The hall was silent to my ears. In fact, people were yelling, cheering, crying, and even combinations of the three. We all head hands and walked to the giant crowd of people. Mr. Schue turned to us. "You guys realized it doesn't matter if we won of if we lost. I saw you all grow this year, and I know I didn't see everything, even. Who wants to go?"

Matheus volunteered. "I can get through tight places," he explained making us laugh. He climbed through the people's legs to get to the list. After ten minutes he came back.

"What'd we place?" Lindsay asked.

"Did we?" Ellis asked cynically.

"Yeah," he said, "We placed." We all cheered and lifter Matheus up. We all cheered.

"Okay guys," Mr. Schue said, "Let's go rehearse. We'll come back tomorrow and hopefully place in the final five." We all cheered in reply.

After an four hour rehearsal we all returned to the hotel, tired and sore. Mick took the first shower, then Lindsay took the second. I fell asleep before I could take one.

As a result, when I woke up at eight that morning I stunk. I hopped in the shower quickly.

"Hey!" Mick said, "Mr. Schue called for an emergency practice!"

"Yeah!" Lindsay yelled, "Even though I informed him that it went against all my musical theatre background! We should be resting, not practicing!" I laughed and got dressed.

When I got out of the bathroom the three of us ran to breakfast where everyone else was already assembled. I grabbed some fruit and sprinkled it with chili powder. All too late, I realized I hadn't taken out the kiwis or pineapple. "Uh oh," I said.

"What?" Cameron asked. "Wait-" he said, looking at my bowl, "Did you just eat pineapple?" I nodded. "Mr. Schue!"

"What is it?" Mr. Schue said, walking up to us.

"Marissa's having an allergic reaction to her breakfast," Cameron said. Everyone came over and looked at me in horror. I felt like a monkey at the zoo with everyone gawking at me.

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed with a lisp, "Really!"

"Is there anything we can do?" Mr. Schue asked, kneeling down to me.

"Can you get my toothbrush?" I asked, my lisp becoming worse. Lindsay volunteered. My tongue started to itch. I grabbed a fork and started scratching my tongue.

"Stop," Mick said, "You're just going to irritated it!" She knocked the fork out of my hand. I made a face at her.

"Will this affect your singing?" Hannah asked, her face full of dread

"No," I said, "No, it shouldn't. Once it clears up I'll be fine!"

Lindsay ran down with my toothbrush. I took it and cleaned my tongue for a good five minutes. Damian smiled at me and I scowled.

Mr. Schue offered to let me skip practice but I refused. I needed to practice. So I did. We all went to the rehearsal hall and sat down in a circle.

"Okay, guys," Mr. Schue said, patting the floor. "Circle up!" Well all sat down and looked at him expectantly. "Yesterday we picked our songs and made our dances. Now we need to find our heart." I looked down at my feet, not liking what was coming. "What's something you don't like about yourself?" he asked. "What makes you vulnerable? We'll start with you, Matheus."

Matheus gulped. "I think just being short makes me vulnerable," he said, "I've lived all my life wanting people to look up to me but that's hard when everyone you know is taller than you."

Emily grasped his hand. She went next. "I feel used," she said, "Like I'm nothing more than a hot body. That's all people have ever seen in me and now I'm starting to believe it."

Bryce grabbed her hand and went after her. "I've always felt misplace," he said, "I don't feel like I fit in any specific group or clique."

Mick grabbed his hand. "I've always been conscience of my ethnicity. I don't feel white but I don't feel black. I feel… lost."

Sam grabbed her hand. "I feel unwanted," he said, "Like I'm not good enough."

I grasped his hand. I sighed. Damian rubbed my back. "Oh wow," I said, looking at the ceiling to keep from crying. "Um," I said, rubbing my temple, "I was anorexic…" Some people gasped. Damian looked down. Lindsay covered her mouth in shock. That was all I was prepared to tell them right then.

Damian grasped my hand. "I feel numb," he said, shaking his head, "I focus on one thing then let everything else fall by the wayside. I'm worried that I could destroy myself if I stay like that."

Lindsay took his hand. "I don't think people see the real me. They look at my exteriors, my face, and my loudness. They don't try to dig deeper because they think they know me already. I feel fake."

Cameron grabbed her hand. "I don't think people get me. I'm misunderstood." He didn't go further.

Ellis took his hand. "I feel as if my body and my personality are mix matched. I'm mature but I look like a ten year old."

Alex grasped her hand. "Don't get me wrong, I'm out and proud but people have always seen me as an easy target. Being gay makes me vulnerable."

Hannah took his hand. "Fat," she said, tearing up, "I hide behind a happy face but every time I turn heads, or someone makes a stupid comment I feel horrible."

It all ran back to Mr. Schue. He grabbed both Hannah and Matheus' hand and told us what made him vulnerable. "My chin," he said, "You have no idea how many comments I've gotten on my butt chin."

We all sat in silence, ready for our second round at National's.