Kurt woke up, ate and then went to his lessons. He learned even more today and could get used to going for only two hours a day unlike high school were it felt like a prison and he was forced to stay for six hours, five days a week. The one thing that stuck with him from todays lessons was what Beiste explained to him. Tangella doesn't have celebrities. They have highly respected people that everyone looks up to but they don't bash them for being humans and have paparazzi follow them where ever they go. The type of people everyone looks up to are teachers, doctors, scientists, anyone that does good and helps people. Those are the people that are respected, they even get paid the most. Not athletes or actors, the people that really matter have the highest salaries.
He already learned so much than he had in a week in high school. He was getting along great with everyone, his dad seemed to be very happy. Everything was going perfectly…
Except he had to meet potential dates today. Kurt has never dated before, he doesn't know how to date, he doesn't know the specifics entailing a date. Is he suppose to compliment that person? Is he the one that holds the door open for his date. He isn't actually going out on a date to say, a dinner and movie, but he is going to a ball where hundreds of people will be there and he is a face of their Prince.
He stood in front of his full body mirror and fixed his outfit. He chose to wear the color green today and had an elaborate setup of his ensemble. He was adjusting his scarf to make it look like he had just placed it there when someone came through the door.
"Hey Kurt, ready?" Blaine said looking at him through the mirror.
Kurt's hands were fidgety and he was pressing down his shirt trying to get rid of the wrinkles.
"Yeah, almost," Kurt answered.
"Don't worry, you like fine. You don't need the title of Prince to have people attracted to you," Blaine said without thinking it through first.
"What?" Kurt asked. Was Blaine trying to say he was attractive?
"Uh, nothing," Now Blaine was the one fidgeting. He had his head down and he was shuffling his feet. "It's just that you are attractive, so you don't have anything to worry about," he said shyly.
"Oh… thank you." No one has ever said that to Kurt. He didn't even know that would be a thought that crossed anyones mind.
Blaine shook his head and pulled his shoulders back straight. "Okay, let's go, they are waiting." Blaine looked as if he was hiding something. Kurt could tell something was off about him.
Blaine led them to a room with couches and a lady sitting down with a clipboard. One of these days Kurt was going to find out what every room was for. There were so many and not one of them was used for a different occasion, they each had there own purposes.
"Kurt, this is Betsy, she is in charge of the candidates. She is also the coordinator for the ball." Carole stood up and walked right over to Kurt and gave him a hug. "Kurt, I am so glad to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you through Coral." She pulled back and looked at his outfit. "She was right, you do have good taste in fashion. I help out with Carole, her main stylist, and I am also her hair dresser. We must meet up sometime, I have so much to show you."
"Hi, oh, good to meet you too. I love your outfit too!" Kurt said happily. Blaine stood back and watched them talk animatedly about fashion. He looked like he didn't mind that he was out of the loop and he also looked like he didn't mind looking at Kurt from afar because he didn't take his eyes off him.
"Okay, okay," Betsy said. "We can finish this talk later, we have boys waiting for us!" she sounded like a teenager talking to her girlfriends. Kurt wasn't has excited as she was, in fact he wasn't excited at all, he was dreading this, but he put on a fake smile nonetheless. Betsy didn't seem to notice because she clapped her hands and started talking about the first person.
"Our first one is name Rex T and he is a body builder!" Ew, Kurt didn't like buff men.
They are going to come in and introduce themselves then say a little bit about themselves, you can ask questions if you want.
Kurt and Betsy were sitting together on the couch and Blaine was in the arm chair to the side and there was an empty arm chair across from them. Betsy gave Blaine and Kurt a clipboard. Blaine was Kurt's advisor so he guessed Blaine was going to advise him on which person he should choose. Betsy pushed a button and a loud buzzer rang and in walked the first person.
He was buff. His arms were so big he had to hold them out away from his body when he walked. He had a buzz cut and was wearing a shirt with the sleeves cut off.
The sleeves cut off, really?
He sat down in the empty seat eyeing Kurt.
"Hi, I am Rex T," he smiled. His voice was deep, very deep in contrast with Kurt's voice.
"I am nineteen, enjoy watching nascar and lifting weights-" he tried to flex his arm without trying to make a big deal about it and impress Kurt but it didn't work. Kurt thought he heard a snort come from Blaine's direction but it could have been a cough. "-In my spare time a like to bungee jump and study nuclear engineering. I plan on being a nuclear engineer when I am older."
"Wow," Betsy said excitedly. "That sounds very interesting. Do you have any questions for Rex T Kurt?" she said looking at Kurt wagging her eyebrows.
Kurt wanted to shout 'next!' but that probably would have been rude.
"Uh, no."
"I have a question," Betsy said mysteriously. "How much can you bench press?"
Kurt had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"300 ma'am," he said proudly.
"Oh my!" Betsy exclaimed.
"I hate to interrupt but we have limited time and many people, thank you for your time we will let you know," Blaine said professionally.
"Not a problem," Rex T said. He said thank you and winked at Kurt right before he left.
"Do we even need to bring out the other candidates?" Betsy asked fanning herself with the clipboard.
"Yes," Blaine said in a clipped tone. He did not seem to be too happy about all of this.
Kurt sighed and slumped into the couch, he hoped this wasn't how it was going to be all day long.
"Let's bring in the next one!" She pushed the buzzer.
Next was a taller and more slender boy. His hair was bleach blond and Kurt would have thought he looked nice if it wasn't for his eyebrows. They were thick and black and completely did not match his blond hair. It just looked off, not natural.
"Hello I am Jaques Bravo I am eighteen and I would like to be your date to the ball," he said once he sat down. "Here are three reason why you should pick me-" he held out his index finger. "One, I can skateboard." He held out two fingers, "two, I can move my ears." He even moved his ears to prove it. "and three," he held out three fingers and waved them back and forth, "I can say the alphabet backwards." He nodded his head in approval. "I know. It's a real crowd pleaser. So any questions or should I just accept my invitation now?" he laughed to himself.
Kurt had a disbelieving look on his face. He just stared at Jaques wondering if he was serious or just kidding around.
"I got a question," Blaine pipped up. "How much can you bench press 'cause the guy before you can do 300."
Well, that shut Jaques Bravo up. Kurt was fighting back a laugh but a giggle escaped.
Jacques wasn't expecting that and he was stuttering with what to say.
"W-Well… I haven't really benched pressed so I wouldn't know."
"Thank you, those all seem like good reasons," Betsy said. "That is all, we will let you know," she said smiling.
Jaques Bravo left and right when he was out of sight Kurt burst into laughter. Blaine couldn't help but join in with Kurt contagious laughter.
"I'm sorry, but was he serious?" Kurt said as he wiped a tear that fell from laughing so hard.
"What so funny?" Betsy asked clearly not in on the joke.
"The alphabet backwards?" Blaine said through snickers.
"His face was priceless when you asked about the bench press," Kurt said to Blaine.
"I know, I was trying so hard not to laugh."
Kurt and Blaine calmed down from laughing and got caught each other in the eyes and they looked at each other fondly from there bonding moment.
Betsy coughed and their gaze broke and Blaine remembered what they where doing in the room and he went back to his grim self.
The buzzer was rung.
In came a male with long brown hair past his shoulders. It was so long that when the man wobbled in the hair swung back and forth. The man was not obese, he just had a wobble when he walked. But he did have acne, and tons of it, face and neck. Kurt didn't want to think where else it might be.
The man sat down with slumped shoulders and back with his hair pooling over his shoulders.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all, especially you Kurt. My name is Jarman Walken." He smiled and sat there looking back and forth to each person.
"Hi, Jarman Walken, would you like to tell us about yourself," Betsy said.
He perked up, "oh right, of course. Sooo… I draw skeletons. I am really good. Sometimes I draw them dancing, sometimes they are just standing. Oh, and I play electric guitar. I am in a band called 'I draw Skeletons.'"
"How old are you?" Kurt asked. He looked way to old for a teenager.
"Nineteen, but my mom says I am very mature for my age."
"What kind of music does your band play?" Blaine asked.
"Metal. I write all the songs. I could sing one for you if you like."
"No th-"
"Yes, we would love that," Blaine said smiling very oddly.
Jarman Walken stood up and pushed the seat back.
He started screaming words that Kurt couldn't understand. He put his hand in the devils horn symbol and bashed his hand in the air while moving his head vigorously and shaking his hair around.
It was actually pretty funny and Blaine seemed to get into it because he was pumping his fist in the air and moving in his seat.
Jarman finished singing and went back to his slouched position and pushed his hair from his face.
"That was just a sample," Jarman Walken said. "But there is more where that came from.
"That was awesome, man!" Blaine shouted.
"Thanks dude," he nodded at Blaine.
"Well… that was certainly interesting," Betsy said. "We will let you know, thank you."
"Thank you, it was nice to meet you," Jarman Walken said.
He left the room and Kurt turned to Blaine. "I didn't know you like metal."
"Eh, it's alright," he shrugged. "He was so into it and I wanted to encourage him. It was pretty fun."
"You looked like you were having fun."
Kurt turned to Betsy. "May I ask where you got all these charming candidates from?"
"They are the sons of some of the most respected people in Tangella. Jarman Walken is actually a third cousin of Christopher Walken.
"Oh." They could of fooled Kurt.
Betsy was looking at her clipboard, "we have two more left."
Thank goodness.
Next came in a gangly boy. Dark, unkept hair with black rimmed glasses that lay crooked on his face. He was wearing a black shirt with a picture of Darth Vader on it saying, 'Who's Your Daddy?'.
He sat down with his back against the chair and his arms on the armrests. Kurt thought he looked kind of cute in a geeky way but he was definitely not attracted to him.
"Hello, I am Strider."
"Hi, Strider. Do you have a last name?" Kurt asked.
"It's Der. My first name is Stri but I combined them to one name, Strider."
"Ok." How much weirder can these boys get, Kurt asked himself.
"Tell us about yourself," Betsy said kindly.
"I am eighteen, I play video games and go on the computer a lot. In my spare time I LARP and collect bugs."
"What is LARP?" Kurt said.
"It is live action role-playing. A bunch of people get together and dress up as characters and act like them. It is pretty fun."
"Oh… interesting," he said slowly.
"How big is your bug collection?" Blaine asked.
This got Strider very excited because he leaned forward and started talking with his hands.
"It is pretty big, I collect all different types of species. I have a pretty impressive collection of beetles."
"What about snakes?" Blaine said.
"Oh no," he shook his head. "I hate snakes. They are icky."
"Snakes are icky," Blaine repeated. "Kurt, do you think snakes are icky?"
"Uh, they're okay. I don't mind them," Kurt said shrugging.
"Hmm," Blaine said as if he was curious about something.
"Thank you, Strider, that will be all," Kurt said politely.
"You're welcome," he said as he got up and left.
"Blaine?" Kurt asked
"Yep?"
"Everything okay?" Blaine was completely different. He was asking strange questions and it seemed he was even egging on or encouraging the boys. That or making fun of them in his own way.
He didn't look at Kurt and his tone was clipped, "yeah, everything is perfect."
Kurt hoped he didn't do something to make Blaine mad.
One more left.
Betsy rang the buzzer and in walks a dashing young man. Tanned skin, tone body, not too tall, not too short, dressed immaculately.
He grins showing off his perfect white and straight teeth. "Hello I'm Viper Benz but you can just call me Viper," and he winked. Right at Kurt. Kurt felt his cheeks burn and he cast his gaze downward. The boy was easy on the eyes.
He heard Betsy giggle like a school girl.
"So Viper, how old are you?" Betsy asked blinking her eyelashes in a flirty way.
"I will be turning eighteen next week."
"Ohhh, you have a birthday coming up how wonderful."
He flashed his white teeth again. "Yes, and nothing would be a better gift to me than to escort one marvelous, and might I say handsome, Kurt Hummel to the ball."
Viper was a charmer and a good charmer at that. Kurt wasn't used to being flirted with. It felt uncomfortable, Viper kept trying to eye-sex him.
"Well, we will see what we can do. So tell us about yourself," Betsy said.
"Let's see… where to begin. Well when I am not volunteering at the orphanage and playing with little kids less fortunate I like to visit the nursery homes and spend time with the elderly people. They get so lonely sometimes and it is a shame because they are so wise."
Blaine made a noise that sounded like a snort then he covered it up with a cough.
Viper made Kurt feel uncomfortable, like he was trying to hard, maybe even seeming fake but he was the best from the five. And that wasn't saying much. He talked some more about his love for helping people and the feeling he got from it and how he felt like a better person but honestly, Kurt couldn't really care less.
Some minutes later he stopped talking and left. They were done with the interviewing. Now the hardest part was next, picking a date and then going to the ball with them.
"So many good choices to choose from," Betsy said.
"Oh yeah," he said sarcastically. "How will I b able to choose."
"If you ask me," she moved her hand to her mouth as people do when they gossip, "Rex T is one hunk of a man."
"Eh," Kurt said fidgeting in his seat. "Not really my type."
"So what is your type?"
Kurt wanted to shout BLAINE! and only Blaine! But he didn't.
"Regular guys… you know… not buff or anything."
"I see, toned with a nice ass. I like how you think."
Kurt didn't know what to say to that, so he changed the subject.
"When will I have to choose by?"
"Well I'd have to be before the ball." Obviously. "Which is next week, so soon."
"A decision by tomorrow would be good," Blaine said. "You have to have a few dates with him before so can get to know him better."
"Oh… ok. I can make a decision by tomorrow." He got up. "I think I am going to go study now. Thank you for setting this up, Betsy." He turned to Blaine who was slumped in his chair picking at his cuticles. "I'll see you at dinner?" Blaine looked up at him and his eyes were filled with sadness.
"I think I am just going to eat in my room. Mr. Shue gave me an extra assignment I am behind on."
"Oh, ok." He said feeling dejected. "I guess I will see you around then."
"Oh honey! Take my notes and look over them. I wrote some rather good ones down for you," Betsy said waving papers in the air.
Kurt took the notes, thanked her and walked out feeling glum.
Studying helped take his mind off of the choice. He already had an idea of who he was picking but that didn't mean he still wanted to go through with it. He hoped he wouldn't have to be with this person after the ball also.
Kurt lay on his back listening to Blaine's music player and petting Tulip absentmindedly. The sweet melody and the smooth and soothing voice of the singer filled his mind. He was able to calm his brain and forget about everything for a few minutes.
That is until he heard a loud buzzing.
He pulled out his headphones and looked around. What was that coming from? It wasn't too loud but it was loud enough to hear with headphones in. It didn't have a continuous beat either. It was as if someone was pushing a button in random patterns. He saw a red light appear whenever the sound was made on his intercom by the door. He walked over to it and saw all the buttons that were labeled with names and rooms. The button of stylist was blinking. He pushed the button down and spoke. "Hello?"
"Kurt! It's Betsy." Oh great. He hoped she didn't want to talk about boys. "Carole, the stylist is designing Coral's dress now and was wondering if you would like to help her out."
"Sure, that sounds great." He really did want to see how to design clothes. "Excellent! Our room is on the fourth floor, second door on the right."
"Okay, I will be there soon."
Kurt walked to the room to find it filled with fabric, mannequins, sewing machines, and sketch tables. He was in heaven.
He saw a lady near a mannequin and was pinning fabric to it. "Carole?"
She turned and smiled. "You must be Kurt!" Carole had short brown hair and was about the age of his father. "Hello," Kurt said.
Kurt saw a magazine opened and noticed right away it was the newest issue of Vogue. "I love this month's issue," Kurt said pointing at vogue.
"Oh me too. I am using some styles from it for Corals dress."
Carole explained to Kurt how the design of the dress was going to go and he decided to help her out by cutting fabric and even giving suggestions. They got a long great and he liked Carole much better than Betsy.
He stayed in the room which was filled with everything he could possibly need to go about putting together his outfits until it was time for dinner. People usually ate breakfast and lunch when they pleased but dinner was when everyone ate together.
He said goodbye to Carole promising her he would be back and went to the dinning hall. He ran into Brittany on the way.
"Hi Kurt. We should play Twister together sometime."
"Brittany are you sure you are ready to loose again?"
"Yes, I don't mind loosing, only if it's to you."
"Okay then. I would love to play Twister with you again but not tonight."
"Great. And can you make Blaine happy again?"
"What do you mean?"
"I went into his room today to change his sheets and I found him screaming in his pillow. I asked him if he was okay but he just said 'I'm fine' and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. He wasn't happy before you were here and then you got here and he was happy. Can you make him happy again?"
"Uh… I'll try my best Brittany."
"Okay," and she walked off and sat next to Santana.
Why was Blaine screaming? Kurt really hoped Blaine was okay. He had been acting strange the past couple of days.
He sat in his usual seat and Mercedes came in and sat in Blaine's seat.
They all started eating once everyone arrived. Mercedes asked Kurt if he knew what he was going to wear to the ball.
"I don't know yet. Would you like to help me?"
"Yes, and you could help me?"
"Of course."
Kurt told Mercedes about his time with Carole today and she wanted to go the next time he went to see her. Kurt said he would love that and Carole wouldn't mind either.
After dinner Kurt went to see Blaine in his room but he wasn't there. He checked the music room but that was also empty. So he went back to his room and buzzed Betsy on the intercom and told her who he'd chose as his date to the ball. She was thrilled and said she was going to set up a date with him tomorrow, right away.