New Directions: Underdogs Once Again
"Welcome"
Will energetically walked into the choir room. He made his way to the whiteboard and wrote down the word "welcome" in big, capital letters. He turned to the class and gave them a big smile.
"Hey, guys, last night I got the perfect idea for recruiting more members!" Will announced to the seven kids sitting in front of him. Natalia quirked an eyebrow, giving him a serious look. She recognized the tone of voice he was using. It was Natalia's fourth year of being in the Glee club. The excitement in his voice and the over-zealous gleam in his eyes were always two mixes in a recipe for disaster when it came to Mr. Schuester. She knew this was going nowhere except for being thrown into a dumpster extremely quick.
"Mr. Schue, it better not be some group number outside about how fun singing is. That's just going to get joke names on the audition sign-up list," Dennis said.
"Well, it does include a group number. Don't fret, guys! This is the key to getting more members. If you couldn't already notice, the theme this week is 'Welcome'," Will explained. Natalia let out an exaggerated groan. I knew Curly-Q was going to plan something stupid like this. Life was fun while it lasted, Natalia thought to herself.
"And what exactly do you want us to do with the word 'welcome'?" Antonio awkwardly asked.
"Sing a song with 'Welcome' in the title! Nothing will make new members want to sign up more than knowing how welcome they are here!" Will answered. Shantel and Glen exchanged annoyed looks before looking back at Mr. Schue.
"That's stupid. They should already KNOW they're welcome here. Are you sure you just don't have a tear fetish?" Glen asked, completely serious.
"You all must not have any faith in me as a teacher if you think I'm going to make you look stupid. Look, just listen to my plan and tell me how dumb you think it is after. You're all going to go outside during lunch and sing a song. What do you all think?"
"That's slightly better, I suppose. However, if the song is some lame nursery rhyme or something, we're going to get killed," Dennis complained.
"Dennis, I don't think 'Welcome to the Jungle' is a nursery rhyme," Will argued, a slightly cocky grin on his face. Everyone's faces lit up when they heard him say the song title.
"Now, that's what I'm talkin' about!" Antonio happily said. Will started passing the sheet music out to everyone.
"Let's start rehearsing right away, then!"
You know, if I ever thought I'd be standing in front of the whole school outside in early September heat, wearing a heavy leather jacket and skin tight leather pants, I would have considered myself having more than paranoia, Antonio thought. I know my friend in Akron told me that he has fun working in Vocal Adrenaline despite the rigorous schedule which I've heard so much about (and I know it is pretty much illegal since the coach just about kills his students from the work), but I think even he'd think this is over the top.
"Mimi, it's way too hot out to be dressed like this," Antonio complained.
"Take that up with Mr. Schue. He chose these gaudy outfits," she retorted.
"He's not out here! I was okay with doing Guns n Roses before he decided to dress us all up like Axl Rose. I think I might pass out from this tight head band," he muttered, adjusting the bandana tied around his forehead, "What Mr. Schue doesn't know won't hurt him"
"Dude, relax. It's ten times better than being out here in nothing but a G-string, right?" Glen asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"All that would accomplish is the expulsion of us, and the eternal mental damnation of the witnesses," Natalia commented. They looked below where Alexandra was bringing the boombox. She looked up at them and waved. It was the single for everyone to get into position. Antonio rolled his eyes, leaning against the railing on the stone steps. Alexandra turned the boombox on and quickly ran up the steps to join everyone else.
The music began to play. Mr. Schue had originally told them to be rocking out on air guitars here, but it was a unanimous decision to skip that step in the choreography. Antonio begrudgingly put a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and sat on the railing. He wasn't particularly happy about being denied his shutter-shades, but arguing with a teacher was as useless as tits on a boar pig in his opinion. Antonio started to slide down the rail as he began singing.
"Welcome to the jungle; we've got fun n' games! We got everything you want. Honey, we know the names. We are the people that can find whatever you may need. If you got the money, honey, we got your disease. In the jungle...welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring you to your knees, knees! I wanna watch you bleed," Antonio sang out. He went to the nearest table and sat down, lying back slightly. Mimi strutted over to the railing Antonio had just slid down from. She took a seat, embracing herself.
"Welcome to the jungle; it gets worse here everyday! Ya learn ta live like an animal. In the jungle where we play. If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually. You can have anything you want, but you better not take it from me! In the jungle...welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring you to your knees, knees!" quickly, Mimi slid down the railing, singing, "I wanna watch you bleed!"
Mimi took a place next to Antonio. The two of them bumped fists before turning to look at everyone else standing at the top of the stairs. Glen put on a pair of sunglasses and began running down the stairs. He made his way over to the first girl he could find in the commons and got behind her.
"You know where you are?" he asked, moving to face her, "You're in the jungle, baby! You're gonna die!"
Everyone else ran down the concrete stairs, joining in finally.
"Oh! In the jungle! Welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring you to your knees, knees! In the jungle...welcome to the jungle! Feel my, my, my serpentine! In the jungle...welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring you to your knees, knees! In the jungle...welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring you to your...It' gonna bring you down-HA!" Everyone sang out. By the end of the song, they had all found their ways to the same table. Natalia glanced around. There was no applause or anyone begging to sign up.
"Dammit, Schuester, I knew no one would care," she muttered.
"Mr. Schue, your plan didn't work," Shantel informed, walking into the choir room. Everyone else came in after her and quickly took their seats.
"That's okay! I have another plan," Mr Schue announced.
"If it's another group performance outside, I'm going to revolt," Natalia warned.
"It's not necessarily a group performance. I asked Coach Beiste and Coach Sylvester for help. I'm sending a group to go try to convince members of the football team to join and another to convince some Cheerios. Now, there is seven of you, but I'm sure you can manage one group of four and one group of three," he explained.
"I'm not doing it. You can't force me. I said no group performances, and this counts as one. I'm revolting. Now the issue with the groups being even is solved," Natalia stated, standing up and storming out of the room. Mr. Schuester looked in the direction she went, a bit concerned. He knew Natalia, though. I better not get involved. She'll get over it, he thought.
"Anyway, here's what you're all doing. Antonio, Mimi, and Alexandra will perform 'Welcome to my Nightmare' by Alice Cooper for the football players. Shantel, Glen, and Dennis will perform 'Welcome to the Occupation' by REM. I suggest you all start rehearsing. We want to blow them away," Mr. Schuester ordered.
Schuester really wants to see us all get ripped apart. No one athletic will be interested in joining. I feel sorry for the others. They will probably end up with patriotic wedgies. I don't care how cold this sounds, but it's better those morons than me. They're in for a real suicide mission, Natalia angrily ranted in her head. She walked to her locker and began entering her combination. A few feet away, she heard a couple of girls yakking.
"Ohmigosh...did you hear? Even that paranoid kid joined the Glee club. They must really be looking for losers," one said. The other snorted.
"You mean that Antonio kid? Oh, don't make me laugh. You know he actually has some paranoid disorder? Like a really real one? I also hear he's Jewish, which makes absolutely no sense. Jews are supposed to be smart, right?"
"They are. He's, like, retarded, though. Isn't that what anyone with a mental problem is? Retarded? I bet the Jew churches have banned him for it".
Natalia slammed her locker shut and stomped over to the gossiping snobs. As Natalia passed, she shoved them into the lockers they were standing beside. Natalia couldn't help but smile as she heard their whines of pain. She almost made it through the rest of the hall before a hand grabbed her shoulder and forcefully spun her around.
"Hello, Snot One and Snot Two. What can I do for you today?" Natalia calmly asked, looking right at the two girls that triggered her anger more than Mr. Schuester had in a long time.
"What was that?!"
"What was what?" Natalia asked, smiling innocently.
"You pushed us, you bitch!"
"So I did. Consider this a warning. The next time you start ragging on someone you don't even know when I'm around I will do a lot more to you than push you against some lockers. Since you're both stick figures, and I actually have muscle mass because I happen to find meat more appetizing than a leaf of lettuce, you should feel threatened," Natalia explained, quickly walking away.
That was extremely satisfying. Wait...CRAP! Does this mean Antonio really does have clinical paranoia? If it does, I walked all over him when I told him the government would be after him if he didn't audition for New Directions. Shit, I'm terrible! Ugh! I better apologize. I owe it to him.
"Okay, you babies, listen up!" Sue yelled into her megaphone, "I'm sure you're all aware that the Glee club has reached an all time low. Schuester asked me to allow you all to watch. It's probably going to be terrible, but if I don't see at least two of you sign up, I'm making you all do the fire routine one at a time, by yourselves."
Shantel twitched slightly. I really hope this convinces a lot of them. I don't like the fire routine. I'd rather try my luck in a piranha tank. Shantel walked in front of Glen and Dennis. She nervously looked at her fellow Cheerios and their intimidating glares. She swallowed her pride.
"Hey guys! My brother, friend, and I have put together this great number! It will blow you all away, I promise! So, without further ado, here's 'Welcome to the Occupation' by REM!" Shantel happily announced. Dennis pressed play on the boombox they dragged over. They turned their backs to face the crowd as the music started. Dennis was the first to turn back around.
"Throwing your collar up inside. Hang your dollar on me. Listen to the water still; Listen to the causeway. You are mad and educated. Primitive and wild. Welcome to the occupation," he sang. Glen turned around, getting closer to him, singing the next part.
"Here we stand and here we fight. All your fallen heroes. Held and dyed and skinned alive. Listen to the Congress fire. Offering the educated, primitive and loyal. Welcome to the occupation." Shantel turned around and stood on the other side of Dennis.
"Hang your collar up inside. Hang your freedom higher. Listen to the buyer still. Listen to the Congress. Where we propagate confusion, primitive and wild. Fire on the hemisphere below," she sang. They all started running to random cheerios and communicating with them, singing the next part together.
"Sugar cane and coffee cup. Copper, steel and cattle. An annotated history. The forest for the fire. Where we open up the floodgates, freedom reigns supreme. Fire on the hemisphere below."
"Listen to me!" Dennis sang.
"Listen to me!" Glen sang.
"Listen to me!" Shantel sang.
"Listen to me!" they all sang together. The song ended. They looked around at the Cheerios. Most of them looked unimpressed and half-asleep. Glen rolled his eyes. Those bitches didn't even pay attention. I seriously want to light some matches and attack them for being so rude! We were amazing! ...or at least I was. But that's all that matters! He thought.
Sue took some sign-up sheets to the front of the locker room. She hung it up and turned to face everyone. A glare formed on her face. Slowly, she raised a hand and pointed to three people: One was an Asian girl with black hair and brown eyes. Another was a petite girl with light brown hair and brown eyes. The third was slightly older than them and don a head of dark brown hair and blue eyes.
"Lei. Stella. Amber. Get over here," Sue ordered. The three quickly made their ways over to their overbearing coach. Sue pulled the Asian girl and the petite one aside, leaving the older one to wonder.
"Lei, Stella, you two are signing up for New Directions. I don't care if you're not interested, I refuse to be affiliated with a Glee club that's completely packed of brain-dead weirdos. Here's a pen; start signing," Sue ordered, handing them a pen. She then walked over to Amber. She folded her arms, and gave Amber a smile.
"Coach Sylvester, I hope you don't mind, but I was thinking about not joining the Glee club. It looks fun, but I want to dedicate time to school and the Cheerios," Amber explained, smiling sheepishly.
"Oh, you won't have to worry about that. You're cut," Sue said, patting Amber's back. Amber's eyes widened and she cocked an eyebrow.
"Excuse me? Cut? But I'm the head cheerleader! You can't just kick me off the squad!"
"Oh, yes I can. It's the Cheerios. You either die, or I kick you out. You see, I heard those nasty rumors about you. Stella told me"
"Rumors?" Amber was getting a bit worried now. She wasn't aware of any rumors that had been spread about her. The fact that Stella was involved made Amber extremely suspicious, though.
"Yes, rumors. I don't need a cheerleader that opens her legs to any boy that walks by. You betrayed me, Amber. I expect to have all Cheerio equipment from you back on my desk in the morning. Stella will be replacing you. She actually has the class and responsibility to keep her legs shut"
"Stella?! But she's a freshman! Not only that, but she's the sluttiest person in this school!" Amber complained.
"Don't tell lies about Stella. It's only making you look worse. Now get out of my sight. I'm highly allergic to the smell of high school hussies," Sue commanded, pushing her away. Amber hesitated a bit, looking down. She took the ponytail holder out of her hair, letting it fall. She slowly walked away in a depressed haze. As she left, she could have sworn she heard Stella yell at her to not let the door hit her ass on the way out.
"Shane, you're joining Glee club with me!" Stella yelled, slamming his locker shut. Shane just looked at her with emotionless blue eyes and started putting entering the combination again.
"Shane! I don't wanna join alone!" she whined, slapping his hand away from the locker.
"Whatever," Shane muttered. He walked away.
"You better join! Make sure to bring a friend!" Stella demanded. Shane didn't respond. Instead, he went straight toward his friend, Roderick. Shane crossed his arms and leaned up against the locker next to Roderick and sighed.
"I'm auditioning for the Glee club, apparently," Shane apathetically informed. Roderick stifled a laugh.
"Really, bro? Are you going to blow the audition?" he asked. Shane nodded.
"It's no different from everything else Stella tries to make me join. She told me to bring someone with me. You're auditioning, Roderick"
"It could be worse. I'll do it for you, bro. I've got nothing better to do today," Roderick agreed.
Antonio, Mimi, and Alexandra found themselves in a stuffy locker room full of a bunch of football players. They all felt uncomfortable. The air was humid with what was probably sweat, and it was extremely warm.
"Guys, these three are here from the Glee club. Mr. Schuester asked me to let them sing you all a song. Unless you want to run laps all afternoon, I suggest you all act maturely. Sign up sheets are located around the locker room," Coach Beiste announced. Groans were heard all throughout the room. Antonio cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"I realize it's probably extremely hard for all of you jocks to pay attention to something artsy for more than thirty seconds. However, I'm sure you can find it somewhere in your brains to pay attention and not start throwing socks at us. Now then. We are performing 'Welcome to my Nightmare' by Alice Cooper. Prepare to have your minds blown," Antonio explained. He pressed a button on the boombox, and the three of them heard the music begin. They closed their eyes and put their heads down. Alexandra jerked her head up, eyes wide open.
"Welcome to my nightmare, I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong," Alexandra sang, walking toward the crowd slowly.
"A nocturnal vacation, unnecessary sedation, you want to feel at home 'cause you belong," Mimi sang, repeating the same moves as Alexandra did.
"Welcome to my nightmare," they both sang. Antonio rapidly perked his head up, eyes wide. He looked around from side to side, smiling manically.
"Welcome to my breakdown. I hope I didn't scare you. That's just the way we are when we come down. We sweat and laugh and scream here. Cause life is just a dream here. You know inside you feel right at home, here. Welcome to my breakdown...welcome to my nightmare," he sang. The three stood in a circle, holding hands. They spotted themselves to keep from being dizzy and began spinning.
"Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it! I think you're gonna feel you belong! We sweat and laugh and scream here! Cause life is just a dream here! You know inside you feel right at home, here!" they sang out in unison. They unhooked hands and let the laws of physics stop carry them until they stopped.
"Welcome to my breakdown!" Mimi and Alexandra sang.
"Welcome to my nightmare!" Antonio finished. The music ended. Antonio's eyes scanned the room, looking for any sign of feedback. Suddenly, a boy with messy black hair and blue eyes stood, clapping.
"That was so cool! I wanna join! It looks like a lot of fun!" he yelled. Antonio smiled.
"That's great! I'm glad you enjoyed our amazing performance and actually have the guts to say it, unlike your neanderthal friends," Antonio replied.
"Atta boy, Tate! I'm proud," Beiste said.
"Anyone else? Please?" Mimi asked. The room was just silent for a few seconds as Tate signed his name on one of the sheets. A chorus of laughter and "yeah right's" erupted from the room. Alexandra, horrified, quickly ran out of the locker room. Mimi and Antonio exchanged glances before calmly leaving with their dignity still in tact.
Antonio stopped by his locker. He turned his head to look at the clock. School's about over now. I better be getting home, seeing as how Glee rehearsal is canceled for the auditions. I better hightail it out of here. Antonio grabbed his homework, shut the locker, and turned around. He was about to grab his shutter-shades on until he noticed he was surrounded by five of the football players from earlier. He sighed.
"Hello boys, what can I do for you today?" Antonio asked.
"You know what we want, choir queer!" one of them yelled. Antonio smiled and put his hands up.
"Actually, I'm bi-sexual, not gay. But I do love performing, so you got the choir part right," Antonio corrected.
"Cut the attitude! We can do this the easy way or the hard way," another threatened. Antonio rolled his eyes and grinned.
"I'm in a hurry to get home, so I'll choose the hard way," Antonio said, bolting off. He heard the jocks yelling at him and knew they were definitely chasing him. He didn't particularly enjoy running from them, but he figured running would mean getting home just that much faster. The sooner he got home, the sooner he could get on MSN and talk to his friend. The door was only inches away from Antonio. He turned his heads to the jocks chasing him down.
"Hey, guys, catch ya later!" Antonio yelled back at them as he burst through the door. He was stopped right in his tracks when he crashed into someone. There were more football players waiting for him outside. He stepped back, smiling at them. He raised his hands as they walked over. They picked him up and carried him to the dumpster.
"I sure hope garbage is kosher, choir queer!" one of them yelled as they threw Antonio in. He felt like he should have felt bad, but a visit to the dumpster has been a daily thing since halfway through his freshman year. The jocks would station near his locker until he came, and either escort him to he dumpster or just carry him. Antonio had tried several times to run, but never succeeded.
"Antonio, do you have a second?"
Antonio sat right up. He crawled to the front of the dumpster and cautiously sat up. He looked out to see Natalia smiling sheepishly at him. He smiled back, deciding it would be best to climb out. He approached her afterward and crossed his arms.
"I would have never guessed you're Jewish," Natalia commented. Antonio chuckled.
"Is it because my nose isn't inanely large?" he asked.
"That and your name isn't very Jewish. It's quite Spanish sounding, but not Jewish"
"That's because my great grandfather was a Spaniard that married a Jew. He agreed to let her raise her family in the Jewish faith, which carried over the generations to my family. However, I don't think you came to talk about my religion, so cut to the chase," Antonio demanded. Natalia sighed, giving him a guilty look.
"I wanted to apologize. I'm the one who told you that the government would come after you and your family if you didn't join the New Directions. I didn't realize at the time that you actually have paranoia," Natalia said.
"It's okay. My therapist explained to me that you were probably lying. I'm glad you came clean, though. It takes a lot of courage to admit what you did was wrong"
"So you forgive me that easily?"
"I don't see why not. I might not trust you for a while, but I still forgive you. Are you okay with that?"
"That's actually a lot better than I expected," Natalia cheerfully said, "And to make up for it, I will make sure to torment anyone that gives you a hard time. Deal?"
"Deal"
Songs:
"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n Roses - New Directions ( watch?v=kr8-E8may2Y)
"Welcome to the Occupation" by REM - Shantel, Glen, and Dennis ( watch?v=g7tdQEgpi94)
"Welcome to my Nightmare" by Alice Cooper - Antonio, Mimi, Alexandra ( watch?v=iQE0pfBAYQ8)
Only three songs this time. I swear there were more, but I just couldn't fit them in without it being awkward. Next episode is going to be exciting, though! It's a Space theme and we get to see a a bit more of Alexandra's rocker side during a certain song from Europe :) So be sure to tune in on September 6 for the next chapter to see what happens!
Also, I'd appreciate some feedback to see if there's anything I should improve. It would mean a lot. ^^
So...until next time!