall felt like it was learning some valuable lesson. There were no smirks and everyone seemed to be paying attention to her even Emily, who knew a welt was forming underneath her eye.
"And it is totally not okay to play frisbee in the hallway"... She said trying to walk further along as she begins to hold up the green disk to the direction it was thrown in. "People can get hurt from just this simple and fu.."
Her heeled boot began to wobble and then sure enough **Crack**
Chloe had officially cracked the heel off of one of her favorite boots and not only that but the seam looked torn around the edge. Right when she was about to say, "Oh no."
A young man standing by some other young guys in jersey's stuck his face in the palm of both of his hand and blew profusely into it. **Bpppt**
While the young man across from him holding a red solo cup with his other hand cupped his mouth and yelled, "ICE KWEEN & CHEAPO!"
The crowd burst into laughter, Chloe is pushed up against the wall as one kid forcefully takes the frisbee and tosses it at his friend on the other side.
"Ten points to whoever can hit the Ice Queen or Cheapo again." Another person yelled out in front of them. Chloe takes off her right shoe off but still feels the need to speak her peace. "This isn't a frisbee play area!..."
Emily gently grabs Chloe by the arm and leads her out of the cramped and hallway that smelled like gym shorts, cigarettes and Heineken. Chloe however continues to still plead her case as the crowd chants and hollers insults.
"Do you people even know what an acapella group does? It's a group that uses only their mouths as instruments" Chloe exclaimed
"Only their mouths!" One guy repeated as Emily led Chloe toward the exits. "What a bunch of whores," The hallway was filled with all types of laughter and commotion now.
"What's going on at this school," Chloe said looking confused as the green steel Barden campus door shuts on them. "It's as if they don't even known who the Bellas are at this school anymore,"Chloe said frustrated.
"Things have definitely changed now since you have graduated", Emily said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Chloe said scanning Emily's face for some answers. The other woman could feel the alarm in her stomach the moment Chloe asked that.
Emily wanting nothing less than to tell her what has happened since graduation and avoids the subject at all cost.
The Emily avoided even making eye contact immediately after and looked down at the other woman's shoes. "Do you think some glue can fix that heel of yours?"
Chloe looked miserably down at her messed up shoe.
"I have been gluing this thing with Elmer's glue to glue guns...it never works out," Chloe said leaning her broken shoe to one side.
"Well I don't want you to leave with one heel on," Emily said still looking down at her shoes. "Come on I know a place that sells some pretty cute flip flops," Emily said trying to grab the other woman's arm.
"I don't know the last bus out of here is coming up in 30 minutes. I need to be on that bus soon and I have a full day ahead of me, like trying to find a job." Chloe let out a sigh.
"Well my boyfriend Benji works late tonight after work he can give you a ride." Emily said looking back at Chloe with a half smirk and a sense of curiousness.
"Oh my gosh how could I forget Benji and you! How is that cute little Trebel!" Chloe said enthusiastically." Emily chuckles "he is a singing magician now," Emily chuckles again at how bulged the other woman's eyes looked after telling her.
"That is so like him and that is so awesome Em, I am so glad you two are still going strong,"Chloe said now following where Emily is going now having taken off both shoes. Finding a dumpster nearby Chloe casually tossed the shoes in.
Stepping on the campuses black asphalt, covered ground that was surrounded by grass that held some reputable statues of creators and alumni, felt cold and gravely. Chloe felt numb to it after a while especially since old memories of being at school began to flood in nonstop.
"But I don't know if I could really do that to Benji", Chloe said almost embarrassed that she was looking for a ride from someone she regarded as her weird little brother.
"Then stay Chlo...it would honestly be like old times again," Emily said having slowed down significantly waiting for the other woman to catch up. Emily wrapped her arm around Chloe's shoulder leading her onto the grassy plain of Barden.
Birds were chirping and beautiful orchids planted every which way around the campus. A giant banners with words like, "BARDEN'S FINEST," " HOME OF THE BARDEN BULLDOGS" or " WELCOME TO BARDEN, filled the campus. Different genres of songs could be heard from different cars and dorms around the area.
A group of Juniors in similar golf tee's were surrounded by golf bags and two golf carts as they worked on their swings and aims. The carts parked around them read, "BARDEN'S BELLO BOYS!" Bello meaning cool in Italian.
The grass they were both walking on was freshly cut and wet. Chloe felt like she was walking on a pillow that was occasionally wet and muddy. Just listening to Emily speak about old times while walking around the campus started to bring back even more memories of her old college days. It was hard for her to believe that she spent most of her time between worrying about acapella competitions to worrying about the Bellas and how each of them were doing throughout the day.
Hell the smell of the campus felt like home again, her mind began to whiz at how many of her professors she pissed off by just showing up again and again every year.
"Come on…" Emily whispered, "just stay with me and Benji tonight," Emily said pulling Chloe in a little closer as she stared off.
Chloe wrapped her arm around Emily and looked back at her and smiled. Emily smiled back.
Looking at each other left no room for them to see as they walked smack dab into an old tan suited curmudgeon. His hair was silver and along with his mustache.
His suit carried 4 different colored pens in hi's pocket. His watch glistened in the nearly dying down sun. " EXCUSE ME! Don't you two ladies have any mann….!?"
The man's speech stopped short. His face became even more contorted as he tried to make out the two faces staring back at him. Chloe recognized this professor as clear as day. In fact he was the only professor that Chloe failed the most.
"MS. BEALE?", "PROFESSOR MORGAN!", They each uttered at the same time.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD….ARE YOU STILL HERE?" The professor said in an outburst. Emily stood there almost dumbfounded at how ancient the man in front of them looked.
" No, I am just visiting my friend Emily," Chloe said almost shocked to run into him again on campus. "Let me guess she's a Bella, right?" Emily and Chloe began to unwrap theirs arms from around each other.
Emily looked almost embarrassed to answer but she quietly muttered, "yes." The professor scanned his glance back at Chloe "Let me guess you will soon be re-enrolling for another 8 years to restore the Bellas to their once former glory?!...MY GOD, Ms Beale can you be anymore predictable!"
Chloe shrunk back in anger and in embarrassment. I know I shouldn't have come. Chloe thought almost tearing up at the thought of it.
Pointing her finger Emily began to raise her voice,"Hey dude, I don't know what your problem is but Chloe Beale is not predictable in the slightest and it takes some people 9 years to finish school." Emily said angrily.
The professor began to chuckle, " Oh my goodness that is what you call graduate school and being a surgeon not an undergraduate who holds onto an acapella group as a life saver," The professor said in a huff as held his head as if he was holding onto a migraine.
Now looking at Emily with disgust the professor kept up his rant, "This school was home of Doctor Jameson Furough and Clark Davis physicist, AWARD WINNING PHYSICIST! They had advancements in string theory and relative theory. THIS SCHOOL USED TO GET GRANTS FOR IT'S ASTONISHING CONTRIBUTIONS IN SCIENCE!"
The two women fell silent as they saw the beads of sweat running along down from the side of his head. His hair getting even more messy as the minutes passed by.
The professor sighed trying to keep his composure he held onto the middle of his head again and then drops it down. " I used to get students who were willing to go beyond their 4. 0 g.p.a's and work with scholars, NASA and even the president."
"Hey we have seen the president too at the Kennedy Center, " Emily said in a burst giving the other woman a nodd in her direction.
"Oh what was it...performing?" He said in a high pitch condescending voice to her.
"Yes," Emily said confidently puffing out her chest with her arms crossed. "Then SHUT-UP" He said slowly and loudly.
"That acapella group of yours is as good as good as SHOW PONIES," He said in an even more angrier tone!
"I worked with brilliant students who came to Barden cause their sole aim was to make the world a better place. Now thanks to the generation of lazy mindless millennials with their instagram stories and pumpkin spice lattes. But that I can not blame the Bellas for, I blame reality television but it's not entirely their fault we can longer compete with the likes of Oh say, HARVARD OR STANFORD! THANKS TO the STUPID, INSIPID and downright VAPID Bellas for that!" Professor Morgan bellowed.
"Do you know how humiliating it is to go from students who asked me questions about Schrodinger, Newton and Einstein or the difference between black hole theory and Grand Unification. Now I get students who say, "When does this class end, I need to attend the Bellas rehearsal!" Professor Morgan said in a high pitched whiny voice.
"The school has practically seen little to no money put into the science department without all priorities Bellas. No matter how many times you have messed up still gaining notoriety in the school but thanks to Ms Junk over here...," Professor Morgan looks over to Emily sheepishly
"Or should I say Ice Queen, there are no more Bellas on campus again and now for once in a long time SCIENCE will begin to have it's reign once again! Finally defunding the Bellas and fund science in Barden."
Chloe had a look of confusion pass her face when she saw the professor and Emily lock eyes with each other as he said that. What does he mean the Bellas are finished, she thought.
"Now if you two excuse me I have an actual job and purpose to make sure science advances…"
The professor began to make his way between them but he soon turned around on his heel. "Oh and Chloe if you ever go back to school for an actual purpose please go somewhere else! I can not tell you how much I could not stand reading your homework those days. I swear you always found a way to make Bellas be apart of every assignment!"
The professor walked off immediately after saying that. His posture was slouched as he headed onto the black asphalt and took a left behind a dormitory. The sheer anger and dread Chloe felt began to set in even more. Chloe put her head down and let out a long sigh.
Emily tried putting her hand on Chloe's shoulder but she started to walk away. " I need to go home Chloe said with her head down in a somber tone.
"Can you just wait Chlo," Emily said pleading with the other woman not to leave.
Tears were streaming down Chloe's face now as she tried hiding her face from Emily who was trying to catch up to her pace.
"I may not know who that professor is.." Emily said.
"He..knows you and ...me!" Chloe said trying hard not to show she was sobbing.
"He must of heard about me but even if he was your professor he doesn't know who you actually are not to me anyway." Emily said now catching up to Chloe.
"Chlo", Emily said with a somber tone.
"Please, please I don't need to be here Em, the professor is right I need to do something with purpose. Do you know how many jobs I can't hold down because I can barely focus." Chlo looked at the other woman this time stopping dead in her tracks.
"Chlo, he is wrong and about you and you know it!" Emily stated sternly, trying again to put her right hand on top of her shoulders. Chloe brushes it off.
"Professor Morgan is one of the most well regarded professors in this university I had him 8 times! I never thought about much back then I just thought about the Bellas and what they were doing I have several different degrees from this university all put to no use and not to mention I am in serious student loan debt."
"Look Emily, from the first time I saw you I knew you were going to be an amazing Bella however please don't do what I did and not make plans for when this is all over cause the real world is a cold and awful place…" Chloe's eyes welled up in more tears.
Chloe put her head down and began to walk away. " Chlo, stop!" Emily said sternly. Chloe stopped and looked back as Emily walked up toward her, "FUCK THAT GUY!"
"First of all I think you are amazing person from the first time I saw you. You are the heart of the Bellas. You showed more dedication than any student or bella could even show. You should not feel like you have no purpose. You do! You are the best and the Bellas would not have made it without you. You gotta see what I see because I see a woman who would risk everything to make sure the Bellas are okay and they are still in tip top shape. I would do anything to have the dedication you have. Your ability to never stop no matter what and still have the most positive attitudes is something most people don't posses." Emily said in a strong tone facing Chloe now.
"You, Beca, Aubrey, Fat Amy everyone in the Bellas have been sisters to me. You guys have basically been my family that has given me this outlet to sing my own songs. You're like a sister to me Chlo," Emily wraps her arm around Chloe who has wiped away most of her tears.
"Fuck that guy he is bitter about something he couldn't do and being a Bella is a noble profession because without you guys I wouldn't have the confidence I now have because of all of you."
Chloe smiled and embraced her hug." Thanks Legacy, you also taught me something too!"
Emily stopped the embrace and leaned back to look at her. "Oh, yeah like what."
"Like if I ever see Professor Morgan again, I should just tell him to go fuck himself." Chloe said with a smile.
They both laughed and embraced again,"Come on let's go get some shoes and find a way to bail Beca out."
"I actually have an idea of how we are going to do that." Chloe piped up
"You do," Emily said enthusiastically.
"They don't call me most dedicated for nothing," Chloe said smiling at Emily. They both laughed as Emily walked Chloe over to a nearby Payless.
