Hello! It's been awhile since I wrote fanfiction. This is a continuation of the show from the last season. I'm not sure how many I'll write. Every chapter will be like an episode. Because I'm a dork, at the end of the chapter I'm going to include a song that I feel like is a good closing song for that chapter.
The clunky noise of a beat-up car was heard pulling up in front of the Greendale Community College plaque.
Britta's hair was tangled like a rat's nest and black tinted sunglasses hid her eyes. Her head throbbed from a nasty hangover. She lowered them only slightly and turned her eyes to the passenger side while smirking.
Jeff lifted a brow and turned his head and leaned over, "Thank you for driving me to work until my car is fixed."
She fixed her glasses, "I know that was hard for you Jeff."
"You know what else is hard for me?" Jeff asked, "Having to get driven by work by my previous lover, slash, friend in their car—I mean house and having the smell of old alcohol linger on your jacket." He sniffed his jacket and attempted to swat away the smell.
She pulled off her sunglasses and threw them in the back seat on piles of papers, wrappers and mail.
"I know—I need to find a place to live," A hand went to her chest as she tasted the stale hint of alcohol, "And I really need to stop drinking after the bar closes."
"Yes—you do," His brows raised, "And yes—you do. Ever since you quit Greendale and let go of your—somewhat—hard work, it's like you just gave up."
"Yeah—well what about you? Huh? You—you always say how you can't wait to finally leave Greendale. And look at you," She waved her hands, "Guess whose getting dropped off outside said school because they ran their car into a ditch?" She sneered, "And that alcohol smell—yeah, it's not from this car, it's you."
Jeff looked in the backseat, grabbing a random piece of mail, "At least I'm not sleeping on three months worth of mail!" He started ripping it open.
"Hey! That's my three month old mail!" She fought to get it out of his hands, "I can call the cops for touching my mail."
"You hate cops," He began unraveling the letter.
"Yeah—well," She paused, leaning an arm on the door, giving up, "You're dumb."
"Wait—what is this." His brow lowered, "It's from Greendale."
"Pfft, it's probably one of those letters asking me to give them my money that I never made after leaving there. Those people are sick." She leered at the Greendale sign.
"It says that all of our credits never counted."
She laughed, "That's funny, I thought you just said our credits never counted." She winced in pain as it made her head throb worse.
"That is what I said."
They looked at each other wide eyed as their hearts sank.
Jeff leisurely strolled past the old study room. He secretly made it a point to walk by daily—just to make sure the janitors were taking care of it. If a chair was out of place, he might just put it back. Or if a pen was found laying on the floor, he'd throw it outside into the hall. The blinds were down, but he could see through the cracks. There, he noticed a person sitting in a chair.
"Britta?" He announced after opening the door.
She quickly stood startled, "Oh—I uh—didn't know you still came in here."
He shrugged, "Sometimes, I mean I do work here," He stated. The truth was, he never missed a day stopping by the old stomping ground, "But that's not important. Why are you here?"
She sat back down and opened a book, "Well, after that letter you found that said the school was unaccredited and was essentially a glorified second high school—I thought about what you said," She looked up, "And you were right. I need a change. So, I enrolled again," She nodded, "Although, this time, I'm not majoring in psychology. Even though, I would have been a great therapist," She smiled thoughtfully at the ceiling, "But, I figure if I loved it as much as I thought I did, I'd be doing it already." She shrugged, "This time, I'm really going to think about what I'm good at."
Jeff pulled up a chair, "Uh huh." That was such a Britta thing to say.
He looked at Britta who seemed to be doing the same thing as him. Looking at the empty chairs and remembering the beginning of summer when the others said their goodbyes. He hadn't heard much from anyone since they split. He thought of Abed and wondered if he was enjoying his dream of working on a movie set. Whether Shirley was doing well. If Troy was still sailing the world, or if he forgot he wasn't a pirate and ended up getting blown up by the Navy. He wondered about Annie often. More than he wanted to. He wondered how she was doing in her internship. He knew she'd be good at anything she put her mind to, but he wondered if she missed Greendale, or him.
Britta tapped her pen on her notebook, "I miss—Shirley!"
He noticed Britta perk up and look towards the door.
Shirley entered the room, carrying her large purse, "Oh! I wasn't expecting to see you two here," She scurried over to Britta, giving her a hug and then tapped Jeff on the shoulder as she went to sit in her seat, "Let me guess—you got the letter?"
"Yes." They replied in unison.
"Are you taking classes again?" Britta asked.
"I'm going to retake my business classes. Only because I get a free ride for having my business located in the lunch room," She smiled widely, "What about you Jeff?"
He leaned back in his seat and put his feet on the table, "I teach here. I don't need to retake classes." He grinned.
"Must be nice," Shirley said.
Britta turned to him, "I don't know Jeff—looks like Greendale has turned a corner. Making itself official. I wouldn't be so sure about that. I mean, I actually have to write a paper for my intro to communication class. Like, whhhhatttt?" She snickered, before her face turned to dread.
"I am not going to take classes. I graduated and was offered a position at the school, I think I'm a little bit above taking classes."
"Abed!" Sherry yelled.
"Cool, cool, cool," Abed walked quickly to his chair. He held out a finger, "I actually didn't expect to see you all here," He looked around the table, "Well—some of us are still missing," His eyes went to Troy's empty chair. "Hi Sherry," He smiled.
Jeff stood from his seat, "Abed, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Turns out I'm not that great at making movies." He replied.
Jeff sat back into his chair, "Aw man."
"No way." Britta mumbled.
Sherry shook her head, "That's a real shame."
Abed looked at the others, "You don't have to pretend to be sorry. I know you tried telling me my videos weren't that great," He explained, "Turns out, I'm a much better writer. When I got the letter from the college, I decided to enroll again for creative writing. It will give me a way to continue practicing my ability to understand human emotion. Also, I think it will make me better at making films in the long run."
"Well, that's great Abed," Britta smiled.
At that moment, Annie Edison came storming into the room, throwing her backpack on the desk, "I see everyone else had their life ruined by this school as well," She folded her arms.
"Annie," Jeff muttered, "Why are you here? What happened to your internship?"
Annie plopped down with a thud in her chair, "Ruined. Did I ever tell any of you that this school is the black hole of the world? You get sucked into it and eaten alive like a vampire's meal—or something," She examined the concerned faces, "I have to retake all my classes. I got to Washington and my first day there they said there was a problem with my college record. Then the man gave me a weird kind of look and said you went to Greendale? I mean the nerve—" She slunk in her chair.
Jeff's face lit up, "I can't believe you're here."
"Well, don't get too excited Jeff—" She moved a hand towards him, "I'm kinda seeing someone." She slowly let her lips turn into a glowing smile.
"Aw, what's his name?" Shirley asked.
"Okay, well, his name is Gary and it's a long distance relationship," Annie explained.
Jeff folded his arms, "Gary? His name is Gary?" His face crinkled, "He sounds like a stooge."
"Well he isn't," She insisted, "He works for the FBI. Well, sort of. Right now he just does security for government buildings, but he's working his way up." She nodded frantically.
"Sure he is," Jeff rolled his eyes. He looked to the corner of the desk, noticing Abed staring blankly, "Abed—are you okay?"
"There's a disturbance in the force," He cocked his head, "But a good disturbance," His eyes peered to the doorway.
"Troy and Abed in the—whatever time it is." Troy sang from the door. His face was taken over by a thick beard.
The others gasped. Troy strutted his way to Abed, where they greeted each other with their handshake.
"I'm glad to see you back friend," Abed smiled.
"Me too," Troy took a long look at his seat and sat down.
"Troy, did you win your money? Are you rich now?" Shirley asked, then her voice turned deep, "And if you are, you're investing in my business right?"
"Yes and no," He began, "We sailed for a year—then I got really hungry for McDonald's. We docked and I left Lavar Burton on the boat and never went back."
Shirley leaned in with a meaningless smile, "So—you aren't rich?"
"Oh no, I'm rich," Troy stated, "I told them eating fish every day for a year is really unhealthy. They gave me the money." He smiled proudly.
Britta looked confused, "You didn't have to only eat fish."
Troy snickered, "I know—I forgot until the day I got hungry for McDonald's." He shook his head, "Anyway, I have so much money, I can do whatever I want. So I'm finally going to get that degree in the trades. I figure, I don't have to worry about getting some cool degree—like robotics. I'm already cool because I'm a millionaire. Plus, I'm like, really good at it," He gave Abed a high five.
The group looked at one another silently. It was hard to believe everyone was there together—almost. But so much had changed over that summer compared to every other summer. Nobody expected to be back at Greendale, and then there they were. They looked at each other with awkward smiles—like it was the first time meeting.
"Anyone miss me?"
The group turned and screamed in unison.
"What?" Pierce asked, "You never seen a dead guy walk into a room?"
Britta stood from her chair, "Okay—okay. I know everyone is feeling very emotional right now. We are having some sort of psychosis due to the—lasting trauma—of last year. I'm just going to go and do this—"
Jeff threw his arms in the air, "I thought you weren't majoring in psychology?"
She slowly and silently walked towards Pierce and reached out a finger to touch him. She screamed, "Okay! Nevermind. He's real!" She ran to her chair, standing on top of it like there was a mouse.
Troy's voice squeaked, "Pierce, you're supposed to be dead!"
Pierce picked up his arms, "Surprise!" He said, "I'm not," He made his way to his old seat, "Don't get me wrong, I'm a little mad I wasted all that semen," He said, "But I hope it was put to good use." His eyes widened at Shirley.
Shirley quickly did the sign of the cross, "When you die for real, you're going straight to hell Pierce, you know that?"
"Yeah, we were sad for like, ten seconds when you died," Jeff chimed in.
"Yeah, well," Pierce began, "I was a little busy in Thailand."
"What in the hell were you doing in Thailand?" Britta asked, "Wait—I don't want to know."
"I felt like I needed a little vacation. To clear the air," He went on, "Thailand is cheap and I had hidden investments. Can't take all that money there. The FBI would be after me. Not to mention, my wife's family would have robbed me blind."
Annie perked up and began listening, "I'm sorry, your wife? You're married now?" Annie asked.
"I married a Thai woman. She's still in Thailand, of course. I wanted her to come back with me, but she refused for some reason," He shrugged, "She wants me to send a little bit of money to her and her family. Family is very important to her."
Britta's mouth fell open, "Uh, that kind of sounds a little shady Pierce. Are you sure she isn't just using you for your money?"
He laughed and looked at the others.
Troy avoided looking at him, "You, like, aren't expecting your money back or something, are you?"
"Oh no. No. It's all yours. But I do need a place to stay. A job, oh and a social security number," He shrugged again, "I'm even thinking about getting a real degree."
"How much money do you have left, Pierce?" Annie wondered.
"About fifty dollars."
The Dean entered the room and stood in shock. His eyes wide. His mouth open and quivering. He held out an arm and pointed, while shaking involuntarily, "You—you."
The group stared as he fell to the floor unconscious.
"Oh my God!" Britta yelled and fled to the floor, "Someone help me get him to the table."
Jeff, Annie, Abed, Shirley and Troy assisted with moving him to the top of the table.
His eyes opened slowly, "I—I thought I was dreaming, but you're all here," He began crying, "I'm not even dressed for the occasion."
"That's okay—I always liked it better anyway when you dressed professionally," Annie hinted a smile.
"Thank you Annie," The Dean lifted himself with his hand to his forehead, "If I wasn't mistaken, I thought I saw that dead old man here."
A voice came from behind the group, "Yeah, I'm here. I'm alive, surprise." He continued to sit in his chair.
"Well—that certainly was a shock," He removed himself from the table and dusted himself off, "I suppose you must have all gotten your letters over the summer."
"Yeah—and I think it's ridiculous," Jeff said.
"Yes—well, it seems things for Greendale have finally perked up. We are officially an accredited community college," He jumped and clicked his heels together, "And thank goodness, am I right?" He laughed, "All that gloomy stuff was just depressing." He flung his hand.
"It's hilarious," Annie groaned.
"So Jeff, what plans have you made?"
He folded his arms, "What do you mean? I'm teaching law," He tightened his lips in confusion.
The Dean hesitated, "They—didn't tell you?"
Jeff's voice grew deeper, "Tell me what?"
"Uh oh," The Dean said as he slowly began slinking away.
Jeff leaped from his chair and grabbed onto his shirt, "Tell me what?"
"I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but you can't teach here until you get a real, real degree."
"A real, real degree? I'm pretty sure I can sue you for this."
"Let's all calm down now. I know we're all excited to be back," His lips pinched together and grew into a smile, "I'm sure we can figure something out Jeff," He walked slowly towards the door, "I'll have my people call your people," He moved to the door, "And it will all work out." He disappeared running down the hall.
The group kept silent as Jeff sat completely silent.
"I'm not sure if this is a sequel or a reboot," Abed explained, "But both usually tend to score poorly with critics. Unless," He pointed, "This is an alternate timeline. In which case, I better figure out which one it is before all hell breaks loose."
The sun was fading outside the steps of Greendale. Jeff sat, admiring the scene for a few minutes before the doors opened behind him. He spent the last half an hour trying to come to terms just with the fact Pierce hadn't died yet. Then there was Annie. The last thing he expected was for her to have a boyfriend when she did come back-and she was so happy. He wasn't. He loved his friends, and the fact everyone was back together was amazing. Actually, it was a miracle considering one of them was declared dead at one point. But things were supposed to be different by now. He wasn't even supposed to be at Greendale.
"Well that was an interesting day," Britta sat next to him.
"Yeah—I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet," He grumbled.
"I know what you mean," She said, "Losing a job isn't that cool."
"Thanks," He rolled his eyes, "I did say I wanted to leave Greendale. Maybe this is the only way I ever will."
She smiled, "You'll be fine. You always are. What's the worst thing that could happen? You get a real law degree? You pass the bar? Get reinstated? Go teach at Berkeley," She laughed, "Okay, maybe that's a stretch."
There was a moment of silence.
"Maybe it isn't that big of a stretch," He smirked, "Except, Berkeley? Really?"
"Whatever," She rolled her eyes.
"Ready to drive me home?" Jeff stood, smiling down at her. He held out a hand to assist. She took it and soon, they were headed toward the parking lot. Disappearing beyond the cars.
Song: The The - This is The Day