CHAPTER 42
"All right. Gather around, everyone!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. It was the next afternoon and the New Directions were finally in the green room of the auditorium, getting ready to perform. They had watched the previous 4 performances (they were 5th on the programme) and they had to admit, the performances were epic. The 10 remaining groups were the top ten of hundreds of show choirs across the country so they were extremely high level. The New Directions didn't care though. Their nerves had started to dissipate and they just wanted to go out, have fun, and do their best. Mr. Schue cleared his throat and began his pep talk…
"I just want to say a few words before we go out there." Mr. Schue declared. He was cut off by Finn though.
"Hold on, Mr. Schue. Hold on. You've given us a lot of pep talks over the years but remember, you told us once that a teacher's job is only done when his students don't need him anymore?"
Mr. Schue smiled.
"Okay, Finn. The floor is yours." He stated. Finn smiled.
"Um… so while we were all on the subway this afternoon on our way to the venue, we sat around in a circle and we told stories. But then we went around the carriage and everybody said what they wanted to win this thing for, and we all said the same thing: we want to win this for you. And I know every year at school, Figgins gives away the teacher of the year award but I don't think any of us have to wait to see how we feel about that. You're, like our teacher of a lifetime."
"Yeah." Everyone agreed. Mr. Schue beamed at his students.
"Thank you, Finn. Thank you, all of you. I love you guys so much."
Suddenly, the lights in the greenroom started flickering and the P.A announced that they needed to report backstage.
"All right. That's it. Show time. Hands in, everyone." Mr. Schue said. "1… 2… 3… New Directions!"
"NEW DIRECTIONS!" They all chanted.
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Finn looked around at the audience as he stepped on stage for his solo. It was his first experience performing for an audience this large - there were around 2000 people tightly packed in the auditorium. There were friends and family of the members of the 10 various groups, as well as various people who lived in N.Y and were keen to get a dirt-cheap but high-quality singing show. He didn't let the nerves get to her head though. He needed to keep it together. There was already a piano at the center of the stage for him so he walked over to it and sat by it. He was singing yet another original song - it was honestly easier for him to create his own songs than cover existing ones - and this song was chock-full of emotion. After everything he had gone through in the recent past, he needed to release all of his stress and emotion and the best way he knew how was in song. Finn started gently tickling the keys of the piano and began singing, the New Directions chances of winning Nationals squarely on his shoulders…
I'm in my bed
And you're not here
And there's no one to blame but the drink and my wandering hands
Forget what I said
It's not what I meant
And I can't take it back
I can't unpack the baggage you left
What am I now?
What am I now?
What if I'm someone I don't want around?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
You said you cared
And you missed me too
And I'm well aware I write too many songs about you
And the coffee's out
At the Beachwood Cafe
And it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of things we can say
What am I now?
What am I now?
What if I'm someone I don't want around?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again
What am I now?
What am I now?
What if you're someone I just want around?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again
I'm falling again
I'm falling
To hear the actual song, click:
watch?v=olGSAVOkkTI&ab_channel=HarryStylesVEVO
Or search… 'Falling Harry Styles'
The song reflected exactly how Finn was feeling at that moment. He was falling. He was ashamed of who he had become but he was powerless to stop himself. His future was slipping through his fingers right in front of his very eyes and all he could do was watch as it burned to a crisp.
At the end of the song, Finn received deafening applause from the audience. The emotion in his voice was overwhelming and it took over the arena. Quickly, the group got into position and got ready to perform their final song ever as New Directions students: Ellie Goulding's Burn.
Kurt:
We, we don't have to worry 'bout nothing
'Cause we got the fire, and we're burning one hell of a something
They, they gonna see us from outer space, outer space
Light it up, like we're the stars of the human race, human race
Sam:
When the light started out they don't know what they heard
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world
We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky
'Cause we got the fire, fire, fire
Yeah we got the fire, fire, fire
All:
And we gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Santana:
We don't wanna leave, no. We just wanna be right now (right), r-r-right now
And what we see is everybody's on the floor acting crazy, getting loco 'til the lights out
Music's on, I'm waking up, we fight the fire, then we burn it up
And it's over now, we got the love, there's no sleeping now, no sleeping now, no sleeping
Puck:
When the light started out they don't know what they heard
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world
We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky
Rachel:
'Cause we got the fire, fire, fire
Yeah we got the fire, fire, fire
All:
And we gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Mercedes:
When the light started out they don't know what they heard
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world
All:
We gonna let it burn burn burn burn (burn burn)
Burn burn burn burn (burn burn)
We can light it up, up, up
So they can't put it out, out, out
We can light it up, up, up
So they can't put it out, out, out
We can light it up, up, up
So they can't put it out, out, out
We can light it up, up, up
So they can't put it out, out, out
When the light started out they don't know what they heard
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world
We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky
'Cause we got the fire, fire, fire
Yeah we got the fire, fire, fire
Finn and Rachel:
And we gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
We gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn
Finn:
When the light started out they don't know what they heard
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world
We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky
'Cause we got the fire, fire, fire
Yeah we got the fire, fire, fire
And we gonna let it burn
That was it. They were done. No more performances left. The New Directions had officially done all they possibly could, and they would probably never perform together again. They walked off stage and spent the next little while celebrating. The celebrations were more out of relief than anything else. They had been through hell and fire to get to where they were today and they would've been extremely unhappy if they had graduated without making it to Nationals. Now, even if they didn't win, they would graduate happy.
They waited patiently for the final 5 groups to perform and as the judges stepped into their deliberation room, nervousness mounted once again…
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The three judges for Nationals were Lindsay Lohan, Perez Hilton and Martin Fong. They all paced around the room, arguing about who they believe deserved to take home gold. It was the Nationals Showcase, and the stakes had never been higher.
"I have a confession to make." Martin said. "I am a show choir junkie. Some people follow football; some people follow the NCAA basketball tournament; some people follow the daily goings-on in the lives of their wife and children. Not me! I follow competitive high school show choir."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Lindsay Lohan exclaimed, looking up from her tablet at Perez Hilton. She turned her tablet towards him. "Did you just blog about me during that last performance?"
"You're welcome." He smirked. "It's already got over three million hits. And secondly, if you don't love show choir, then what exactly are you doing here, Lindsay Lohan?"
"If you have to ask why a 12-time Teen Choice Award nominee is a celebrity judge, then you don't really understand what the word celebrity means." Martin snapped at Perez. Lindsay stood up.
"I was robbed for Freaky Friday. And I'm here, Perez, because I care about young artists chasing their impossible dreams. I know them. I feel them. I was them. So I'm here to support them unconditionally."
Perez yawned in reply.
"Let's get down to business!" Martin exclaimed. "We need to first narrow down the ten to a top 3."
"I, for one, was really moved by the Scale Blazers' haunting medley homage to Starlight Express." Perez commented.
The Portland Scale Blazers were the show choir from Oregon, obviously.
"You know who I was really impressed with?" Martin said. "The New Directions. They had so much energy it was awesome. And that original song? Oh my god, that was incredible! But they barely scraped through Regionals."
Lindsay nodded.
"I liked them, but they weren't the best singers and dancers." She said. "They are likeable though, and is there anything better than someone making a comeback?" She said, hinting of course to her own comeback as an artist. Perez rolled his eyes.
"The New Directions were horrible." He responded. "That original song was absolutely awful! The soloist looked and sounded like he had just crawled out of a gutter somewhere. I'm Vocal Adrenaline all the way! I think that the lead singer is a star! He's like Bon Jovi and Ed Sheeran put together. Just imagine how much it would mean to those poor, outcast kids to see him on National television leading his team to victory!"
"This isn't televised." Martin remarked. Lindsay's eyes widened.
"What?" She snapped. "This thing isn't even televised? I am in full imagery-rendering mode, people. I show up here and there's not even a red button to push and a chair that can spin that can spin me around? (Referring to the Voice) Or that I can point at a kid onstage and yell, 'I wanna work with you!' (Referring to the X Factor) Really? I'm seriously firing my manager!"
"Can I use that as an exclusive?" Perez asked. Lindsay shook her head.
"Absolutely not."
"This is serious!" Martin exclaimed, stomping his foot on the floor. "These are kids' dreams on the line out there. Do you know what it looks like when a kid's show choir dreams are disrespected? This is what it looks like, and it really hurts." He said, pointing to himself. "We need to vote now…"
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After almost half an hour of deliberation, Martin took to the stage to announce the winner, runner up and third place winner of the competition. The ten show choirs took to the stage, nervously standing together, New Directions being one of them.
"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen." He said. The man had such gravitas to his voice, and he commanded the attention of every soul in the room. The vast auditorium went from buzzing, to tensely silent. "I would like to start by congratulating each and every performer here today. Your hard work has brought you all here, and you are officially the top 10 show choirs in the whole country. If it were up to me, every single one of you would be taking home gold. But unfortunately that can't be the case. We've had to pick three teams that stood out for us the most. Without further ado, the team who came third place in the National Show Choir Championship is… Portland Scale Blazers!"
The Scale Blazers cheered and collected their trophy, ecstatic. The New Directions, however, looked even more anxious. On one hand, they were still in contention to win the whole thing but on the other, there was a higher chance that they didn't place at all.
"And runners up in the competition… Vocal Adrenaline!"
Contrasting to the Scale Blazers' reaction, Vocal Adrenaline were NOT happy. Like the Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline had massive funding so anything less than first place was not good enough for them. New Directions were getting a little bit more hopeful now. Throat Explosion were their main competition in Nationals and given that they only came second meant that there was a chance that New Directions came first. The second before Martin announced the winner was agonisingly long. The New Directions all held hands nervously, hoping and praying that they somehow managed to win. Eventually, they were put out of their misery by Martin finally revealing the results.
"And the winner of the National Show Choir Championship is…