"Hello fellow Glee clubbers!"
Puck groaned, sliding further down his chair. It was the first Glee club meeting of the new school year. Puck had sulked inside the choir room, still half asleep, took a seat on one of the chairs on the top row of the risers, and had closed his eyes, hoping to catch a quick nap. The first day of school had worn him out. He had been doing so, unaffected by everyone else talking quietly, until Rachel had arrived. Her voice echoed through the room, waking Puck up.
"Mr. Schue," Rachel continued, "While spending the summer with my dads, I took the liberty of putting together a list of song selections that I feel would benefit the group. I have organized them by genre," she opened up the folder that was in her hand and pulled out three pieces of paper, stapled together. "Feel free to take a look at them when you have a chance and see if there is anything you like. I assure you all the songs on this list would be a suitable choice." She placed the papers on the piano, and then walked over to the risers, taking a seat on a chair on the floor level.
Santana rolled her eyes, "And we haven't been here for more than ten minutes."
"Alright class," Mr. Schue said, raising his hand to get their attention. Everyone settled in their seats, quieting down.
"Uh, Mr. Schue?" Mercedes said, glancing around at everyone before looking back at the teacher. "I think we're missing some people. Where are Sam and Lauren?"
Puck crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging, when a few students looked at him for an answer to where Lauren was.
"That was one of the things I was going to talk about," Mr. Schue said, pulling his chair to sit in front of his students, "Sam and Lauren are no longer going to be in Glee club. Sam's family moved recently because his parents located a job outside of Lima. And Lauren, while she's still attending this school, she won't be in Glee club anymore."
"What?" Puck said, annoyed, throwing his hands up in the air when everyone looked at him. "I had nothing to do with this!"
"But you did break up with her," Finn commented.
"Yeah, but in like July!" Puck crossed his arms over his chest again, "I'm telling you all, I had no part in this."
Mr. Schue held up his hand again, "Alright, alright. Lauren isn't doing Glee club anymore because she's focusing more on some other extracurricular activities. Don't hassle Puck about it."
Puck gave off a smug looked, but then rolled his eyes, sighing. He turned his attention back to his teacher, avoiding eye contact with anyone else.
….
"Mr. Schue!" Rachel called out, before Mr. Schuester had a chance to dismiss everyone from rehearsal for the day. She raised her hand.
"Yes, Rachel?"
She stood up, "I just want to say on behalf of myself that I'm really looking forward to this year of Glee club. With it being my senior year and all, I'm excited to make the most of this year and each and every performance. As I'm sure my fellow senior classmates are," she looked around at everyone. Puck pumped his fist in the air, and Santana and Brittany exchanged a silent high five. "And so, I want to say that it's an honor to be able to perform for you all and this school during my senior year." A big smile came to her face and she curtsied lightly before sitting back down.
"Well, thank you, Rachel," Mr. Schue said, nodding to her. "You do bring up a good point, you and many others in here are seniors. That should make you want to have the best year yet. So!" he clapped his hands, "Since no one here is new, I say we jump right in. So your assignment for next week is to find one song that you feel best describes you. We're going to share them with the group next week."
….
"I need a song," Puck said, shoving a handful of chips in his mouth the next day during lunch. He looked over at Finn, "Got any suggestions?"
"You mean for our Glee club assignment?" he asked. Upon seeing Puck nod, he rubbed at his chin, "Well, uh, I mean I don't know. I'm having enough trouble thinking of one for myself."
Puck leaned back in his seat, "Homework on the first day."
"Yeah, but it's Glee club. So it really doesn't count," Finn whispered.
Puck shrugged, "It's something I have to do at home. Homework."
"I was wondering if I could get your input," Rachel interrupted, walking over to the table that the boys were sitting at, poking her head between Finn and Puck.
"Oh, hey, Rachel," Finn smiled, "What's up?"
"I was wondering if I could consult you both to get your opinions on what song I should use for my assignment for Glee club next week," she explained, pulling up a chair to sit at their table.
"Uh, sure, Rachel, what were you thinking?" Finn asked.
"I fully believe that this song should express the star that I am. But I can't decide which would give a more powerful impact. Do I select a song that is about a literal star, and I don't mean something childish such as twinkle twinkle little star, but about someone that is literally famous, achieving their every dream, and relishing in the fact that they have succeeded, or do I go the more metaphorical route where you really have to listen to the words to figure out what I'm saying and how it connects to me and the inner star in me that is shining?" she asked, not appearing phased from talking fast to say the sentence in one breath.
Puck smacked his hand against his forehead, which only warranted a hair flip from Rachel, as she turned to focus her full attention on Finn.
"Uh….uh…." Finn stammered, "Uh, well, you're pretty cool, Rachel, and whatever you pick will be great, but, uh…"
Rachel nodded, sitting up straight in her chair with a smile.
"So, um, yeah, I'd go with the second one you said."
"The song that metaphorically represents the star that I am?" Rachel clarified.
"Yeah, that one," Finn nodded, a smile on his face.
Rachel squealed, nodding, and leaned over and kissed Finn's cheek, "Thank you so much!"
….
Quinn sighed, leaning back against the pillows that were propping her up on her bed. She had her laptop on her lap. She had been searching online for nearly an hour for a song that best described her. "I don't even know what I'm looking for," she whispered to herself, closing her eyes in frustration. "I wish I could tie you up in my shoes…." she sang quietly to herself. She opened her eyes, rolling them slightly, "Can't use that one again."