CHAPTER 11
After school had ended for the day, Sue entered Principal Cooper's office with Coach Beiste and Roz Washington, finding him hunched over paperwork. Upon seeing them, Cooper was quick to stay at attention.
"Ms. Sylvester, you could have knocked."
"Yes, I could have, but from what I hear, you're not one for courtesy. Can we come in?"
"Of course, please, have a seat."
"We'd rather stand", said Roz sternly.
"As you wish. What can I do for you?"
"We'd really like for you to reconsider your decisions regarding Brittany and Will", said Coach Beiste.
"We understand that you're doing things by the book, but around here, abnormal is the normal", said Roz.
"Ms. Washington, I fail to see why you want Brittany and Will back here. You have no personal connection with either of them."
"I have an obligation to all of the students as an educator, Mr. Cooper, as do you."
"I'm going to get right to the point", said Sue, placing her hands on Cooper's desk and leaning in towards his face so that they were eye-to-eye, "Brittany may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she does have a moral center that she seems to recognize. She has only one real last shot at graduating from this school and moving on with her life, and I intend to see to it that she be able to. And Will is someone I've truly come to trust and care about. We have our differences, sure, but I don't want to see him destroyed over something like this. I had always imagined a more fitting punishment for him, like if he becomes a geriatric in need of an eventual butt-cleaning by a hospice nurse but he had developed severe hemorrhoids by that time."
"Ms. Sylvester, I appreciate your concern for one of your most beloved cheerleaders and colleagues, but we cannot all dodge the rules."
"Oh, please, we break rules all the time here, and it works out for the better. Don't think that you haven't gone through high school or adult life without a few mistakes under your belt."
"Oh, and what mistakes have I made that could even remotely pertain to our current situation?"
Sue smiled devilishly and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and started to read from it.
"When you were a sophomore, you were involved in several successful attempts at spiking the punch bowl during prom night, doing the same thing until your Senior year. Oh, here's a fun little fact: your best friend at the time was James Puckerman, who just happens to be the father of Noah Puckerman, star football player, Glee, and McKinley alumni. It seems that in order to keep out of trouble, you placed the blame on him and got him kicked out of high school. Now, this is funny, because his excuse for not having a college education and a below-average lifestyle is because he dropped out, but it seems that Puck's lack of a good father figure is because of you."
"Well, look, it's not like he had done better things in his time…"
"You started doing drugs when you were twenty years old. You were against students of different ethnicities and races to go to the same school. You married a socialite, got her pregnant with current Glee kid Alexander Orenda, but divorced her after you two abandoned the three-hour old Alexander. You then married a middle-class woman, got her pregnant with Scott Cooper, and then divorced her, attained sole custody of Scott, and somehow managed to get a position in the Ohio State Board of Education."
"You're blowing this way out of context, Sue."
"Well, I could go on, but the rest is rather lengthy, and I only have so much saliva to spit when I shout", said Sue, tossing the paper aside.
"Lawrence, I can understand how messed up your life must have been. I've gone through several hardships myself. But Brittany doesn't need to. She's young and has her whole life ahead of her. She has people who look up to her. If her actions become public knowledge, she won't have a future where she grows up to be someone who can truly benefit to society, to start a family, and to be happy for the rest of her life. And Will has a bright future even at his age. As far as I know, his engagement to Emma is still on. He may very well become someone to lead this world into a bright new era", said Coach Beiste.
"Shannon, I understand, and I'm sorry, but…"
"Okay, well think of it this way, Cooper. Sue and I brought you in as principal of this school because despite your flaws, we still recognize you as a capable leader with the ability to do the right thing and make the right decisions. There is always a loophole when it comes to the rules. And that loophole happens to be conjoined with your grocery list of personal and career-ruining information. If you don't want that information to become public knowledge, then you should put yourself in Brittany and Will Schuester's places and see what the clear-as-day answer to all of our problems is", said Roz.
"Are you three seriously trying to bribe your boss?"
"We're not trying, Lawrence. We're doing. And if you're even going to consider getting rid of the state's highest-ranking cheerleading coach with liaisons overseas, this school's only successful football coach, and an Olympian medalist, then you're going to be losing three more of your most precious assets all because they bribed you", said Sue.
Cooper looked at all three of them with a mixture of surprise and admiration. He had not expected them to show so much tenacity and compassion.
"I'll make some calls", he said, and the three women nodded in agreement, all wearing satisfied smiles on their faces. As they left, Cooper picked up his phone to call Fisk, knowing exactly what to do.
INTERLUDE
Back at home, Mr. Schuester and Emma sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, poking at their food. They were finding it harder and harder to not talk to each other, let alone not make eye contact. Even as Mr. Schuester looked up to catch Emma's eye, she was staring at her food. She had done the same thing several times, unsure of what to do or say. Finally, Mr. Schuester had had enough.
"Emma, please, talk to me."
"About what?"
"About what's going on. You know, with us. We haven't said a word to each other since our meeting with Cooper. I'm beginning to worry that maybe we're becoming too distant because of this."
"Will, I'm trying so hard to figure out what to do. I've been going over everything so many times that it's become a nightmare. When I think about you being in bed with Brittany, and about how much we've been through together, it makes me wonder if we've done the right thing by agreeing to get married."
"Are you saying that you're having second thoughts about it?"
"I don't know, Will. I don't know what to do. Three years ago, I was a high school guidance counselor who had a schoolgirl crush on someone who I care so much for and who cared about me. I had a direction in life, and so did you. And now, look at us. We're planning to get married and now we have this whole mess in front of us."
"Emma, I still love you. I never intended for this to happen to us. You are the most important person in my life, and yet I allowed something to destructive to ruin the chance of us being happy together for the rest of our lives. I don't want to lose you, Emma. If I could go back in time and change what happened, I would."
Emma had tears rolling down her cheeks, telling Mr. Schuester that she had hung on his every word. He immediately went over to hug her, and she didn't resist as he hugged her close. She felt herself hugging him back, not fighting it, and not thinking about it. Mr. Schuester had started to cry himself, though he tried to hide it from her.
"Will, I don't want to lose you, either. We've come so far through so much. I know that it would kill me to live the rest of my life without you."
"And it would kill me, too. You're everything to me, Emma."
They hugged each other closer, freely crying into each other's shoulders.
"Will, I know this whole thing is not your fault, but I forgive you."
Mr. Schuester straightened up to look her in the eyes, surprised by what she had said.
"You do?"
"I do."
"I love you, Emma."
"I love you, too."
"So, the wedding's back on?"
"It was never off."
They half-laughed, half-cried, and kissed passionately, not wanting to let each other go.
INTERLUDE
Alexander and Emily left the hospital after about an hour of entertaining the patients. The entire session had been a critical success for both of them, and they felt like they could run a mile with their remaining energy.
"Alexander, that was amazing. I didn't think magic like that was possible."
"You were amazing as well. I didn't know that you could juggle coins."
"I did? I don't remember doing it."
"Hmm, well it was impressive nonetheless."
"Thanks. How do you do that impression thing with your vocal cords? I've never seen that before."
"I'm not so sure myself, actually. Did Tina show you how to tap dance?"
"No, I kind of learned to do it on my own."
Alexander nodded and continued the walk to his motorcycle in silence for a while, but Emily soon grew tired of it.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Are you?"
"Well, yeah, you were just kind of quiet there, like something was wrong."
"No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking of the best way to thank you for helping me tonight."
"Well, there's no need to thank me. I was happy to do it."
"All the same, I do appreciate it. You were a delight to work with."
Emily was about to respond, but then she turned to round the corner too early and bumped into the wall and tumbled backwards. Alexander caught her just before she collided with a hospital bed. Emily looked up at him, but only saw a blur, and realized that her glasses had been knocked askew. Alexander quickly placed them back, and they made immediate eye contact. Alexander's normally ice-blue eyes were now the color of a calm ocean, making Emily feel more at peace.
"Uh, thank you for catching me."
"Not at all", said Alexander, helping her back to her feet. Emily fixed her clothes to try and ease the tension between them, and they proceeded to exit the hospital and head to the parking lot, where Alexander's motorcycle was waiting for them. Both felt relieved as the cool night air blew through their hair, but a strong gust of wind pushed Emily back into Alexander, causing them to stumble to the ground. Emily looked at Alexander, expecting him to be angry, but instead he was smiling and brushing off wet leaves.
"Sorry about that. It was the wind."
Alexander simply stood up and offered his hand, which she took, and he pulled her up gently until they were almost face-to-face. Almost as if a magnet were pulling them together, they slowly but surely came to a kiss, and an incredible warmth seemed to wash over them with each passing second. They didn't feel uncomfortable or uneasy about it, but instead felt like the moment was theirs and theirs alone.
The kiss seemed to last forever, though it really only took about thirty seconds before they stopped, basking in the moment that they never knew they could reach. Without saying another word, they left the hospital grounds on Alexander's motorcycle, with its soft rumble accompanying them back to the suburbs in the beautiful, starry night.
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