He had to admit, NYADA and its student population was remarkably reminiscent of the movie Fame, and he found something inherently amusing about that. The halls were pretty average, certainly not too imposing, but were full of students in their performance gear, all talking among themselves and from what he could pick up from their conversations, a lot of them were talking about the apparent work partnership between Claire Beaumont and Rachel Berry.
Jesse smiled to himself in amusement, because this was exactly the kind of fame and attention Rachel craved in high school, to have her name spoken with such reverence and admiration.
He had read up on Claire Beaumont, and he had to admit, she was a formidable foil to Rachel. She was driven, and ambitious, and had been a widely-touted up-and-coming dancer even before she landed in New York. If she could translate that steel will and determination into instructing Rachel, there was no reason for Rachel not to succeed in improving her dancing abilities.
And, yes, he hoped Claire's ruthless ambition could spark something in Rachel.
Rachel was certainly keeping busy, now meeting him for an hour on Mondays and Wednesdays and two or three hours on Fridays while she met Claire for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The schedule had been going on for almost two weeks now, and it seemed to be working. It was interesting, to see that Rachel thrived better and generally worked harder when she kept busy, but he wondered how she found time to entertain Benny when her schedule was pretty much full the whole week.
Not that she talked about him much lately. In fact, she had been particularly professional the past two weeks, only talking and asking questions about the songs they were working on or about her classes. She didn't spend time with him after their sessions, and had even opted out of attending a viewing of My Fair Lady. Then again, he hadn't heard the names Finn or Benny the whole time, either.
It was disconcerting.
Not having to be updated on the goings-on in the lives of Benny and Finnbecile was a relief, don't get him wrong, but still rather disconcerting.
It was Friday, and Rachel had asked him to come to NYADA instead of the rehearsal studios they usually met at, because she wanted him to judge a performance she was preparing for one of her classes, and for some reason he could totally understand, it needed a stage.
If it meant she was singing, and he could ascertain the strength of her vocals in an auditorium, then he wasn't going to argue.
Jesse checked the room number she had given him, and he pushed through the doors that led to one of the smaller theaters NYADA had. When he got inside, he found Rachel already onstage, standing by the piano and seemingly working on something. The stage lights were on, highlighting the shine of her hair.
Jesse sauntered down the steps towards the stage. He grinned. "Is this spectacle for my benefit?"
Rachel turned, and smiled brightly at him. "You're early."
"I'm on time." Jesse corrected.
"But on time means you're late," Rachel reminded cheekily, earning herself an acknowledging eye-roll. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I thought it would be a nice change of setting, having a stage to work on, while also needing your input on my homework. The homework is to sing a ballad."
"Your bread and butter." Jesse noted, amused.
Rachel smiled. "Indeed. And for the homework, I chose Stay by Rihanna."
Jesse nodded slowly, considering the choice. He placed his things on a chair, and sat down on the seat beside it. "It's still a pop song, Rachel."
"I know." Rachel agreed. "But I do believe that I can give it the depth that would elevate it to true ballad form." She glanced around. "The pianist I talked to should be here soon."
"Bet you wish Brad had followed you to New York." Jesse quipped, naming the man that been McKinley High's resident pianist.
Rachel laughed. "He was certainly very reliable. But I was getting the impression that he had begun to really hate Glee Club."
"He hated Will Schuester." Jesse told her.
"No, he didn't."
"He did." Jesse confirmed. "He told me."
"You're lying."
Jesse shrugged.
Rachel paused, thinking about it, and leaned forward. "Did he tell you anything about me?"
"He thought you were very talented." Jesse supplied succinctly. He clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on the arm rests on either side of him. "Why did you choose the song?"
"I like the message."
Jesse nodded, accepting that response without argument or further questioning. He glanced around the empty auditorium, and turned back to Rachel. "Sing something."
"What?"
"While we're waiting. Sing something."
Rachel hesitated, glancing around. "I'm not sure..."
"Come on," Jesse prodded. "It's not often we get a stage like this."
Rachel was certainly tempted. She bit her lip, considering, before she conceded that she wanted to and nodded. She left her things on the piano, and approached the microphone. She stepped into the spotlight, and closed her eyes. She tilted her head slightly, feeling the warmth of the spotlight, and imagined a full house waiting with bated breath for her voice to fill the room.
All I know is everything is not as it's sold
Jesse sat quietly, letting Rachel's voice singing Nelly Furtado's Try capture him, the way she once had with Don't Rain On My Parade. He may not always agree with her song choices (or what she chose to do with her life) but he maintained that she had one of the most beautiful voices he had ever heard - and coming from someone who listened to as much music as he did, that meant a lot.
Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
There was a reason he hated it when she fell back on simple pop songs: her voice alone was strong enough to convey a message, and she was always better when she went for emotional honesty than forcing impact.
She still sang beautifully, the simplicity of the song giving way to the emotions behind it, making it bigger, more meaningful. He wondered why she chose the song, but sometimes it was better not to ask questions, to just enjoy the moment, to let yourself be swept up in the singer's connection to the song. He still held that performances were better when the singer connected to the song, but he didn't have to know the reasons. He had learned that lesson two years ago.
We are free in our love
The last note hung in the air, filling the auditorium.
Rachel opened her eyes, and met blue eyes that assured her that it had been as flawless as she thought. She couldn't help the smug smile that pulled at her lips. "Thoughts?"
Jesse shook his head, opting instead to merely smile back.
A noise at the back of the auditorium informed them that they were being joined by the pianist Rachel had contracted for the afternoon's rehearsal, and effectively broke the silence that hung between them and signalled the start of Rachel's rehearsal.
After the first run through, Jesse honestly thought Rachel's Try number was better than Stay, but he was honest enough to admit that maybe he just liked the message better. After suggesting some small changes - just to help more with Rachel's breathing techniques and to avoid her tendency to belt - Jesse was a little more pleased with the final result.
Taking a break before one last run through to end the afternoon, Jesse and Rachel were standing together by the piano, working on his latest project for Rachel - Superboy and the Invisible Girl from Next to Normal - when a commanding voice boomed into the space, "Miss Berry."
The duo turned towards the doors, where the voice had come from, and found Carmen Tibideaux standing there.
She descended the steps heading to the front of the auditorium, regarding the two onstage. Her lips formed a thin line. "Mr. St. James."
"Ms. Tibideaux," Jesse returned, stepping forward to effectively stand between the Dean and Rachel.
"Is there a reason why you're in my campus?" Dean Tibideaux inquired.
"Rachel asked for input regarding her homework." Jesse answered.
The calculating gaze flickered towards Rachel. "Miss Berry, is there something you find missing in your instruction in NYADA?"
"No!" Rachel exclaimed. "Jesse is just the closest I have to an honest peer."
"I see." Dean Tibideaux said simply, her gaze still studying the two of them. She pointed at Jesse. "I'd like a word with you, Mr. St. James."
Jesse glanced at Rachel, whose gaze was worried. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and descended the steps off the stage to follow the NYADA instructor.
As he followed the older woman out of the auditorium and towards where he supposed her office was, he really hoped he hadn't gotten Rachel into trouble. Sure, her professor had been the one to tell her to consult someone else to help her, but maybe steering her off a very well-trodden path and encouraging her in her wish to sing Bohemian Rhapsody might not be the challenge NYADA wanted their students to undertake.
He also hoped Kurt had already left campus, because that gossip queen would cajole Rachel to the point that it was more needling that anything else.
"Have a seat." Dean Tibideaux offered, as she took her own seat behind her desk.
Jesse obeyed. He met the woman's studying gaze with his own even gaze, not giving her an inch. He hadn't done anything wrong, and he wasn't going to apologize for forcing Rachel out of her comfort zone.
When Dean Tibideaux's lips broke into a small smile, he knew he was somewhat in the clear. "You're working with our Miss Berry."
Not a question.
"One of her professors told her to seek out advice. She asked me." Jesse provided.
"I'm aware of such an instruction," Dean Tibideaux informed him. She leaned back. "Was the partnership with Claire Beaumont your doing?"
"Indirectly." Jesse allowed. If Rachel had been telling the truth that NYADA freshmen were discouraged from attending open calls, then he wasn't going to be the one to spill the beans.
"It's unorthodox, to allow one of our students to seek out outside help, especially from an amateur." Dean Tibideaux told him.
He couldn't even be offended. "I'm only looking out for her best interests."
"Yes, I can imagine." She noted. She regarded him. "What would you say is her biggest weakness?"
Jesse couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips.
"Does my question amuse you, Mr. St. James?"
"Not at all," Jesse answered. "But finding the right answer does."
"Oh?"
"She's stubborn. Obstinate. She's pig-headed. Her confidence in her abilities border arrogance, unfortunately sometimes misplaced. She's afraid to take risks." Jesse enumerated.
"All right." Dean Tibideaux nodded. "And which one would you say makes her weakest?"
Jesse sighed. He had thought about this, often and in depth, whenever he thought about Rachel Berry and why she so insisted on defending and staying with her high school Glee Club, among some of her bigger off-putting life choices. More than just performance-wise, Rachel's biggest flaw was more than just a combination of the earlier words he had used to describe her. "Her constant need for validation."
"Care to explain?" Dean Tibideaux pressed.
Jesse looked upon the singer, and decided that the woman had taken a chance with Rachel, and he kind of owed her. Besides, explaining might help the NYADA faculty in knowing how to better manage Rachel Berry's performances (and Rachel Berry in general). "She's good: We all know that. But she has insecurities that rise up and sometimes take reign, which is why she insists on playing it safe because the few times she's taken a risk nobody took her aside and told her what she did right and why it worked. She knows her strengths, but doesn't always know how to maximize what she's capable of. She needs to be told what to do, how to get better, and when she does it herself, someone has to take the time to tell her she did a good job."
NYADA's Dean of Vocal Performance and Song Interpretation studied him for a long moment, in what Jesse hoped was appraisal of his analysis regarding Rachel's insecurities.
He would never forgive William Schuester if the reason Rachel never grew out of her complacency is because of her experience under his tutelage. He never witnessed it firsthand, since New Directions' faculty advisor had been too afraid of saying something to lead Rachel right into Vocal Adrenaline's clutches, but Jesse had heard the recordings. (Why Rachel never told Lauren Zizes to get rid of the microphones they had put there during Rachel's sophomore year, he never understood, but for a regular delivery of candies, the female wrestler willingly sent him the recorded sessions - It wasn't spying if he mostly just rolled his eyes at what he heard and didn't bother using what he heard to his - and Vocal Adrenaline's - advantage.)
Finally, the older woman spoke again. "I reviewed the recordings from your audition."
Jesse perked up. If there was anything that interested him more than Broadway and Rachel Berry, it was himself.
"I maintain that it was a flawed effort, as well as everything else I said." Dean Tibideaux told him. "I admit, it's not often people make an appeal for someone else; yours intrigued me."
Jesse hesitated. "You haven't told Rachel...?"
She shook her head no. "This isn't about her admission into NYADA."
Oh? Jesse was admittedly curious.
"Do you know what the biggest problem in your audition was?"
Jesse shook his head.
"I already told you that you gave a passionate attempt at a challenging song, and if it had been merely based on your apparent emotional connection to the song, it would have been easy to give you admission." Dean Tibideaux told him. "Technique can be honed, improved. But passion is either there, or it isn't. And while you seemed connected to the song, you didn't seem to be particularly focused on your audition."
Jesse frowned.
He remembered the audition, a mere week after Regionals his senior year. He had been emotionally worn, and he and Shelby Corcoran had discovered a strain in their mentorship that had never been there before. He had poured what emotional stress that hadn't been exorcised in Bohemian Rhapsody into his NYADA audition.
"I thought your distraction was you being complacent, considering you already had a scholarship to UCLA lined up." Dean Tibideaux noted. "But that wasn't it, is it?"
No.
She looked at him. "She's gotten better, you know. Everyone's been telling me they can see why I gave her a chance, despite her first audition. I imagine I can credit the improvement to your input."
Jesse shook his head. "I'm just guiding her. She's the one doing the work."
Dean Tibideaux actually smiled. "You never struck me as being particularly modest, Mr. St. James."
"Definitely not the kid you first met," Jesse conceded.
She smiled in acknowledgment.
Jesse paused, weighing out his options, then leaned forward. There was something that mad him curious about NYADA and Rachel Berry's place in it. "I asked Rachel for her end-of-term evaluations, but she hasn't delivered. Do you think maybe you could..."
"Those are official school documents, Mr. St. James." She gave him a stern look. "Those can only be released to the students or a parent or guardian. Not..." She paused, before she gave him a curious look. "I was recently made aware that the role of boyfriend is filled by Brody Weston. I was under the impression you were filling that role."
Jesse shook his head. "She means a lot to me. That's all."
"I would say so, if you used your rare face time with me to appeal on her behalf and not yours." Dean Tibideaux observed. "Your actions in Chicago implied the two of you were involved."
Jesse said nothing.
And the college dean didn't press. "As for her evaluations, she can request for her copy from the desk in front."
"I'll tell her." Jesse assured.
She gazed thoughtfully at him. "I admit, if you auditioned for me right now, I might be intrigued enough to let you in."
Jesse smiled. "That's nice of you to say. But I like where I am right now." He chuckled a little. "And I suppose I owe you a 'thank you', for your recommendation."
He had been in the middle of packing his things at Carmel when the phone call had come through, and the last thing he had expected was Carmen Tibideaux asking if he was determined to stay and coach high school show choir in Ohio, or if he was willing to take his chance in New York City. The choice was obvious, and she had followed up that question with another one: given the chance, what would he like to be doing in New York?
He never knew if he had given the answer she had wanted, but he was in the summer program as prelude to the 2-year musical theater program of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy weeks later. He had applied there months before and hadn't heard anything after his final audition, but it couldn't have been a coincidence, right?
The older woman gave him a discerning look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Jesse inclined his head, acknowledging the non-response. "Regardless. Thank you."
Carmen Tibideaux waved her hand to dismiss him. "I believe you have a girl to get back to."