SHELBY'S PLAN

(Rachel)

Madness took over William McKinley High after the Sectionals. Suddenly, Finn Hudson, the sweetest boy in school, broke up with me and went out on a date with my sister. Domestic crisis: my dads had to separate a fight at home. Jesse St. James, the Vocal Adrenaline's male leader, showed up out of the blue in my school. We started dating after a spectacular duet and, a few days later, he was transferred to the New Directions. Suddenly, Santana loses interest in Finn, I almost offer my virginity to Jesse, I lose my voice temporally, Finn returns to be gentle with me, and all of this was surrounded by dozens of other small nits.

Artie once said that William McKinley High was like a bad Twilight Zone's episode. I believe his theory is correct.

One day, because of the bad reputation week, I made a brilliant "Run Joey Run" video clip. Jewfro filmed and edited for a peck on his lips. I persuaded Sandy Ryerson and blackmailed Santana to join the project. Brittany came naturally. Despite not wanting to talk to my sister, I needed two attractive girls to be angels. Tina and Mercedes weren't my type, and I was sure Quinn would refuse. The final touch was the edition with the three boyfriends I've had: Finn, Jesse and Noah. I loved. That was a truth master piece. Too bad the boys hated and my relationship with Jesse ended there.

Jesse even made a final appearance in my place, like a farewell. We started talking about wishes and dreams, I revealed my greatest secret desire: meet my biological mother. By magic, a K7 appeared in the box with old stuffs my dads keep on the basement. I couldn't believe my mom left me a message, and a perfect one: she sang "I Dreamed a Dream". I couldn't stand the emotion.

"Hey Hobbit." Santana came into my room without my permission, as always. "I've just talked with…" She finally noticed me and saw I was wiping my tears. "Why are you crying? What happened?" Santana ran towards me. I was sitting in my bed, still thrilled to hear, for the first time, my mother's voice.

"Nothing bad happened."

"So?"

"Do you think about our mother?"

Santana sighed and sat on the edge of my bed. Among the issues we never argued, perhaps this was our biggest taboo. When I was little and asked about my mother, my dads repeated the story of searching for the perfect woman, the insemination, etc. This satisfied my sister, but I, from time to time, returned to the subject. I wanted to know more details: the color of her eyes, her hair, if she liked to sing, if she was a good person. My dads smiled and said I could see with my own eyes as soon as I am 18.

"Sometimes." Santana confessed and I was surprised by the revelation. "Although I'm more curious to know who she is. Not that I want her in my life."

"If you knew where she is at this moment, would you meet her?"

"I don't know. Anyway, 16 years are a long time in a person's life, especially in an adult. I think our mother already has a husband, other kids, and we are in past. Moreover, papa and daddy are more than enough. And when I need a woman's advise, I always can go to abuela's or call aunt Rosa, and bubbee..." She smiled. "But never aunt Maria because I could end getting stuck in a convent."

Abuela was our main female reference. Aunt Rosa was a cool lady, but she lives in Indianapolis, as so as bubbee lives in Cleveland. Aunt Maria always try to convert Santana and I to the Christianity and this is very annoying.

"Ray?" Santana caught my attention after I fly to the moon for a moment. "Why do you ask about our mother?"

"I think it's just another of those crises I have about it."

"Rachel..." She spoke in a low serious tone.

"Seriously, Santy. It's nothing."

Santana got up from my bed still unconvinced. I know I should have played the K7 to her, but she would tell to our dads and I don't want more problems. Or maybe I was just being selfish.

"I'll rest a little..." She turned before leaving my room. "But if you need something… call dads, not me. I will kill you if you disturb my nap."

…

The day began like any other: I got up at six in the morning to exercise, I took a quick shower and Santana fought me over the sink to brush her teeth and got ready for school. Anyway: routine. We have our breakfast. Daddy grumbled because papa was making bacon and eggs. That was an affront. Santana doesn't eat pork, daddy and I are vegetarian and I am vegan. The domestic war forces about the meal are usually divided, but when papa decided to fry some bacon, we all united against him.

"Damn papa, I wanted to eat eggs, but you messed up putting bacon" Santana complained.

"All meat is inappropriate for a truly healthy diet. Not to mention that animals are mistreated and slaughtered with refinement of cruelty." I tried to help.

"Tell that to the cavemen." My sister always arranged a way to disagree with me. Unbelievable!

"See, my suspected that you are a cave-woman is confirmed, Satan!"

"Girls!" Daddy spoke up. "Yes, your father was extremely rude to fry this piece of pressed pork, but that's no reason to argue."

"For so open-minded people, you border on intolerance." Papa pretended being deeply offended. "Bacon is tasty, I'm in the mood to eat it, so I will do it with or without your consent."

End of discussion and we have our breakfast almost in peace. So, we went to school, daddy to the community college and papa to the hospital. Santana practically threw me in the car because we were a little late to pick up Brittany. It was our new routine since we won the car. Whenever we stopped in front of the light blue corner house in Green Oak, Santana honked three times, I hopped into the back seat and tried to abstract myself from useless and vulgar conversation my sister have with our longest friend.

"If it's not too much to ask." I said at the school parking lot. "Could you be on time today? I have an appointment I can't miss."

"I am leaving when I have to leave, Frodo. If I am not on your time, then take a ride or a bus."

"The car is also mine."

"But I have the keys." Yes, Santana got all the power. "Now get the hell out of here."

I spent the entire first period alone because I wasn't willing to socialize with other Glee Clubbers. Before the lunch break, I received a call from my spy in Carmel. She informed me that Jesse had returned to V.A. Worse, recent orders suggested their choir would do Lady Gaga. I freaked out! All my personal dramas were forgotten for possibility of not winning the Regional's.

I dedicated the rest of my free time investigating the news, as a perfect journalist. I contact the store that placed the orders and asked about everything I could. Then, I ran to the choir room and found the clubbers discussing a silly matter about Tina's new costume... boring. I ignored the debate and shot news.

Kurt, Mercedes and I talked about setting up an emergency group to Carmel and spy the rehearsal. Unfortunately Kurt had a family meet, leaving the task to me and Mercedes. Quinn also joined us, but only because she was temporarily staying with Mercedes and needed a ride.

When we got to the auditorium, the coach Shelby Corcoran was mad by robotic way Vocal Adrenaline was performing. She stopped the rehearsal and began to teach how they should act on the stage: with excitement and organicity. She looked for the students in the audience and singed a song from "Funny Girl", my favorite musical.

My heart was pounding, my legs completely lost power for a few seconds and I think I started to sweat. My ears are fine trained after all those years studying singing. Not only I am able to identify any tone, but also I can recognize all kinds of timbres. I knew dozens of singers only by mumble. That voice was the same of the one recorded on the K7. That was the voice of my mother. I was sure Shelby Corcoran was my mother. So, I stood up, despite protests from Mercedes and Quinn, and went towards the stage. I was thrilled and totally out of me. After Shelby finished the last note, I approached.

"Ms. Corcoran... I'm Rachel Berry-Lopez... I'm your daughter."

Shelby Corcoran, my mother, immediately dismissed the choir. I asked Quinn and Mercedes to call Santana and say her to pick me up at Carmel as soon as possible. Knowing my sister, she would take, at least, half an hour to come get me if I call her, and Carmel was just five minute drive from our home. And when I said half hour, was the situation where Santana was humorous. Otherwise, she would say me to walk. On the other hand, if the girls call her and say it's an emergency, she would be worried and react faster. Maybe in 15 minutes? Anyway, I have some time to talk alone with my mother.

Seeing my dreams became reality, panic hit on me. I could barely look at Shelby Corcoran, so I sat in different row seat. She confessed that she asked Jesse to deliver the tape to me. Legally, she could only see me when I turned 18, unless I look for her before. Talking to my mother for the first time in my life was exciting. Even more when we realized small prints we shared. Genetics had finally made sense. Then, my mother asked:

"How do you feel?"

"Thirsty!" I turned and stared at her face for the first time since the beginning of our conversation. I found myself intrigued, waiting for an explanation. "When I was little and used to get sad, my dads bring me a glass of water. Cause so I couldn't tell if I was sad or just thirsty."

That's when she freaked out. I even proposed a dinner, but she said in a panic mode she would call later and started down the stairs, leaving me for the second time. Before she had a chance to actually leave, Santana came frowning.

"Rachel! What the hell?"

"Santana..." I said with tears in his eyes. "This is Shelby Corcoran, our mother."

My sister has always been unpredictable when it came to emotions. Or she reacted with passionate exaggeration, or she turned into a block of ice. The second option happened there.

"Ms. Corcoran." She crossed her arms. "Nice to meet you again."

"Santana." Shelby said in distance. "Still enjoying root beer?" I don't understand the question, and my sister didn't answer. Shelby was troubled for the second time. "You two will excuse me, but I really need to go."

Once my mother left, Santana ran to me and hugged me. We stayed there a few minutes until I could compose myself. Ironically, Santana saw a jug of water over the table. She took a cup, filled and brought it to me. I cried further.

When we arrived at home, I climbed straight to my room while Santana explained what had happened to daddy (papa was in the hospital). He tried to talk with me, but I didn't want to. I didn't want a glass of water or anything else. All the times I dream with my mother, all the times I imagined her hugging me and saying everything will be ok. I was such a fool. Daddy helped me better by leaving me alone. But, shortly after, Santana got in my room with a salad sandwich and a glass of orange juice.

"You need to eat something, Ray. Malnutrition can kill."

"How can you be like that?"

"Like what?"

"You just find out who our mother is and looks like nothing had happened?"

"I wasn't looking for her." She put the meal on the nightstand and sat on the bed with her back against the headboard. "Like I told you before: I've never really missed her. Now, all I know is that the woman who sold her eggs and rented her belly so that we could be born, is the coach of our main adversary. But what does that change? By the way Ms. Corcoran ran, probably nothing."

"She decided to look for me when she saw us at the Sectionals. She said I was extraordinary." Then something hit me. "Why did she ask you about root beer?"

"That day, at Sectionals, Britt, Matt, Mike and I were celebrating. I was chosen to buy some root beers, but the bartender was difficult. Ms. Corcoran was around and helped me." Her gazed away. "Now I see that scene from another angle. I may be paranoid, but when I introduced myself, she seemed to be well aware of who I was."

"You spoke first with our mother?"

"By accident, but yes. What I don't understand is why she pitched all this bullshit just to run away? She planted Jesse on our school for what?"

"She only asked Jesse to hand me the tape."

"What tape?"

That's when I had to show it to Santana. She was not impressed.

"Do you really believe on this crap? That this tape was on our old memory boxes all this time? You are too naïve, Rachel. What a trap she made, and you fell like a dumb duck."

"Why does she had a panic attack?" I theorized, ignoring Santana's last rampage. "Or maybe you scared her."

"Are you serious?" Santana could enforce her point in a nutshell.

"I don't know." I took up my hands to my head. "I'm as confused as you."

"This woman should never ever showed up" - Santana hissed angrily.

"I thought you didn't care."

"Of course I care!" She frowned. "She had no right to mess up with our lives. Who does she think she is to fuck with our minds?"

"Don't you think she's as confused as we are?"

"Eat your sandwich, ok?" Santana got up from my bed and left my room without answering my question.

The moment I went downstairs into the kitchen, I noticed my dads arguing in the library. I approached sneaky and realized they were talking to Mr. Thompson, the family's lawyer. Daddy, ever so moderate, was the angriest, while papa, always stern and strict, seemed a conciliator. Daddy talk about sue Shelby. Papa wanted to talk to her first.

I ran to the kitchen to prevent them to catch me. I left the cup in the sink when papa came up and turned on the light. I straightened the body and forced a smile.

"Estrellita" Papi opened the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. "How much did you listened?" He said in a way that I couldn't denying or making excuses.

"Por favor, don't sue her. She held my dream even thought the meeting wasn't perfect."

"I agree." Papi drank some and smiled. "Ahora usted sabe que se parece a su madre." Everytime papa is nervous or really happy, he speaks more in Spanish them English.

"Really?"

"Siempre estuve seguro, estrellita."

"Did you like her?"

"Éramos amigos durante el embarazo. Ella era una chica enérgica, llena de sueños".

"¿Es serio?"

"Si, claro." Papi looked away, even cracked a slight smile. "She was talented as you are if I remember well."

"I think she and daddy talked about music all day."

"In the beginning, yes." Papa's smile faded and he looked thoughtful.

"Papi? What's up?"

"It's time to you sleep, estrellita. Usted tuvo un día ocupado."

I didn't question him. Papa clearly wanted to be alone. I didn't know the past my dads had with Shelby, but I began to suspect that the story about an adorable gay couple who hired a beautiful young woman to be the mother of their children had a bug: a huge one.

…

Author notes:

This chapter hasn't been reviewed yet. But it will soon by my beta.

If you are wondering, the story is still follow Glee season 1 events. But it will start to change very soon. If you read the Portuguese version, then you know!

Still, who read the original version may start to note some differences, like the final dialogue of this chapter.

Happy new year!

Music of the chapter: "Concrete Jungle" – Céu (cover).