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Sylvester's School For Girls
Chapter Nine
Things were still a little bit awkward between Santana and Rachel; they hadn't spent any time alone together outside of school since that night at the movies. Santana hated the fact that she and Rachel had been distant for the past few weeks. That's why she waited for Rachel to finish her meeting with Sue and then asked her to accompany her to the coffee shop.
They are sitting at a table in the corner of the small coffee shop. Rachel had paid for their coffees, telling Santana that she owed her after she had paid for the refreshments the first time they went to the movie theatre.
They are sticking to light topics, both of them unsure on where their friendship stood, but Santana wanted to change that, she is just about to say something to Rachel but a figure approaches their table and interrupts them.
"Rachel, hi."
"Hello Jesse" Rachel greets.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Jesse asks, gesturing to the empty seat next to Rachel.
"Of course not. Santana and I were just having an idle chit chat. How are you?"
"I'm very well, all the better for seeing your face of course."
As much as Santana hated the fact that this guy had encroached on her time with Rachel she had to admit that line was pretty smooth.
"Where are my manners? Santana this is Jesse St. James, Jesse this is Santana Lopez. Santana is my roommate at school and Jesse attends Westbrook Academy which is the boy's school at the other side of the town."
"It's nice to meet you Santana" Jesse smiles.
"Likewise" Santana replies through gritted teeth.
"So Rachel I heard you got the lead soloist at the end of year ceremony. Congratulations."
"Thank you. Although I couldn't have done it without your help Jesse."
"Nonsense, you had the talent all along. All I had to do was guide you in a few places, but other than that it was all you" Jesse says.
"Listen to him Rachel, you're the reason you got that solo not anyone else."
"Credit where credit's due Santana."
"I know I'm probably too late and that someone has probably already asked you but would you go to the prom with me next week?" Jesses asks Rachel.
"Actually nobody has asked me so I would love to accompany you to prom."
"I'm surprised a beautiful girl like you doesn't have a date, but I guess that's lucky for me. I have to go, but I'll meet you at the main doors at seven on Saturday."
"That sounds perfect Jesse."
"Bye Rachel" Jesse says as he vacates the seat he's sitting in.
Santana watches him as he exits the coffee shop, glad that he was gone so she could spend her planned alone time with Rachel.
"So does everyone find a date for prom?" Santana asks.
"Not usually, if people know each from the two schools then they might go together. I went with Kurt last year."
Kurt. Jesse. Santana wonders how many other guys are vying for Rachel's affection.
"Most of the time people just mingle during the prom and they get to know each other that way" Rachel explains.
"So how do you know Jesse?" Santana asks.
"There's a quaint little music store just around the corner, he and I both reached for the same set of sheet music. It was the only copy left and he chivalrously let me have it. We came here for coffee and ended up talking for hours about the marvel that is, musical theatre."
"Sounds like the start of one of those bad romantic movies you always force me watch."
"I don't force you to watch them; I think you secretly like them. I bet you're a closet romantic" Rachel teases.
"Well I've had no problem getting girls in the past."
"Charming a girl into bed isn't the same as being romantic" Rachel points out.
"So why do you think I'm secretly romantic?"
"I've just noticed little things you do, for example, opening the door for me. You even pulled my chair out for me before we sat down."
"That's not because I'm romantic, that's because you're too short to reach the door handle."
"Now you're deflecting because you know that I'm right. It's not a bad thing Santana, girls love romance."
"Are you giving me dating advice?" Santana asks.
"No, that's not my place besides I'm hardly the person to give dating advice."
"Why not?"
"I've never dated anyone."
"I get that. I've never dated anyone either" Santana admits.
"You've never dated anyone because you didn't want commitment. I've never dated anyone because no one has asked me. You were actually the first person to ask me to see a movie with them."
"If it's any consolation I really enjoy spending time with you. You may have annoyed me when we first met but you grew on me. You're smart, funny, talented and you're beautiful."
"See I told you, you were romantic" Rachel smiles.
The awkwardness from the past few days seems to make another appearance. Santana isn't sure if it's because she told Rachel she was beautiful or if it was the fact that Rachel finds her romantic.
"You know if you got over your fear of commitment, then you would make some girl really happy."
"I don't have a fear of commitment. I just haven't found a girl good enough yet, I have very high standards."
"I doubt that, I saw you checking out Melanie Slater the other week and she's the most promiscuous girl in school."
"Yet she won't sleep with me" Santana laughs.
Rachel joins in with the laughter and in an instant they start to get back to their friendly banter.
Santana was glad really because she had missed Rachel's company and she hoped that the other girl had missed her too. She didn't want to go back to how they had been for the last week or so and having the awkward tension between then being easily resolved showed her that they were back to being themselves again.
A week later found Santana sat on her bed texting Puck. He was trying to convince her to have a welcome home party. It was strange to think that now she considers her bedroom in this school more of a home than her bedroom in Lima.
"Hey Santana, are you ready yet?" Brittany asks entering her bedroom.
"Ready for what?"
"For prom, silly."
"I'm not going to prom" Santana says.
"Why not?"
"It's a lame, stupid tradition and I know that I won't enjoy myself so I'd rather not subject myself to that."
"Who cares if it's lame? It's just a time for us at the end of the year to have a big party and have fun."
"It's a prom Britt not a party, I have thrown plenty of parties to know what a good one is. They usually end with me being drunk and in bed with some random girl."
"That's why you're in here though right? You need to find ways of having fun that don't end with you being in a police cell. Just come to prom and have fun with your friends. We'll all be there, me, Quinn, Mercedes, Tina and Rachel" Brittany says emphasizing Rachel's name.
"Why did you say "and Rachel" like that?"
"Like what?" Brittany asks innocently.
"Like there was a hidden meaning behind it."
"I didn't say it any differently; it's not my fault if your sub consciousness interprets my words differently."
"Have you been reading the dictionary again Britt?" Santana asks.
"Yeah, I find it a lot easy to follow than other books."
Santana has no idea how that makes sense, but she decides not to push the subject any further.
"So will you please come to prom?" Brittany begs.
"Fine I'll go."
At least if she goes she can keep an eye on Rachel and Jesse, which is something she would never admit to Brittany.
"Do you have a dress?" Brittany asks.
"No, I didn't pack any dresses. I didn't know that I would need one."
"It's okay you can borrow one of mine."
Brittany leads Santana into her room and sits her down on her bed.
"I think I have two dresses that will work on you" Brittany says pulling out two dresses out of her wardrobe.
Santana chooses the red dress Brittany offers her and half an hour later she's ready for prom.
"So are you ready to have some fun?" Brittany asks.
"I have been stuck in this place for months of course I'm ready to have fun."
Santana and Brittany make their way into the common room and are greeted by the sight of Tina and Mercedes waiting in their dresses.
"Wow Santana, I've never seen you so dressed up. You look good girl" Mercedes says.
"Thanks, you're not looking too bad yourself. You look good to Tina."
"Did you just give me a compliment?" Tina asks.
"Who are you and what have you done with Santana?" Mercedes jokes.
"Ha, ha very funny."
"Okay I'm ready. I hope there are some good looking guys from Westbrook" Quinn says as she enters the room.
"I heard that they have chaperones, so there might be a nice teacher there for you" Mercedes teases.
"I didn't sleep with Mr. Hume" Quinn snaps.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" Tina says.
"If this is how the night is going to go, then I'm not nearly as drunk as I need to be" Quinn sighs.
"Can we just get this night over with?" Santana says.
"Are you not looking forward to tonight either?" Quinn asks Santana quietly.
"Nope. If you don't want to go either, then why are you?"
"Brittany asked me and for some reason you just can't say no to that girl. By the look on your face, I'm assuming she convinced you to come too" Quinn says.
"I wonder what her secret is?"
"I don't know but I would love to because she convinces me to go every year. Don't worry; you'll have a good time. Britt will make sure of it."
The prom was being held in the grand hall. Santana had only been inside the hall on a few occasions, but with the way it was decorated, it was unrecognizable.
"Who knew that Sue Sylvester could throw a good prom?" Santana says.
"She doesn't, but she knows a good party planner" Mercedes replies.
"So it's like this every year?"
"It differs, but it's always a quality affair" Tina replies.
"Hey look, there are Rachel and Jesse" Brittany says, pointing at the couple on the dance floor.
"I can't believe that Berry is the only one of us to get a date" Mercedes says.
"I know; it's depressing" Quinn adds.
"I don't know why you're all complaining, there are plenty of boys here."
"You're right Brittany and there is a tall guy with blonde hair smiling at me. I'll see you girls later" Quinn says.
"Mercedes!" a voice calls.
"Kurt!" Mercedes yells pulling the boy into a hug.
If this is the Kurt that Rachel went to prom with last year, then at least he's once less person Santana has to worry about vying for Rachel's attention. The moment he walked over to Mercedes, Santana's gaydar went off the scale.
"It's great to see you all again, I missed hanging out with my girls."
"Kurt this is Santana, she's the new addition to the dorm" Mercedes says.
"I'm not new anymore, but it's nice to meet you Ladyface."
"You too, I think" Kurt says rather unsure about the girl standing before him.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to her eventually" Mercedes assures Kurt.
"I love this song. I'm going to dance" Brittany exclaims.
"I'm going to get some punch. Does anyone want any?" Tina asks.
Kurt and Santana both decline the offer of slightly warmed punch.
"I'll come with you" Mercedes replies.
Tina and Mercedes head over to the refreshments table leaving Santana alone with Kurt.
"So I see Mr. and Mrs. Broadway are having a good time" Kurt says referring to Rachel and Jesse who were laughing as they danced.
"So you go to school with Jesse?" Santana asks.
"Yes I do."
"So what's he like, he a good guy?"
"He's okay, he's like the male version of Rachel will a little less soul. Why are you interested in Jesse?" Kurt asks.
"Rachel's my friend and I don't want her to get hurt."
"You're not the only one. I'm glad she has a friend like you Santana. I know the other girls tolerate her, but you seem to genuinely care."
"I do. So how long have you known Rachel?" Santana asks.
"I met her about two years ago. The local theatre was holding auditions for The Sound Of Music and we met there. We were both auditioning for the roles of the Von Trapp children, I was going for the role of Friedrich since I was too old to play my namesake and Rachel was auditioning for Liesl. We decided to run lines with each other and became friends. We both got the parts and have been close ever since."
"So what do you know about her before she arrived at Sylvester's School For Girl's?"
"I know that she lived in Miami with her fathers; Hiram and Leroy. She's always loved musical theatre and I don't really know much else."
"What about her old school?"
"She's never talked about it, I don't even know what school she attended" Kurt explains.
Santana had never really noticed before, but now that Kurt had mentioned it, Rachel had never really talked about her life before she arrived at Sylvester's School For Girls. It was a bit strange that she hadn't talked about her past before; the girls in their dorm knew almost everything about Santana within a week of arriving so for them to not know anything about Rachel after two years was slightly suspicious.
"Hey San, want to dance with me?" Brittany asks.
"Sure Britt" Santana replies following Brittany over to the makeshift dance floor.
"Britt how much do you know about Rachel's life before she moved here?"
"Not much she never talks about it."
"Why do you think that is?" Santana asks.
"Isn't it obvious? She doesn't want people to know."
"So she's hiding something?" Santana questions.
"Isn't everyone? it's a shame we leave a paper trail behind. I'm going to get some punch."
"Britt, wait!" Santana calls, but either Brittany doesn't hear her or she's ignoring her, either way Santana loses her in the crowd of people.
Santana tries to process the words Brittany had just said; usually most of the things Brittany says don't make sense. However, something about the way she said this particular sentence make Santana think Brittany was trying to tell her something.
It's a shame we leave a paper trail behind. What the hell does that mean? What paper trail would link Rachel to her past?
It only takes Santana a few more seconds before she realizes what Brittany was hinting at; Rachel's school records. Santana could find out what school Rachel used to attend and then carry on her investigation from there.
Santana was beginning to get a little excited. It had been a while since she had partaken in a break in, although there was one problem regarding where the records where held. It would be a difficult task, but tonight Santana was going to break into Sue Sylvester's office.
The first part of Santana's plan was to change out of her dress. She knew that nobody at the prom would miss her. They probably won't even notice that she's gone, either that or they would just assumed she got bored and left.
She makes it back to the dorm and into her room as fast as she can. She quickly slips out of Brittany's dress and hangs it up neatly on it's hanger before grabbing a pair of black jeans and a plain black t-shirt out of her closet.
It was the perfect time for her to break into the principal's office. Sue had been adamant about chaperoning the prom personally to make sure that no untoward behavior took place in her school. That meant that her office was empty, even Becky had been given the night off to attend the prom.
Once Santana is dressed she goes over to her small set of drawers. She opens the top drawer and there nestled in the corner next to a small bottle of vodka was her trusty lock pick.
It's easy for Santana to make it to Sue's office undetected since the hallways are completely deserted thanks to the prom. It only takes a few seconds for her to get the office door unlocked with her lock pick; it actually wasn't her first time breaking into a principal's office.
The filing cabinets that hold the personal records are in the corner of the office behinds Sue's desk. Santana remembers from her first day when Sue brought out her own personal record, which reminds her, maybe she can find her confiscated alcohol and playboys while she's here too.
The lock on the filing cabinet is easily opened by Santana's lock pick and it doesn't take long for her to find Rachel's file. She closes the drawer of the filing cabinet and takes a seat in Sue's chair, resting her legs on the desk in front of her.
Rachel was having a wonderful time at prom. Jesse had been a gentleman all night and she was having a lot of fun with him. She was also having a lot of fun with the girls from her dorm as well as Kurt and his boyfriend Blaine. Quinn had spent most of the night dancing with a boy from Westbrook, but Mercedes and Tina had spent most of the night with her.
However, there was one person missing. Rachel had seen Santana dancing with Brittany earlier so she knew that the other girl was here, but she hadn't seen her for the past hour or so.
She had missed the time she had spent with Santana even though she was the one who had chosen to keep a distance. She was hoping that after they had spent that morning in the coffee shop things would start to get back to normal with the two of them, but they had just stayed the same.
Rachel was also hoping that this prom would give them the chance to repair their friendship even more. It was a casual event that involved lots of other people so she thought it would be an ideal opportunity for them to spend time together, but that was impossible if Rachel couldn't find the other girl.
Rachel knew that Santana wasn't fully enthralled about the idea of going to prom and she's certain that the only way Santana was here was because of Brittany. It was a well known fact that Brittany can get anyone to do anything even if they didn't want to.
She thinks that Santana must have escaped the prom when everyone else was preoccupied. It's the only theory she's got so she heads back to the dorm room.
When she opens the bedroom door she finds Santana sat on her bed.
"Santana there you are."
"So Miss Rachel Barbara Berry, guess what I did tonight" Santana smirks.
"I'm really not in the mood for any of your games Santana."
"I went and had me a snoop of the personal records and I was very interested when I came across yours."
"You can't do that!" Rachel yells.
"I can and I did. You know your file was a very surprising read."
"That was a long time ago. I'm not that person anymore." Rachel explains.
"I knew you couldn't be that perfect. Now, you need to tell me the real reason you're in this school."