Pierce Residence
Brittany walked up to her house, greeting her mother and Lord Tubbington on the porch.
"New gnome?" Brittany asked, touching the top of the garden gnomes red hat.
Mrs. Pierce smiled and nodded. "He's going to hang out in the roses."
"Cool. I like him. But he looks like he's trouble. He's got a sly grin," Brittany joked.
"Hmm," Mrs. Pierce considered, "better put Grandma Gnome with him then. She'll keep an eye on him."
Brittany giggled and sat down on the porch step.
"How's Grandma?" she tentatively asked.
Mrs. Pierce sighed, putting down her garden gloves. "No better, no worse," she said with a tight smile. "We're going to head out Saturday."
Brittany pursed her lips and nodded her head in understanding. She ran her palm over Lord Tubbington's fur and wondered if they'd make it back to see her get her diploma.
"We'll be back in time sweetheart," Mrs. Pierce knelt down and rubbed her hand over Brittany's shoulder. "Promise. We'll be here for you," she said with a reassuring smile.
Brittany gave her mother a sideways hug and smiled wide. "I don't want to graduate without you," Brittany admitted. "I don't want to go to New York if you're not seeing me and Santana off either."
Mrs. Pierce's tight smile returned. "We're going to do everything we can to help you get what you want out of life. I promise you that."
Brittany got up and carried Lord Tubbington with her into the house. She showered and dressed in sandals, tank top and shorts. She scratched Lord Tubbington behind the ears and sighed.
"I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad aren't thrilled about me and New York. What do you think? I think it'll be exciting. I loved it when we went last year to Nationals."
Lord Tubbington just purred and closed his eyes, lulled by Brittany's petting.
"Lot of help you are," she grumbled and moved to her desk. She was checking her Facebook feed when her mother called her down for lunch.
Her mother and father were already sitting in the breakfast nook of their kitchen, picking out sandwiches and filling their plates with salad.
"Hey Daddy, how's it going?"
Mr. Pierce's warm smile spread across his face. "Good. Good. Got things at work all ready for Santa Fe. And you? How's preparations for Summer School going? Mom said Santana and Quinn are going to tutor you."
"Yep!" Brittany smiled. "It's good, because they get me. I think it'll be good."
"That's great honey," Mrs. Pierce chimed in.
"So, what are you plans for when you get to New York?" Mr. Pierce asked.
"Coach talked to one of her former students that coaches cheerleading at a middle school there, and she needs help. And Charlie over at the Humane Society made some calls and if I want, I can maybe get some work at one of the no kill shelters there. Might have to volunteer for a while, like here, but I've got some people to hook up with there. And there's this dance school near Time Square, has classes. And they have work study program, so if I can get into that, then I won't have to have 2 other jobs."
Mrs. Pierce was mid-chew, staring at her daughter in disbelief.
Brittany stared back at her mother. "What?"
Mrs. Pierce swallowed. "Um, honey, I'm just surprised…when did you have time to do all this? How did you do all this? Did Santana help you?" she sounded half accusing.
"Santana doesn't know yet, because I didn't know if I was going to graduate, or what. So, I started looking into it when Santana said she wasn't sure if Louisville was for her. I pretty much knew then that it was going to be New York. I just took the time to do some research, while she figured her own stuff out."
"You should've been a Boy Scout, you're so prepared," Mr. Pierce chuckled and shook his head.
"You should've been spending that time on your school work, instead of figuring out how to get to New York with Santana," Mrs. Pierce chided.
Brittany slumped slightly. "I know Mom. But I get Santana. She's easy. Chemistry isn't."
Mr. Pierce laughed under his breath.
Brittany got the double entendre. "Dad! Not what I meant," and she threw a baby carrot across the table at him.
"Stop it you two," Mrs. Pierce raised her hand. "Anyway, Brittany, our condition for you going to New York with Santana was that you have a job. Which looks like you'll have."
Brittany nodded and smiled, "Hopefully."
"And what about school?" Mr. Pierce added.
"Well it's too late to apply to full programs, so I'm going to take some classes, get to know who's good and who's not and try to get in one in January. If not, for next year then," Brittany explained.
"So it's going to be dance then?" Mrs. Pierce tried to clarify.
Brittany shrugged, "I love dancing, but I don't know if I want it as a job. I love animals, but being a vet is out of my league…well at least vet school is. But I've got time. If that's okay with you guys that I take this year to work and take classes and try to figure out stuff."
"It's great by me honey. I wish I took a year off, instead of changing my major three times in college," Mr. Pierce smiled.
"It's not my favorite plan, but it's a plan, so yes. A year." Mrs. Pierce dabbed her mouth with a napkin and nodded. "I can handle a year," Mrs. Pierce acquiesced.
Quinn looked up from her Chemistry notes when she heard it. Santana smiled as she closed the Cliff's Notes on MacBeth. An elderly couple next to them scowled and Santana's smile broke and scowled back at them. The curtain rod vibrated with "Who Run the World" booming out of Brittany's car as she pulled up to the Lima Bean. Brittany sat there, singing at the top of her lungs, with her car parked, until the song ended. She hopped out of her car and bounced into the Lima Bean, and quickly found her friends.
"You're going to go deaf listening to music that loud, " the older woman commented as Brittany passed.
"Huh?" Brittany turned to her.
Santana opened her mouth to give the old woman a piece of her mind, but stopped as Quinn gently placed her hand over Santana's and gave a slight shake of her head. Santana closed her mouth and furrowed her brow at Quinn. Quinn just smiled and patted the top of Santana's hand.
"Hey guys!" Brittany greeted, pulling up a spare chair to their table. She leaned over and pecked Santana on the cheek and gave Quinn's shoulder a squeeze.
"Thanks so much Quinn, for helping me with Chemistry," Brittany breathed a happy sigh of relief.
"My pleasure Britt. We'll get you through this. I promise," she smiled.
Brittany glanced down at Quinn's Chemistry notebook, which was actually a thick three-ring binder with color-coded tabs.
"Wow Quinn, you're like, super organized," Brittany commented, running her fingers over the rainbow of plastic stick-tabs.
"She's been hanging out with Berry too much," Santana teased.
Quinn rolled her eyes and blew her bangs from her own forehead. "I've downloaded the syllabus for Chemistry Britt, so I was comparing it to what I had in my notes. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything," she explained warmly to Brittany, then gave a narrow-eyed glance to Santana.
"And I've got Lit covered Britt," Santana beamed, patting the small stack of novels and Cliff's Notes and wire-bound notebooks in front of her. "MacBeth, Lord of the Flies, and a collection of Edgar Allan Poe poems," Santana confirmed with a nod of satisfaction.
"You guys are the best," Brittany gushed, her eyes watering. "Really, I don't how I can thank you."
"Well, consider this payment for all those dance lessons in glee club and never dropping me in those Cheerios pyramids," Quinn explained.
"And you can pay me back later," Santana teased, wiggling her eyebrows.
Brittany scoffed and smacked Santana playfully on the arm and they both giggled. Quinn laughed as well, shaking her head at Santana's remark.
"Alright, school starts in two weeks. So Quinn, why don't we get together next week and review the first week's classes. Then maybe, it won't be such a shock when I actually get into class," Brittany proposed.
"I'm available from 2pm on Britt. I'm only busy in the mornings," Quinn offered.
"And you get me and Mr. Shakespeare after dinner every night, starting next week, since MacBeth is first on your schedule," Santana explained.
Brittany sighed and looked back and forth between Quinn and Santana. "I'm really going to graduate, aren't I?"
Quinn and Santana each grabbed one of Brittany's hands from her lap and held it on top of the table. "If we have anything to do with it, definitely!" Quinn exclaimed.
"Definitely," Santana assured her.
"Well then, mochas are on me!" Brittany grinned and went up to the counter and ordered their drinks.
"Santana leaned in and whispered to Quinn, "So what do you really think Fabray?"
"I think we really have a lot of work to do. Aside from that, I reserve all judgment until we start seeing her test scores come back. It's only fair, to Brittany and you."
"Wait. What? Why me?" Santana's confusion amused Quinn.
"Because, you're more nervous about this than any of us Santana. You want Britt to graduate so much. Because, if she doesn't, again, you're not going to want to go to New York. Which means you're going to have to put off singing and acting or whatever you want to do there. Which means you're afraid you're going to resent Brittany for keeping you back. But you see, it's not her fault, because it's your decision to make. You just don't want to make it. So you're freakin' out about summer school, and putting enough pressure on yourself for ten people, because you don't want to have to decide if you stay or go. So, I'm reserving judgment on how tough this is going to be for Brittany. For me to tutor her. For you to tutor her, and most of all, I'm reserving judgment, for now, on how well you keep your shit together."
Santana's agape mouth finally closed, and she straightened up, then sat back in her chair and shrugged. "I thought you were going to drama school, not majoring in psychology," she grumbled.
Quinn smiled, "I've known you too long Santana. I always knows what's going on in that head of yours, well, when it comes to Brittany, I know."
"Fuck you Fabray."
"I love you too Santana," Quinn smiled.
Santana huffed, then smirked.
Brittany returned with three mochas. "So, how's plans for Yale coming Quinn?" Brittany asked, handing her a cup.
"Fine. I find out who my roommate is in a few weeks. My mom on the other hand, has officially gone off the deep end."
"How so?" Brittany asked.
"Because she bought out the entire 'Campus Collection' at Target. I told her the rooms are really small, but it didn't matter. So now I have a ton of crap for my dorm room and either I'm giving half to my roommate, or she's going to be returning a lot of stuff," Quinn explained, shaking her head.
"Judy doesn't do things half way," Santana commented.
"Nope. Just like her daughter," Brittany agreed.
Quinn looked over at Brittany with a grimace, but it softened, when she realized Brittany was complimenting her on her drive, if not her occasional craziness. Brittany smiled back and sipped her mocha.
"Alright ladies, I have to get back home and stop my mom from buying any more fabric storage boxes," Quinn said as she stood up. "Brittany? Monday at 2? Your place or mine?"
"Actually, Santana's. I'm staying there this summer."
Quinn's eyebrow rose. "Well, that's…convenient?" she was thoroughly confused.
"I'll explain later," Brittany assured her. Quinn nodded and smiled.
Quinn gave both Brittany and Santana hugs and walked out of the Lima Bean.
"So, you ready to get your learnin' on Monday?" Santana asked, placing her hand over Brittany's.
"Yep." Brittany replied with confidence. "Though I'm thinking more about spending time with my parents tonight. They're leaving soon," Brittany sulked, but attempted a brave face.
Santana squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay." Santana let out a breath and an encouraging smile. "Promise."