Chapter 2
Shelby Corcoran didn't get nervous. Not before a show, or an audition, or even meeting celebrities. So she didn't understand why she had to do breathing exercises as she was waiting for Glee club, of all things, to start. They were just kids! Kids that would most likely be no where near as talented as Vocal Adrenaline. So, why were her hands shaking? She sat down on top of the piano, and stared at her hands.
"It's because it's not just for winning this time..." she thought, looking up around the plain room that's showcase only had a few cheap trophies, rather than the walls being lined with shimmering, first place statues. The way Will instructed, he wasn't just a coach. He was a mentor, someone the students could turn to for anything. He was a friend to them. She took another deep breath in, closing her eyes. Someone hesitantly opened the door.
"Um... excuse me."
Shelby jumped and almost fell off the piano, clutching her heart.
"Who the hel-"
Lulu clutched her book close to her chest, looking at her with big, timid eyes.
"S-sorry... Is this the wrong room? I'm here for... uh, glee club?" she asked, her already large eyes even wider in embarrassment at startling the woman. Shelby took another deep breath and chuckled.
"No, no, you're in the right room, you just scared the sh-... you startled me." Shelby couldn't bring herself to curse in front of the girl, since she looked about twelve. Wait, she had to be at least a freshman, though, right? She slid off the piano gracefully, and stood up tall, looking proper to compensate for her earlier clumsiness. Lulu began to feel a little less intimidated, and Shelby held out her hand. Lulu placed her tiny hand in hers, and they shook hands.
"My name is Shelby Corcoran, and I will be your Glee club instructor. And you are...?" she said, shuffling through piles of paper and retrieving the sign up list.
"Lulu Hartman, ma'am." she said, trying to mimic Shelby's posture. Shelby's eyes flicked up from the list and she chuckled.
"Calm down with the 'ma'am' thing, I'm not your English teacher or anything." she said as she looked down the list and put a little check next to her name.
"Yes…umm..."
"Just call me Shelby." she said nonchalantly. She put down the list and looked around the room. "Well, you're the first one here, so, have a seat." Shelby said. Of course the first person to come in had to be a scared girl, who looked like she should be in middle school, while she was trying her best to not be intimidating. She sat on the stool, and Lulu walked over to one of the seats in the front. There was an awkward silence.
"Sooo.. you're a freshman?" she asked. "And you sing?"
"Le duh, lady... I didn't come in here for pottery." Lulu thought, but kept a bright smile. "Yes! I like, um, Broadway." Shelby nodded in approval.
"As all the best singers should. Maybe since you got here first, you could sing a little something for everyone else?" Lulu went pale. There was another moment of silence.
"Why are you punishing me for coming in first?" she said with a bit of a shaky voice. Shelby sat up straight. "Shit, don't cry!" she thought.
"Don't you like singing, though? I mean, glee club..." Shelby replied. She didn't get this girl. Why would you join a glee club if you didn't want to show off? She might even get a solo opportunity from this performance. Lulu shifted.
"I... I do love singing." she said quietly. Shelby breathed in relief. "I'm just not very comfortable with it. That's kinda why I joined the club..."
Ah, the girl was starting to make sense to her. It was then, when Shelby realized she now knew more about this girl than she knew even about Jesse, her star that she'd spent nearly three years working with. She could see the vulnerability in her, the need to impress and yet lacking the confidence to put her foot forward. So this was what Will meant. Shelby smiled softly at her.
"Then, you're in the right place. I won't force you to sing... but... I would like to hear your voice some time this week, if not today." She said in a gentle tone, and Lulu lifted her head from where she was focused on fiddling with her skirt. She smiled back a bit. The doors flew open again, causing them both to look up.
"Alright, okay, here we are, didn't mean to make y'all wait, okay!" Orleande strut the catwalk of life right up to an unprepared Shelby. "Orleande Denir, ma'am. It's the first one." he tapped the list. "Is pronounced OR-LE-AND, so don't mess it up." he said before striding over to the seats. "Where are all the other fools that signed up? Where is Gehr-rard?"
Shelby just watched him, eyebrows high on her forehead and not quite sure what to do. He was such an opposite from Lulu, brimming with confidence and yet if he was in Vocal Adrenaline she would've kicked him to the curb for being a little too out there. Yet, for some reason, she felt like he would definitely belong here, just because he had that strong personality. Lulu watched him with pure amusement. "Alright, well I'm-
"It's not our fault you power diva walk." Abby said, a bit out of breath as she walked in and took a seat next to him. Larson trailed in after her.
"Seriously! What the hell, man? No one's even here yet." He looked around the room, and then noticed Lulu. He hesitated there for a second.
"Well, I mean, besides this girl. I mean, she's here. And, yeah, lady teacher," He said awkwardly, shuffling past them. Lulu tilted her head slightly, not sure whether to be insulted or not. Shelby watched them, and shook her head to herself.
"Alright, so, you three who just came in... I'm Shelby. This is Lulu, Orleande, annd..."
"Abigal Williams. Call me Abby." she said as she was already unloading some sheet music from her bag.
"Larson Alps," The other announced as he debated sitting next to Lulu, but chickened out and sat next to Abby instead. Shelby nodded, checking off each of their names.
-x-
In the hallways, Jaryn, Charlie, and Collin all walked in their usual formation, arms linked with Charlie in the middle talking about something and Collin bickering back. Jaryn was spacing out about something, as usual. He came back to reality when he realized that both Collin and Charlie had stopped talking, with their necks craned back.
Reina and Leila had walked by them on their way towards the choir room.
"Damn..." Charlie and Collin both whispered at the same time, before looking slowly at each other.
"Please don't be the redhead..." Collin thought.
"No. Collin, it's the tan, short haired one. It has to be." Charlie thought. They both just looked at each other for a minute, before Charlie bit her lip.
"Strawberry blonde?" she asked hesitantly.
"God. Dammit!" Collin stomped. "Not again!" He ran a hand through his hair, before holding out his hands, one palm up and one in a fist, poised for rock paper scissors. Charlie looked down at his hands, and then smirked a bit.
"No, you know what, no rock paper scissors this time. How about..." She said, her cool, confident smile growing. "May the best man win?" She held out her hand. Collin eyed her, and then he smirked back, taking her hand and shaking it firmly.
"Deal."
Jaryn groaned.
-x-
Reina looked back. "Did you see that?" she whispered to Leila. She laughed. "That guy was totally checking you out! ...More importantly, so was that girl!" Leila rolled her eyes.
"Mmhm," She said, walking a little faster. "Sure. Reina, you've tried that so many times. It doesn't work like that for... gay people; you can't just openly look at someone."
"Maybe for you, but not everyone thinks like that. Some people just don't care about what others think." She said. "You should stop being so worried about offending someone because of who you are. It's your life... you can choose who's opinion you care about." Leila closed her eyes in slight frustration.
"Reina... I appreciate that you care, and you're supportive and everything, really, I do, but... can we not talk about it for one second? It's stressful enough, and..." Reina's heart sank with realization. Leila hated talking about her orientation, and Reina had been pushing it. She looked down, her smile fading.
"..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." Leila looked up. Reina rarely ever looked this down, even around her.
"...I really am glad that you care so much, though." She said quietly. Reina looked up from where her gaze rested on the floor. She looked over at her friend. "I just... I need to figure out other parts of me, besides the whole... liking girls thing. I don't want that to become who I am. Leila, the ...dyke." She said the last part bitterly. Reina stopped right in the middle of the hallway and hugged her tightly.
"I know for a fact there is so much more to you than that." Reina said quietly. Leila smiled slightly, and hugged her back. They stayed like that for a moment, before Leila pulled away, feeling a bit too choked up for comfort.
"Let's go to our damned show choir club." Leila said laughing lightly. Reina smiled again, and they made their way towards the room.
-x-
Shelby had checked off six people: Lulu, Orleande, Larson, Abby, and now, Leila and Reina. They all seemed to keep to their own groups; therefore Lulu was sitting alone in the front, too shy to approach anyone. Larson turned away from Abby and Orleande's heated debate on whether Gaga is more of an icon than Madonna or not. He scooted down a couple rows of chairs and leaned on the back of the chair next to her.
"So, your name is Lulu?" he said. She looked up, and hesitated for a moment, before smiling.
"Yeah, you're…Larson, right?" she asked in her usual cutesy voice. Larson nodded and grinned. "Can I call you... Larry?" she turned to face him, getting a bit more excited than normal. He chuckled.
"No way, Larry sounds like the name of a puppet." He said. She pouted. He flung himself over the back of the chair and sat next to her.
"Fiiiine. Larson it is." she said, rolling her eyes slightly. She looked around the room. "...Honestly, I expected a lot more people to be here." Larson shrugged at this.
"We're here," Larson started, "You should've dragged more people with you, like Orleande did with us." Lulu laughed a bit sarcastically, and looked down at her skirt.
"If I had anyone to drag along, trust me, I would've." She said, trying to play it nonchalant that she didn't have any friends. Larson nodded in understanding.
"Having trouble fitting in...?" he asked gently. Lulu shrugged.
"Talking to people is exhausting."
"Ouch."
Lulu turned back to him again, and put her hands out in front of her.
"No, no, not you, you're okay. I just... I don't know, you're kind of the first person who's noticed I'm here. Maybe because we're kind of around the same height." she spoke, laughing lightly, and then froze. "Oh. God. You did not just say that. That was really sensitive, Lulu." she thought nervously, but then she felt a wave of relief when he laughed as well.
"Hey, if you need someone to hang out with, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to have you sit with us at lunch."
Lulu sat up a bit straighter and looked at him in disbelief.
"Really?" She asked, her eyes practically twinkling. Larson smiled at her and nodded.
"Yeah, sure, why not? Besides, we're going to be in glee club together, right? I'm sure we'll all be able to chill. Maybe we can even get everyone to sit at the same table at lunch!"
Lulu snorted. "Please, those girls are way too pretty to be seen with us."
"You're pretty too." Larson said. Lulu turned scarlet, and Larson did also when he realized that he said it out loud. Neither of them said anything, and both of them were relieved when the Jaryn, Collin, and Charlie group walked in and immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room. Charlie seemed to realize this, and put on a thousand watt show smile, before looking at Leila and toning it down to be a little more sultry. Collin rolled his eyes.
Leila looked away from where she was talking to Reina for a minute, and her mouth hung open very slightly. This girl was gorgeous, with piercing ice blue eyes and perfect teeth, and that look she gave her... her stomach flipped, and she quickly looked back at Reina, who seemed to know what was going on and just gave her a knowing smirk.
"What?" Leila said, fixing her hair as she looked back at her. Reina kept the smirk and shrugged. Collin's jaw dropped a bit, having seen the whole thing. That did not just happen. Charlie turned towards him with a smug look on her face, and Collin crossed his arms, pretending he didn't see it.
Shelby turned towards the three. "And you are...?"
"I'm Charlotte. Charlie," She chirped.
"Collin," He said, lacking her enthusiasm.
"And I'm..." His eyes caught sight of Lulu, who was even now still blushing from Larson's comment. He didn't know why he was so caught off guard; he knew she would be here. Collin elbowed him when he didn't finish his sentence. "..Jaryn. I'm Jaryn." He said finally. Lulu looked up, and when their eyes met she looked away, as if she was caught, even though Jaryn was the one staring. Shelby nodded, and scanned the room as the trio made their way to sit behind Abby and Orleande. Everyone was sitting in their own groups; talking to the person they came in with, besides Larson and Lulu.
"They're so cliquey... that might be a problem…" Shelby thought as she bit the end of her pen. She scooted off the stool.
"Alright, so now we're just waiting for...Gerard, Anthony and Ni-" she paused when she heard the door open, and the two walked in, effectively owning the attention of everyone. Nicola seemed to realize this, and smiled a pageant smile. Anthony looked like he was genuinely a bit happy to be there, even with Nicola. Their vibe almost outshone the Collin, Charlie, and Jaryn trio, just because they both seemed to glow with...well, potential royalty.
"That would be us." Nicola said, flipping her hair a bit. Her arms were wrapped around Anthony's, as usual. "Nicola and Anthony."
"Alright...then, that just leave Gerard.." And as if on cue, Gerard opened the door looking confused. Nicola turned around, and her smile widened.
"Yes! The Irish boy did join!" She thought, and gave him a quick once over. Anthony noticed, and gave her a dubious look, to which she just gave him a sweet smile back.
"Sorry if I interrupted, but please tell me this is the New Directions?" He asked. Instantly, everyone's attention turned from Nicola and Anthony to Gerard. He felt all the eyes on him, and slid a bit back into the door. Shelby smiled warmly.
"Yes, Gerard?" Gerard nodded. "Come on in, we have everybody now." Gerard chuckled awkwardly, and stepped back into the room, closing the door. He looked awkwardly out at the group, not sure if introductions were done. "Um... howya, everybody?" He said, his Irish accent even thicker at the "howya".
Most of them looked at him confused, but the girls just giggled.
"Alright, everybody, take your seats!" Shelby announced, and those who were standing all sat back down. Nicola and Anthony sat in the front, and Gerard headed towards Orleande and Abby, who were grinning. Orleande pat the seat next to him. "You're our replacement Larson because he wandered off to smooth talk a girl." Abby whispered to him. Gerard raised an eyebrow, and looked over to where Lulu and Larson were sitting next to each other. Jaryn heard this, and his eyes darted over to the two. He looked at Larson, and his head fell back slowly in frustration.
...Really? Really? This was not fair. If he competed with a guy like... well, like Larson, for a girl, there was no way he wouldn't be painted as a bad guy if he won her over. He only half paid attention to Charlie and Collin's discussion, only hearing "definitely straight" and "eyefu..." before he tuned out again. Everyone went quiet when Shelby stepped forward and held her hands up. She scanned over all of them, and smiled widely.
"Welcome to New Directions!" She said while throwing her hands open dramatically. Some looked excited, others looked a bit nervous still. "As you're hopefully all aware, this club is about show choir. I used to coach a team that was actually a rival to this... you'll encounter them soon enough, Vocal Adrenaline." she paused and walked down the front of the room again. "The thing that makes this club different is that New Directions isn't just show choir, as the previous coach told me." She scanned the group. "This is a Glee club that glorifies individuality, not just the sound as a whole. I'm going to hear every single one of your voices, and so will the audience at Nationals." she said confidently.
"And so, I think that instead of doing some lame thing where we go around the room and... talk about your favorite vegetable, we could learn a lot more about everyone if we started off with a song." She said, clapping her hands together. "Any suggestions?"
Silence. She nodded to herself. "O-kay! How about I start off, and anyone who wants to join in, can jump in." She walked over to the piano, feeling a bit put down already. How was she going to get this group to be a family, like Will's bunch was? Her fingers traced the keys of the old piano. She looked up at the group again.
"How about some Beatles?" She chimed, giving them a sassy, knowing look. She knew everybody would know the Beatles, at least this song, and with a song like this, you almost had to sing along. She pounded down the first, ringing chord of the song.
Oh, darling.
Please, believe me.
I'll never do you no harm,
Believe me when I tell you,
I'll never do you no harm.
She played the filling part, and looked out at the group. They didn't have Brad yet, so she had to stay at the piano and play. She was about to sing the next part, when Collin stood up, and sang in his clean, rock and roll style voice.
Ohhh! Darling.
If you leave me,
I'll never make it alone.
Believe me, when I beg you,
don't ever leave me alone!
He belted out the last part roughly, and everyone cheered and laughed excitedly. Shelby was blown away, the boy had a voice. Everyone else was starting to get into it now, too, since he took that first leap and owned it. Orleande stood up next, and began to stomp down the stairs. He belted it out powerfully into the bridge, emoting and thrashing his arms out with sass. Collin chimed in occasionally.
When you told me you (when you told me) didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
Abby grinned and stepped down as well, singing at the top of her lungs and bringing just as much attitude to the piece as Orleande, and that's saying something.
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly fell down and died
At this part, she put her arm over her forehead dramatically, and fell to the floor, causing everyone to laugh and cheer as Orleande rolled his eyes playfully and helped her up again. There was a pause, and Anthony shot up, causing Nicola to double take. He walked straight past Nicola and down to the front. There was a pause in the music.
Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Nicola was a bit thrown off, but strung up, determined to show off. She'd never actually given much thought to singing, but she strut down the stairs, swinging her hips as she danced up next to Anthony seductively. Anthony laughed, clearly having a good time.
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm.
Reina eyed Leila, who looked at her wide eyed and shook her head. She took Leila's hand and pulled her up. Reina sang as she walked down the stairs, and Leila shuffled down after her.
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
Once they were at the bottom, Reina looked expectantly at Leila, who, despite her stomach twisting up nervously, joined in, and eyeing the rest of them. Their cheering gave her a little more confidence.
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly fell down and died
She even threw in a run at the end. Charlie smirked, and looked over at a moping Jaryn and rolled her eyes. She tugged his arm and brought him down to the stage with her. She nodded for him to start once he realized he was standing.
Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never let you down
He sang as he walked down the stairs, his eyes trailing back to Lulu who cheered him on happily. He started to sing the next part, but Charlie chimed in with her powerful and perfectly trained voice. She not so subtly sidled over to Leila, on her way over to Collin.
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
Shelby smiled proudly at them, and ended the song. Everyone burst into applause, and Gerard, Lulu, and Larson stood and joined them all in the front.
"Nice, nice!" She said, thoroughly impressed as she made her way over to the kids. When Will had strongly urged her to make it an open club, with no auditions, she was skeptical to say the least. She was fully prepared to give these kids lessons on how to hold a tune, yet every single one that stepped up and sang blew her away. They were good. She crossed her arms.
"And as for you three... I expect to hear you as well. By the end of this week! Maybe you guys can do a number together." Lulu looked a little scared, as did Gerard, but Larson was amped.
She learned a lot from this little display. Collin seemed to be a leader at heart, but wasn't quite sure how to step out of his shell. Orleande had a natural confidence about him. Abby seemed unafraid and unashamed, and comfortable in her skin. She could go on, but the excitement was starting to die down a bit.
"I think for our competitions, I want all of you to have a solo part. It'll be hard. We'll have to find songs that can divide smoothly into 12 parts, but I think it'll be important to keep this... unity." She explained, and everyone nodded in agreement. Both Orleande and Charlie looked a little down put that they wouldn't have any long solos, but none the less excited.
"Yeah, that was... that was really cool." Collin said, laughing a bit. "I've never just burst into song before."
"Well, you did pretty good for your first time." Gerard said, patting him on the shoulder lightly. "And I am an expert at suddenly bursting out into song, lemme tell ya."
"Mmhm, yeah, that's why you just watched us like the telly." Nicola teased. Anthony leaned into her air, but spoke so everyone heard.
"Irish, babe, not British." Everyone burst into laughter, including Gerard, and Nicola was embarrassed for a second before she ended up laughing as well. Shelby watched them with fondness, before she stepped in between them.
"Alright, I think that about wraps up today." she announced. "It's great to meet all of you, and once again, welcome to glee club!"
Everyone clapped and cheered enthusiastically, and suddenly, Shelby didn't feel quite so nervous any more.