A/N: The choir room scene was another great contribution from QuinnAbrams!
Kitty
Senior year. The only thing she regretted about the first day of school was her wardrobe. They had a back-to-school pep during second period that day, which meant she had to wear the Cheerios uniform. What had once been a status symbol now meant almost nothing to her. She no longer felt like she needed status at this school to survive. She'd survived while being in glee club and dating someone everyone else saw as a geek, and now that she was a senior, she was going to take Artie's approach to not caring what others thought of her.
In fact, this was how little she cared: She noticed on the bulletin board that Brainiacs was looking for new members and decided to sign up. She needed something to boost her academic resume because, contrary to what people probably thought, she was book smart. She just didn't advertise it, and she wasn't Asian, so most people had no idea she was in the top ten of her class. (No, she wasn't number one like Artie, no, but the last time she'd checked, she was still in the top ten.)
"You signed up for Brainiacs, too?" At lunch, Marley greeted her with this observation. Kitty merely shrugged off the shocked reactions of her fellow Cheerios as she took as seat at the table.
"Why not?" Kitty asked, innocently, as she set her tray of... whatever Marley's mother had just served her was... on the table. "I'm smart."
"Yeah, I know," said Marley, who clearly was keeping track of who was in the top ten. And she needed to be. Kitty knew that Marley was starting off senior year on track to be their Valedictorian. The top spot was currently hers, but every grade between now and graduation was going to be factored in, and she had competition. Naturally, Marley had been on the Brainiacs Academic Decathlon team for two years now.
"It'll look good for college," Kitty said, defending her choice to sign up for the club. "I mean, I'm also hoping to get a cheerleading scholarship to Ohio State, but it would be nice to get an academic scholarship on top of that."
"Ohio State?" Unique obviously didn't think that was good enough, but she also knew Kitty's motive. "So, your plan is just to follow Artie, isn't it?"
"No, two of my older brothers also went there," she countered. "So, I have other reasons. But... it doesn't hurt that he's there."
"I'm really glad you two got back together," Marley said. "You seem happy, Kitty, and you also seem confident. The old you would have never signed up for Brainiacs..."
"Yeah, well..." Kitty trailed off and ate a forkful of that mystery meat, vowing not to forget to pack herself a lunch tomorrow. "Not sure if it's confidence or recklessness, but thanks."
She couldn't say that she felt one-hundred percent comfortable with just doing whatever she wanted, social status be damned, but she definitely wasn't the same girl who'd once tried to hide her relationship with a great guy just because of how others might see him.
"Where are you applying to go next year?" Unique was asking Marley.
"Well, Tina speaks really highly of Brown, so I did apply," Marley said. "But I'm not sure I want to be that far away from my mom. So I also think I'm going to apply at Ohio State and just see what happens. What about you?"
"NYADA," Unique said, most assuredly, fluffing her wig. "If they took Harmony, they surely won't pass on me. Though a solo at Regionals would definitely help me out with that one. That was what got Harmony her spot."
She gave Kitty a rather pointed look, as though Kitty had anything to do with those decisions. Kitty pretended not to notice, as she looked around the cafeteria to see where everyone else was sitting this year. At that moment, Jake appeared with his own tray of mysterious brown meat and slid in next to Marley.
Marley and Unique sat with the Cheerios because of Kitty. If Kitty hadn't been there to give her approval, neither of those girls would have a seat at the table. Also, Marley got a pass because Jake sat with her, and most girls thought Jake was cute.
As for Ryder, he'd taken to eating with Marissa, the girl whom he'd once thought was "Katie," and then she turned out to just be the face that Unique had used when she was Cat-fishing him. They'd started dating over the summer, and Kitty was happy for him. He'd liked this girl for awhile, she was pretty sure, and it was very apparent that blondes were his type.
Kitty ended up eating the veggies and fruits but not the meat. She pushed her tray aside, unable to look at it any longer, and vowed again to wake up early enough to make herself a sandwich.
She wished Artie was there to speculate with her about what the weird meat was. Even though they hadn't been in school together for over a year, she still missed the one year they'd had together. It was more like half a year, actually, because that was how long it had taken for Kitty to admit to herself and others that she liked him.
She wondered what he would be doing today. He'd talked about swimming with Sam during Sam's lunch break, and then Sam was going to give him a ride to physical therapy. His mom was going to pick him up afterwards. Artie still wasn't technically cleared to drive yet, though it hadn't stopped him from doing so anyway, in a pinch.
With the five minutes left in her lunch break, she decided to text him.
KW: Hey I miss you. Still can't believe I'm finally a senior. Let the countdown begin.
His reply wasn't quite as fast as she'd hoped. Maybe he was in therapy. As was typical Artie form, he'd explain why if it took him longer than a couple minutes to get back to her. Sure enough...
AA: Hey hey! I am currently standing and texting. They have me in a standing frame. Making me stay here for 10 minutes, so I asked for my phone to pass the time. My therapist is a monster.
KW: and probably reading over your shoulder too
AA: let's hope so, he needs to know
KW: hey, speaking of countdowns, have you texted or talked to your sister today? I've been thinking about her. I hope her water doesn't break while she's teaching.
AA: She actually said that's her worst fear. I did talk to her during her lunch break. She said her day has been fine. She's posting a sign up sheet for her glee club auditions and wants to hold those on Wednesday
KW: but that's her due date
AA: I know. she cray. Sam's going to get off work and go help her pick her newbies. She thinks a lot of kids are interested bc they won nationals.
KW: a bunch of her kids from last year bailed on us though. I think we're just getting 3. But they're the 3 that we want. That gives us 12.
AA: well we have won at Nationals with 12. Sometimes less is more.
KW: sometimes more is more
AA: how profound
KW: yup. Hey, I have to go. Lunch is ending. Oh by the way, I signed up for Brainiacs.
AA: that's social suicide
KW: yup. I have to go.
Kitty put her phone away as the bell rang. She grabbed her Cheerios duffel bag and her tray, to dump it. As she was crossing the cafeteria and rounding the corner to head to her locker, she was greeted by a sneak attack. Some big dumb jock threw a red slushy that nailed her directly in the face.
"Hope you don't get a brain freeze... Brainiac!"
Kitty groaned, but secretly, she was sort of relieved to have an extra uniform in her locker, an excuse to be late to her next class, and a good friend who'd started keeping a hair dryer in her locker, after everyone found our her mom was the fat lunch lady.
Finally, the part of her day that she had been anticipating the most — Glee rehearsal — had come.
Kitty confidently strode into the choir room, hugging her biology textbook to her chest. She had spent the last two years swaying in the background, singing the "oohs" and background "ahhs" for the upperclassmen, but her voice would be silenced no more. Senior year was finally here, and now it was her time to shine.
"Unique better get to sing some strong, powerful ballads this year," Unique was telling Marley by the piano, referring to herself in the third person. "My vote is 'Find Your Grail' from Spamalot."
"If you're going to sing something from that show, I think 'Diva's Lament' is more your style," Kitty commented as she walked by, dropping a not-so-subtle bit of her extensive Broadway knowledge. Can't a girl have a guilty pleasure nowadays? But before Unique could comment on Kitty's showtune opinions, she swiftly (and snarkily) changed the subject. "But, hey, I think we should stay away from the Broadway catalogue this year. You know, after the disaster that was Nationals…"
Unique looked offended, and Kitty just shrugged and checked her nails. Sometimes the truth was hard to hear, but that didn't mean she should be attacked for keepin' it real. Before Unique could defend her rendition of "Mama Will Provide," Mr. Schuester entered the room from his adjoining office.
"Kitty's right," he said, clapping his hands and signaling everyone to take their seats. "This year we're going to head in a new direction. No pun intended."
As Kitty took her usual spot on the risers, she looked around. Everyone who was on the team last year who hadn't graduated had returned. They had lost Mason, Madison, Sugar, Rory, Joe, and Harmony. They still had the five seniors — herself, Marley, Jake, Ryder, and Unique, three juniors (Jane, Alistair, and Spencer), and one lone sophomore (Roderick). There were three new faces in the room, bringing them to an even twelve members — the minimum amount for eligibility. Amy had hoped to send them more incoming freshmen from her team, but they'd lost several potential members to other clubs, like band and drama.
"First off, let's welcome our new members! Fresh off of their win at Nationals under Ms. Abrams' directorship, this is Jane's cousin, Samantha, Roderick's brother, Gregory, and Superintendent Harris' nephew, Myron," Mr. Schue introduced the freshmen as they stood up and waved to the upperclassmen. "We are super excited to have them on our team this year, so be sure to introduce yourselves."
"Helloooooo, gorgeous," the tiny boy seated to Kitty's left greeted her, sticking out his hand. "Myron Muskovitz. But you can call me: 'Myron Muskovitz, Child Star'."
Kitty furrowed her brows and reluctantly shook his hand. He was fourteen, she guessed, but he looked more like twelve.
"Kitty Wilde," she tentatively replied, noticing the wide-eyed look that the boy now displayed on his face and recognizing it as the one she used to give Quinn Fabray when she idolized her back in the day. "But you can call me: 'Way Too Old For You.'"
"I'm going to be a big, big star," Myron continued, clearly oblivious to Kitty's disinterest. "Junior high is small potatoes, I can see that now. I'm ready to shine on the New Directions. I've memorized every performance you have ever done, and I am more than prepared to take the lead solos."
That makes two of us, Kitty thought as she looked down on the boy smugly. She never saw herself fighting a pre-pubescent fourteen-year-old for a solo her senior year, yet here she was.
"However," Myron continued, still not picking up on Kitty's demeanor. "I like you already. And I'm willing to let you have the spotlight every now and then, too."
Then, to Kitty's surprise, he pulled a one hundred dollar bill out of the interior pocket of his jacket. "Here. You deserve it. Stick with me, sweetheart, and I'll make sure you never go hungry."
Kitty raised an eyebrow and gladly accepted the offering, tucking the cash in the top of her Cheerios uniform.
"I don't even care if this is some weird blood diamond money. I do deserve it," Kitty replied. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad after all.
He then produced another Ben Franklin, handing it to her and saying:
"How about a little sugar?"
Kitty found herself laughing out loud as she swiped the cash out of his hand once again.
"Uh, that's a hard no on the kiss. I have a boyfriend," she said, patting the top of his head endearingly. "But keep the cash coming and you'll always have a friend in Glee Club. And trust me, kid, you're gonna need one."
Satisfied with this answer, Myron turned his attention back to Mr. Schue, but not before trying to wrap his arm around Kitty's shoulders, from which she quickly shrugged away.
"Uh, Mr. Schue?" Marley asked just then, raising her hand, nervously. "What did you mean when you said that we're going to head in a new direction this year?"
"I think we lost ourselves a bit last year," he admitted. "We spent a lot of time focusing on numbers that we thought were flashy and eccentric, as well as constantly bringing in the alumni to help us out. This year, I think we need to go back to our roots. Focus on us. This is a completely new group of kids from the ones who won us Nationals back in 2012. What worked for us then, probably won't be our best bet today. I think we need to take a step back and be true to ourselves. Even when we won in 2013, it was on a technicality. Wouldn't it feel great to win this year and know that we did it all by ourselves?"
Everyone exchanged worried glances with one another. Was Mr. Schue's proposal totally crazy? No. A new approach might do the New Directions good, especially after their disappointing finish at last year's Nationals. However, change was not Kitty's favorite thing in the world, and if she was being honest, she had liked the way that Glee Club had been run the last few years.
But she did want to take home a National title her senior year; this time, fair and square. And she was willing to do anything — even if that meant putting up with creepy little Myron Muskovitz and Mr. Schue's savior complex — in order to do so.
As usual, Kitty found herself at Artie's at the end of the day. He'd started cooking again, though he was beginning with something fairly simple, with his sister and Sam there to help out. Mostly Sam though. Amy claimed she couldn't get off couch.
"Hard day?" Kitty stared at Amy as though she was a ticking time bomb, which was pretty much how everyone probably felt about her these days. Especially poor Sam who seemed more and more frazzled with each passing day.
"Just... a long one," Amy sighed, as she elevated her feet atop a throw pillow. "When you go from doing nothing to suddenly doing your job again with forty extra pounds on you..."
"And when your job is teaching middle schoolers," Kitty added, making a face. Personally, she never wanted to go into teaching. Although, having summer's off would be kind of nice...
"Spaghetti is ready!" Artie called. Kitty offered Amy a hand, to help her get to her feet, and followed her into the kitchen.
"This looks awesome," Amy commented, as she took a seat at the table, and Kitty remembered that it was her favorite meal he made, regardless of the simplicity.
"Sam, you've got a little grease on your face," Kitty pointed out, as she sat down next to Amy. "Right there. Above your eyebrow. There... you got it."
Sam grinned, as he rubbed it off. "The mark of a long day," he said, though he sounded kind of proud that he'd put in a long day at the garage. "That swim during my lunch break with Artie was definitely needed. It's hot out there."
"Tell me about it," Amy said, groaning. Then quickly, because Sam looked alarmed, she added, "No, no, that wasn't me groaning because I'm in pain. I was just agreeing that it was hot today."
"Then we should go for a swim," Kitty suggested. "After school tomorrow, if you aren't at the hospital, that is. I want to hang onto what's left of summer, and that's the best way I know how to do it."
Amy giggled. "It's a date," she said, pressing an offending spot on her belly where the baby's was probably jabbing her right now, Kitty guessed, judging by her expression. "Only if... he will allow it."
"You almost said the baby's name," Artie pointed out. "You're bound to slip up. Just tell me. I promise I won't make fun of it."
"I don't believe you for a second," Amy shot back. "You can wait, just like everyone else."