CHAPTER 3
"Mr. James? Come on in."
Marcus looked up and saw a South Asian man, presumably the principal of his new school, standing opposite him. It was his first day at his new school - McKinley High - and although he had only been there for 15 minutes, he already wanted to leave. People chatting with their friends in the hallways, couples making out against lockers, cheerful voices coming from all over… it was all so nauseating. These 'friends', these 'relationships' that were supposed to last forever… they would all implode within a year of graduating, he knew it. It was human nature. Someone would inevitably let the other person down, abandon or betray them in some way, and like the snap of fingers, that would be it.
Following the man into his office, Marcus learned that his name was Figgins and he was indeed the principal of the high school. He spoke so passionately welcoming Marcus into the school, but it was wasted on the teenager as he probably hadn't even heard half of what Figgins had said. Fiddling with the zipper of his black bomber jacket, Marcus tuned out for most of the conversation. He honestly didn't care in the least about what sports McKinley offered, or what clubs he'd be able to join. 8:30 to 3 he would be here, and he wouldn't stay a second longer. A high school graduation was what he wanted out of this place, all he wanted out of this place, and he was going to do what was necessary to achieve that. Nothing more. Nothing less.
"Alright, let's have you sign some final registration forms really quickly and then I'll give you a tour of the school."
That snapped Marcus back to reality. He signed the last few of his forms, officially becoming a McKinley High School student, before being led out of the room by Figgins. Outside in the corridor, he was met by an extremely well-dressed teenager who was looking at him expectantly.
"Mr. James, this is Kurt Hummel." Figgins introduced him. "Kurt is a model student here in McKinley. Straight As. Member of the McKinley Glee Club. He'll be showing you around the school and taking you to your classes today."
With that, Figgins retreated back into his office, leaving the two teenagers standing face to face with one another. It was ironically funny: the two were opposites in every conceivable way. Marcus was tall; Kurt was short. Marcus was burly; Kurt was skinny. Marcus' hair was dishevelled, while not a strand of Kurt's was out of place. Marcus had clearly thrown on the closest items of clothing on the floor to him, while Kurt's attire was meticulously planned, ironed and selected. Everything about Marcus screamed jock or athlete; while Kurt screamed fashion.
The two stood opposite each other in silence for a few moments, neither really knowing what to say. It was awkward, to say the least.
"So… I'm Kurt." Kurt eventually started the conversation, sticking out a hand. Marcus shook it.
"Marcus." He grunted in reply.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Marcus. And welcome to McKinley. It's an… amazing high school." Kurt said. Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Is it?" He asked, disbelief seeping into his voice. Kurt chuckled.
"It… can be. If you surround yourself with the right people." He replied. Marcus glance downwards.
"Not gonna happen." He mumbled quietly to himself, but Kurt heard him and nodded thoughtfully. So he was a more quiet jock, Kurt thought to himself. Not unlike some of the football players they had in Glee, he remembered.
Kurt then began to take him around the school. He started with the football and soccer field, and then he showed him the ice hockey rink, basketball court and gym.
"I figured you'd want to see these places." Kurt remarked as they walked through all of McKinley's athletic facilities. "You look like you play a few sports."
Marcus shook his head.
"I only do one." He replied. "Rugby."
"Oh, that's the sport with like those sticks with nets in them, right?" Kurt asked. Marcus shook his head again.
"That's Lacrosse." He responded, quietly.
"Oh right. I'm not really a sporty guy myself, to be honest. More of an arts person." Kurt said. Marcus nodded.
"Yeah, I heard you were in the Glee club or something." Marcus said. Kurt's smile broadened at the mention of it.
"Yup. New Directions… the best part of McKinley High if you ask me." He said. Marcus had to smile and hold back a laugh at this.
"I'm sorry… Nude Erections?!" He asked, shocked at the name that Kurt had mentioned. Kurt laughed and shrugged.
"Yeah. I have no idea what Mr. Schuester was thinking when he picked the name." He admitted. "But still, trust me when I say this, Everyone knows that Glee club is the coolest club in this place."
"Why do I have trouble believing that?" Marcus chuckled. Kurt sighed as they reached the auditorium and choir room on their tour.
"Okay, fine, it might not be that cool to everyone else. But the people in Glee club… I guarantee you, best people in this place." He said. "And you know, we have some open spots if you want to join. You sing, Marcus?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Nah, I… I don't. Used to. A long, long time ago. But not anymore."
This wasn't a lie. Marcus did sing when he was younger. A lot younger. Up until age 13, him and his mom used to sing together all the time. But after her death… not a note.
Kurt smiled, hope in his eyes.
"Well maybe you could start up again at some point. I'm sure everyone in the New Directions would welcome you."
"Thanks." Marcus replied, with no intentions to ever join the New Directions. He was just humouring Kurt as they finished the tour. Eventually, they came to their final stop: the Spanish classroom where they both had class right now. They walked inside, where a brunette, male teacher was standing at the front and smiling at them expectantly. Kurt immediately took a seat, but the teacher kept Marcus at the front of the class for a moment.
"Class, as you can see, we have a new student with us today." the teacher announced. "This is Marcus James. Please, everyone, make him feel welcome."
He then turned to Marcus.
"I'm Will Schuester by the way. I'm the Spanish teacher and Glee coach." He added, shaking Marcus' hand. "Why don't you take that empty seat over there."
Marcus nodded and, without saying another word, walked over to the only empty seat in the classroom, at the very back of the room. He proceeded to then put his head down and tune out for the rest of the class. He didn't want to be here one bit. He remained laying his head on his desk for what seemed like an interminably long time, until all of a sudden, the unmistakable sound of a cell phone ringing broke the relative silence of the room.
It was coming from the boy next to him, there was no doubt about that. The mohawked teenager wearing a letterman jacket had his phone resting face-down on his desk, so when it rang, the sound echoed through the entire classroom. Hearing it, Mr. Schuester stopped talking and walked over to their direction, standing over the perpetrator.
"Puck. The phone." He said, holding out his hand expectantly. The other boy, Puck, looked at him indignantly.
"Mr. Schue, it wasn't me though!" He exclaimed. Mr. Schuester laughed.
"What are you talking about, Puck? We all heard it." Mr. Schue responded. Puck shrugged.
"Well I guess you all have gone deaf, because it wasn't me!" He snapped.
"It was me." The voice of the quiet teenager sitting beside Puck spoke up. Every head in the room turned to Marcus, who was holding his phone in his hand. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" He said, not believing him at all. Marcus nodded.
"Yeah. I forgot to turn it off before I came into class. I'm really sorry." Marcus lied. Mr. Schue stared him in the eye for several moments, almost trying to stare into his soul to gauge whether or not he was telling the truth. Eventually, he sighed and nodded.
"Consider this a warning, Marcus. Phone off while in class. Next time it gets confiscated until the end of the day." Mr. Schue said, before turning back around and walking back to the front of the room, resuming his teaching. As he did, Puck turned to Marcus, looking at him confused.
"Thanks, man." Puck said.
"Don't sweat it." Marcus murmured in reply, before resting his head back on his desk. However, Puck wasn't done with the conversation, and was still looking at Marcus, perplexed.
"Why'd you do it?" He asked. Marcus shrugged.
"Dunno." Marcus grunted in reply. Puck was even more confused now.
"Ooookay." He remarked. "So where'd you come from?"
"Vancouver." Marcus replied, and as Puck looked on with a puzzled look on his face, Marcus sighed. "It's in Canada."
"Oh," realization dawned on Puck. "So like a whole other country."
"Yeah." Marcus nodded.
"So do you play any sports? I heard they play hockey and basketball a lot up there." Puck said.
"They do. I never really liked either though." Marcus replied. "I do Rugby."
Puck's face lit up.
"That's awesome! We could use you on the football team! Quite a lot of guys graduated last year so we need some new people."
"Thanks, but I don't play football." Marcus replied.
"Come on! If you can take a hit in Rugby, surely you can do the same wearing pads in football!" Puck exclaimed. Marcus shook his head.
"Doesn't exactly work that way." He replied. At that moment, the bell rang, allowing him an exit from the conversation. He stood up and sighed. One lesson down, only a couple hundred left to go.
He walked out of the classroom, but almost as soon as he did, he heard loud footsteps coming after him. Slowly turning around, he found himself face to face once more with Puck, but this time the boy looked a lot less pleased. He pushed Marcus against the locker beside them.
"Hey, new kid!" He snapped. "Look, I don't know how things went in your old school in Mexico…"
"Canada." Marcus mumbled.
"But here in McKinley…" Puck continued, ignoring him. "We have something called respect. When the Pucksaurus is talking to you, you listen."
Marcus had to hold back a snicker.
"I'm sorry, the Pucksaurus? What are you, 8?"
Puck growled at him and his fist curled into a ball, slamming against the locker, right by Marcus's head.
"Shut it." He warned him. "Now as I was saying, if you don't want to play football… fine. But there's another club you can join…"
Marcus's eyes widened.
"I swear to God, if you also tell me to join the…"
"Glee Club!" Puck exclaimed. That's right. The Pucksaurus himself was now recruiting for Glee club. What had happened last year at Nationals was humiliating, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. They were winning it all this year, and for that to happen, they needed more people, and as one of the most popular and intimidating guys in the school, Puck knew that it would be on him to find some. Not only that, but Puck genuinely wanted to win this year, not only so that he wouldn't suffer the humiliation again, but because he knew how much it would mean to him and the rest of the club. They had all helped him so much over the past two years, and he felt like he owed them a win before they all graduated.
"You're in Glee club?" Marcus remarked, not really believing it. Puck nodded.
"You better believe it." Puck responded confidently. "And you should join too. Even if you can't sing, it's helped make me a lot more loose, which helps a lot with sports. It gives you the opportunity to meet some new people."
Marcus sighed.
"Look, I already got this whole sales pitch from Kurt Hummel this morning." Marcus told him. Puck nodded.
"Right, but I'm sure Lady Hummel didn't mention that being a Glee stud automatically makes you one of the hottest guys in school."
Marcus raised an eyebrow, not really believing him.
"Really? Because I heard it was the exact opposite." Marcus commented.
"The star Quarterback? In Glee. The head Cheerio? In Glee. The hottest girls in school? All in Glee. Same with the most popular guys. Trust me, if you join Glee and we win Nationals this year, you'll become a legend."
Marcus looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head.
"Sorry, man. I'll pass."
With that, Marcus turned on his heel and walked away…
