It is the day where we have to perform the songs we choose to sing to express our inner most desires. Everyone is sitting down, anxious, excited, prepared. I merely sit there, as I watch Brittany whisper in Santana's ear and listen to them both laugh. My face fume and my heart sink as Santana leans in and gives Brittany a kiss on her lips, grazing against them. I try to look elsewhere but my eyes manage to find their way back to Santana and Brittany. Mr. Schue walks in the classroom, an over-golly grin on his face. "Well," he begins all eager and pleased, "Is everyone ready to perform?" The club exclaims out a yes. I shook my head, faking a smile. "Alright, so who wants to go first?" Finn and Rachel both shot their hand into the air. I stand out of my seat and look around the room.
"Mr. Schue, if I want to go first." I demanded, attempting to keep all my bottled up emotions inside me.
"Well, ok. Quinn will go first." Mr. Schue goes to sit down as I walk down to the front of the classroom. I hand the music sheet to the band, noticing that Santana and Brittany are cuddle up together. My heart races and I stand in the middle of the room with everyone's eyes glued to me. I nod to the band, they begin to play. I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a brief second as I start on the first verse.
"Someone once told me, that you have to choose. What you win or lose, you can't have everything. Don't you take chances, you might feel the pain. Don't you love in vain, cause love won't set you free," my voice begins to crack as my emotion edges it way onto the lyrics, "I could stand on the side and watch this life pass me by, so unhappy. But safe as could be." I pause, along with the band, gathering up every ounce of emotion I had in me. I glance down at the ground and can still see Santana watching me, a small smile on her face.
"So what if it hurts me? So what if I break down? So what if this world just throws me off the edge my feet run out of ground?" I belt out, my voice quivering, "I gotta find my place, I wanna hear my sound. Don't care about all the pain in front of me cause I'm just trying to be happy, yes, just wanna be happy, happy."
I let my voice tremble out some more and rush into the second verse, this time full of passion, love, anger, and sorrow. "Holding on, tightly. Just can't let it go, just playing my role, slowly disappear. All these days, I feel like they are all the same; just different faces, different names. Get me outta here!" I pack more punch into my singing as I carry on the song, "I can't stand by the side and watch life pass me by, pass me by."
"So what if it hurts me? So what if I break down? So what if this world just throws me off the edge, my feet run out of ground? I gotta find my place, I wanna hear my sound. Don't care about all the pain in front of me, cause I'm just trying to be happy. Don't care about all the pain in front of me, I just want to be happy, happy. Yes, happy." I finish the song and see Mr. Schue standing up and clapping. The others follow his direction as they all clap as well. I stand there soaking it all in, looking at Santana; she claps but with no added force or excitement, just clapping for a fellow team member.
"Well done Quinn, anyone else want to go next?" Mr. Schue asks as I make my way back to my seat.
Blaine goes second, follow by Kurt, Rachel, Mercedes, Puck, Finn, Mike [who did more of dance number rather than singing a song], then Brittany.
"Alright, great job Brittany," Mr. Schue says as Brittany skips to her seat, and into Santana's lap. "Well, we don't have much more time today, so we can only take one more person today and the rest will have to go tomorrow. So who wants to go next?"
Without any hestitation Santana stands up and walks to the front handing her sheet music over to the band. "I will be going next," Santana voices. Mr. Schue nods his head and goes over to sit down in his seat.
"Alright," Santana starts, "This song will tell everyone about how well I will be doing in the future. Because after the year I had, with Finn outing me. Thanks for that Finn, and my family kicking me out of the house and being forced to live with Rachel and her two musical-addicted dads. I just want to let everyone know that I am doing good, so good actually." She snaps her fingers and the band starts to play the music. Santana gets into it without any delay and bobs to the beat and sways to the music.
Santana begins to sing, "Hey how are you doing? I'm doing mighty fine. Last time I seen ya, it's been a long time. Stop smiling at me, get that look off your face. Don't even front, stop being so fake. I know you don't like me, you made it so clear, always taking bout me from what I hear. Always put me down when you thought that you could, I just want you to know that I'm doing so good." Santana howls out, adding sassiness and attitude to the song as she dances around.
I become mesmerize by the way she moves her body and hums out melodies. Her hair flies around her face, her eyes sparkles, her hips sashaying to the beat. I stare at her in awe, struggling to keep myself from becoming enclosed into her performance and forgetting that everyone else is there. Before I know it, I lose focus on what everyone else is doing and place all of my attention on Santana. She continues to sing and I start to hum along with her.
"Wasn't it you that said, I thought that I was all that and you said that I didn't have a clue? Wasn't it you that said that I wouldn't make it through?" Santana sings, enticing the crowd with her performance, "And wasn't it that said that I didn't look too good? That I wouldn't do too good? That I wouldn't make it out the hood? Well, I want you to know that I'm doing so good. So good so good, so good. I know you hate it but I'm so good, so good, so good. It's hard to face it but I'm so good, so good, so good."
"This is for the haters that said I wouldn't make it. Now I'm doing platinum, now you can't take it. For all the people round me that have been negative, look at me and see how I live. I stay down with my people, all the ones who've been there. Didn't get caught up, how does that make you feel? All the things I'm doing that you thought I never could. I just want you to know, I'm doing so good. So good, so good, so good. Yes I'm doing so good, so good, so good. I'm doing so so so so so good. I said I'm doing so so so so so so good. I made it out the hood. I want you to know I'm doing so good. So good." Santana wallows in the last notes and finishes the song. She heads to her seat, pretending to ignore all the cheers and applause she is getting. She goes over to Brittany who gives her a hug and sits down next to her.
Mr. Schue stands up and walks to the front of the class. "Alright, we will have to continue tomorrow. Where Tina, Artie, Rory, Samuel, Lauren, and Sugar will go. See you kids tomorrow." I run down from my seat and head over to Santana. "Santana," I yelled after her. She and Brittany stop in their tracks and turn around and look at me. "You were great, today." I say to her trying to keep myself from smiling.
"Is that all you wanted to say," Santana says, her eyes blank, her face unmoved. I nod my head yes. "Well, thank you." Santana says before walking off with Brittany's arm around her waist.