BY VERY DEFINITION
10. Survival Skills
Parker was in the basement, stretching in front of the mirror. Rhonda had gotten her a dark gray leotard, white tights, and black dance pants with a black dance sweater. She had put on the tights, leotard, and pants, she tied her hair up in a high ponytail that hung down to her shoulders. Rhonda had also gotten her ballet slippers, jazz shoes, and tap shoes. That day when Parker got home from school Rhonda had instructed her to dress for her first dance lesson, wearing her jazz shoes. Rhonda came down the stairs in a black leotard and black dance pants, she was also wearing jazz shoes.
"Are you ready to start?" Rhonda asked, Parker turned around and looked at her foster-mother, giving her an affirming nod. Rhonda moved over to the CD player on the small table, putting in a CD and pressing PLAY. "Okay Parker, first I'm going to have to see what you've got. Show me what you can do." She crossed her arms and watched as Parker faced the mirror nervously. She didn't know how to dance...at all. She actually wasn't sure that she'd even danced before she was dragged up in front of the Glee Club the other day. So she did the routine they had showed her (excluding the ending spin), after she went through the very few steps she ended with Jazz hands. Rhonda burst out laughing.
"I told you I didn't know how to dance!" Parker defended herself with a smile. Rhonda pressed STOP on the CD player.
"It's okay." She assured the girl, walking forward to stand next to her. "You're so stiff, that's expected since it's your first day. But you'll have to remember to relax when you dance. It's like you're piano-playing or your singing, it's all about how you feel and flow with the music. Let's start with your balance." She prodded Parker to stand on one foot. She knelt behind her foster-daughter and held her other leg up as high as possible. Parker's arms flew out to balance herself and she wiggled on her lone foot. She wasn't very flexible and Rhonda was stretching her leg up so her hoot was level with her lower back.
"This is one of those things I get better at, right?" Parker asked.
"Yes." Rhonda laughed, "You'll get better but it's also fundamental, you'll learn it and then you'll use it every single time you dance."
"That's good to know." Parker said, no use learning something that isn't practical. Not that she'd call singing or dancing or performing practical...normally. Rhonda didn't turn on the CD player again for the rest of the lesson. She corrected Parker's feet, she fixed her positions, she didn't dance a beat. "Could you show me a little dance? I've got good rhythm, if you could just tell me what to do."
"Simple." Rhonda repeated. She stood next to Parker, "Here, step ball change, step ball change, lunge, lunge, ChaCha, turn." She demonstrated a little and Parker followed her lead, managing not to fall down. "Good, just practice that for a minute. Maybe it would help if you sang, you'll keep time better." Rhonda picked out a new CD and placed it in the player pressing PLAY. Parker continued to dance like Rhonda had told her to and sang along with the instrumental.
"Give me somebody to dance for,
Give me somebody to show.
Let me wake up in the morning to find
I have somewhere exciting to go.
To have something that I can believe in.
To have something to be.
Use me... Choose me.
God, I'm a singer,
A singer sings!
Give me somebody to sing with.
Give me a place to fit in.
Help me return to the world of the living
By showing me how to begin.
Play the music.
Give me the chance to come through.
All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror,
And the chance to sing for you.
Give me a job and you instantly get me involved.
If you give me a job,
Then the rest of the crap will get solved.
Put me to work,
You would think that by now I'm allowed.
I'll do you proud.
Throw me a rope to grab on to.
Help me to prove that I'm strong.
Give me the chance to look forward to sayin':
Hey. listen, they're playing my song.
Play me the music.
Give me the chance to come through.
All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror,
And the chance to sing...
Play me the music,
Play me the music,
Play me the music.
Give me the chance to come through.
All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror,
And the chance to sing..."
"See, you're doing better already." Rhonda complimented, "You're staying steady. I guess we've found your secret, singing really does help you dance." Parker blushed and shuffled her feet. The older woman walked over again and nudged Parker's feet into second position.
Parker waited with Mercedes as Kurt took his books out of his locker and checked his hair in the magnetic mirror he kept on the door.
"It looks fine." Mercedes insisted impatiently. Kurt glared at her, making Parker giggle. Kurt turned his glare to her.
"Proper hair care is hardly a laughing matter." He said, so seriously that Parker couldn't cut her giggle off and Mercedes cracked a grin.
"We still on for tonight?" Mercedes asked. Kurt nodded and turned back to the mirror.
"Of course, I feel like I haven't been anywhere in forever." Parker said.
"There is absolutely nothing that is appropriate to wear to a movie theater." Kurt complained, "Sitting in the dark for three hours doesn't give my fashion sense too many compliments."
"Do you want to go somewhere else so you can get more compliments?" Parker asked, Mercedes raised her eyebrows at him.
"Really, Kurt?" Mercedes asked.
"Well, we could always just get some other people and go to Breadsticks." Parker suggested for Kurt could answer.
"Fine." Mercedes huffed and Kurt nodded.
"Quinn could come." He said, "Tina and Artie, too."
"If Quinn comes Puck might want to come." Parker warned. The other two exchanged glances. "You can have some time to think about it." Parker offered, turning around to leave for class but stopping in her tracks. Mercedes and Kurt looked up and froze, their eyes on the slushie one of the top hockey players held in front of the newer girl.
"We hear you've joined the ranks of the damned." He said with a smirk.
"Yeah, I've heard that too." Parker answered calmly. Behind her, her two friends moved closer together, even edging up behind her to see better.
"Leave her alone, has-been." Mercedes said moodily. The Jock ignored her.
"I don't know what things were like in that hick town you came from, but here we have a bit of a tradition to make new losers feel more welcome." He said. Parker stayed calmly, eying the slushie cup in his hands. It was blue, and would stain her skin for the rest of the day, not to mention what it'd do to her clothes.
"With that thing?" She gestured toward the cup. The Hockey Player nodded, "Don't you think that's a little risky?" Parker smiled over-sweetly. Kurt cringed backwards, Parker's lack of fear made him more nervous than the slushie, Parker was mysterious, no one knew what she might do.
"Risky? Don't be stupid." The jock insisted, then he moved his arm up, ready to splash the slushie on the small girl. Though when he bent his wrist to tip out the cup's contents another, smaller hand appeared and knocked the cup back towards him, the blue slushie flying right into his face. He stumbled, unable to see due to the corn starch in his eyes. Everyone in the hall turned to look as the jock tried to flee the scene but Parker innocently stuck her foot out. He didn't fall down but it did bring him to his knees. He swiped the frozen drink from his eyes and when he was finally able to see again he saw the tiny Glee girl squatting in front of him, her eyes on his and her position relaxed.
"Don't do it again." Parker said simply, "I don't know why you think it's impossible for someone like me to get back at you, hopefully I just proved you wrong. I'm watching you. And you don't want to get in a fight with me." She leaned closer and spoke in a whisper, "I cheat." His face red with embarrassment the jock stood and ran through the hall, trying to find somewhere to dry off before the entire school saw him. Parker stood and tiptoed around the puddle of blue mush to go stand in front of Kurt and Mercedes again, both of whom were watching her with wide eyes. "What?" She asked, unable to keep from smiling with pride.
"Giiirrll..." Mercedes said in awe, "That was...you just took that guy out with some mad ninja skills!"
"Not ninja skills." Parker disagreed with a shrug, "Just...survival skills." Kurt took out his phone as Mercedes continued to gawk.
"I can't wait to tell everyone!" The black girl enthused.
"I'm on twitter as we speak." Kurt assured her.
"Please don't make a big deal about this." Parker begged, feeling awkward.
"Not make a big deal?" Kurt asked in disbelief, "Parker, we've been at the bottom of the food chain since the invention of showtunes. And now you, a small, shy, defenseless new kid just humiliated one of the head hanchos of the meatheads? It is a big deal." The bell rang and Parker looked up at it then back at the other two desperately, even if she could stop them there were other witnesses who were sure to talk, no way avoiding it now.
"And then Parker smacked the Slushie right out of his hand and into the loser's face!" Mercedes told the Glee club triumphantly. They all oohed and aahed and looked periodically from the storyteller to the embarrassed subject in the front row. Parker ducked her head a little, refusing to look at anyone as Mercedes bragged about the day's encounter. "Next thing we know BAM! that sucker's on the ground and Parker is leaning in front of him, dead calm and scary brilliant." No one knew exactly what Parker had said when she confronted her attacker, and for that she could only be grateful. But it left a big hole in the story that Parker was constantly asked to fill with her own account, and she always refused.
"What happened then?" Artie prompted eagerly.
"He took off as though he'd wet hisself." Mercedes laughed, "Just scurried right on outta there and left Parker just standing there like the winner of a duel."
"Did you really do all that?" Artie asked, this time directing his question at Parker who nodded with meeting his eyes. The Glee club errupted into they're own hushed conversations, looking at each other excitedly.
"Could you teach me to do that?" Quinn asked, bringing attention back to the main conversation.
"Me too." Rachel added quickly.
"Maybe you could just have a class to teach..." Artie suggested.
"So Parker took the guy on, big deal." Puck grumbled, "I could have got him too, it just wouldn't have been as subtle."
"And his buddies would have showed up before you were through with him." Kurt pointed out. Puck crossed his arms and glared at the better-dressed boy. Mr. Schuester had been sitting on the piano bench, he then moved forward and clapped Mercedes on the shoulder as a silent cue to sit down. When he had the floor he turned to Parker.
"Parker, the guest of honor." He made a little bow, drawing chuckles from the surrounding teenagers, "Would you take the stage?" With a sigh and without a choice, the redhead stood and walked to the front of the room, turning to face the others.
"Speech!" Mercedes called out in a hoot of laughter.
"Yeah, speech!" Finn repeated, smiling as he leaned forward in interest. Parker shuffled her feet nervously, she wasn't good at impromptu, it made her uncomfortable when the spotlight was on her and she didn't know what to do.
"I..." She cleared her throat, "I don't really know what to say. I'm glad that you all liked it, and I'm happy to teach every last on of you. No, it's not exactly self-defense. Well... it is but I learned it by myself, I just call it survival skills and I've got a million of them." Her audience laughed and Parker drew her self up, feeling a little more confident, "So, that's all. I'd ask you all to just be cool about this but I know that isn't gonna happen so enjoy your rambunctious celebration. For lack of anything else to say...maybe a song would explain it." She turned to the band to signal then to start, she caught herself and quickly turned back to the club, shooting a quick glance at Kurt and Mercedes before widening her gaze to the others. "Also, Kurt, Mercedes and I are meeting at breadsticks tonight at five-thirty. It's an open invitation if anyone else would like to join us, and we hope you all will." Parker added hastily before turning back to the band and telling them to go. The music started and everyone quieted down and settled in, watching her with their undivided attention.
"Trippin out
Spinning around
I'm underground
I fell down
Yeah I fell down
I'm freaking out, where am I now?
Upside down and I can't stop it now
Can't stop me now, oh oh
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, I won't cry
I found myself in Wonderland
Get back on my feet, again
Is this real?
Is this pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, I won't cry
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, and I won't cry"
"The Music and The Mirror" From Chorus line with a few little tweaks by me. And "Alice (Underground)" By Avril Lavigne.
Funfact: I had this part originally planned for like chapter 3, the survival skills. But then I got distracted and forgot so here it is! I think it's probably better off here anyway, oh well.
Don't forget to REVEW!