Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter. This was one of my favorite Season 3 episodes, mostly because of the body swap dream. I really wish there'd been a way to incorporate it in here! Enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 67: Props
"Finn, what do you think I should put for my essay question for SUNY?" Rachel asked. She and Finn were working on applications to practically every New York area college still accepting applications in hopes of getting in... somewhere.
Rachel looked over at Finn. She could tell he was getting a little tired. They'd spent most of the evening working on college applications, and it was getting late. "Rach, you already wrote an essay. Just tweak it a little."
"I just want to get in somewhere," Rachel sighed.
"You will," Finn said.
"Are you sure?" Rachel said.
"Yes," Finn said. "And I don't think you should give up on NYADA."
"I am planning to reapply next year," Rachel said.
"Not next year," Finn said. "See if you can get a do over on your audition."
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Finn said. "There's even some songs you could do." He reached into his bag and handed a sheet of music to Rachel. "Try this out."
Rachel looked at the song and began to sing.
Rachel: When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?
Well, I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up
I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end
You're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up
"Well?" Finn asked.
"That's a great song, I love that song," Rachel began.
"Yeah, and it's perfect for right now," Finn said. "Don't give up on this." He handed Rachel his phone. "Call the NYADA dean you auditioned."
"Right now?" Rachel asked.
"Right now," Finn said.
Rachel figured Finn might have a point. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of Carmen Tibideaux's office. "Hi Miss Tibideux. I don't know if you remember me. This is Rachel Berry. I auditioned for NYADA last week and I made a mistake. I just wanted to let you know, that's not what I'm really like. When I'm at my best... I think I'm pretty exceptional, and I just want you to hear me at my best..."
"Tell her to come to Nationals!" Finn whispered.
Rachel smiled and nodded. "On the 22nd we have Nationals in Chicago, and I'll be performing with my glee club. I read online that you'll be in Chicago that week and if you could come see me perform and see who I really am... I'd really appreciate that."
x
Time passed. Rachel called and left more messages, even sending a muffin basket, but she didn't hear back. Rachel had just left another message before arriving at Glee. "We're leaving in a few days," Mr. Schue was saying. "Let's go over everything. Nationals. Okay, song selection: We'll be kicking off our vintage theme with the legendary Jim Steinman's Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Rachel will do the solo..."
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now," Rachel said with excitement. She loved the song Mr. Schue had selected. "One of Celine Dion's most powerful ballads, inspired by Wuthering Heights."
"And we'll be working in a new Troubletones number, utilizing the talents of our featured performer, Porcelina Hummel," Coach Sylvester said.
What was Coach Sylvester talking about? "Not gonna happen, Dragon Lady," Kurt said.
"Oh, you'll do as you're told, he/she," Coach Sylvester declared. "We will be performing What A Feeling, from Flashdance, and I'm familiar with the choreography, of course, because I was Jennifer Beals' dance double. And on that note, please look under your seats."
There were odd helmets under their seats. "Best way to get props is to use props," Coach Sylvester continued. "A healthy dose of props, and our plucky transsexual Porcelina, and you are over the top."
So Coach Sylvester wanted Kurt to dress in drag? What if Kurt wasn't comfortable with that? "Aren't props a little cheesy?" Blaine asked.
"Guys, I've asked for Sue's help because she's a winner, and I'm not ashamed to admit this, I want to win," Mr. Schue said. "But there's not one person in that audience who will think we're anything but underdogs who would be lucky to place in Nationals. We didn't even make the top ten last year. We've got one last week to come together and shake things up. If there's anyone here who is not up for trying and working their butts off, you should just get up right now and leave."
Tina got up and left. That was a surprise. Tina had always been devoted enough to glee. "Whoa, whoa, Tina, where you going?" Finn asked.
Tina turned around. "You guys don't need me. Carry on."
"Tina, you don't understand. I need this," Rachel said.
"Because you blew an audition?" Tina demanded. "That's not a reason for you to get a solo at Nationals. Maybe the rest of us would like one, too."
"I wouldn't mind another one before I get deported," Rory mumbled.
"I want one," Sugar said. "Even though I can't sing."
"Tina, Rachel is a senior," Mike told his girlfriend.
"So are you, but you can bet the only thing you'll be doing is a dance break with Brittany. Other people matter," Tina complained.
"Tina, you may not always get all the solos, but you are a key player. I put you in charge of costumes," Mr. Schue said.
"Wow! Like that's some prize. You want props to move around? Well, I'm a human prop, and I'm sick of it!" Tina snapped.
"Take a lap and cool down, Asian Number One," Coach Sylvester said.
"My name is Tina. Tina Cohen-Chang!" Tina shouted before leaving the room.
When Tina left, Mike followed her. Rachel thought for a moment. Maybe others needed a chance for solos, but Nationals were a week away. They'd been rehearsing the big number and her solo for weeks. It was bad enough that they'd changed the Troubletones number. The Troubletones had spent the last few weeks rehearsing Edge Of Glory... last year, they'd written their songs when they arrived and not even cracked the top ten...
Rachel stood waiting for Mike to talk to Tina. When Mike came back, he turned to Rachel. "I tried to reason with her, but I didn't have any luck," Mike said.
"I'll try," Rachel said as she walked up to Tina. "Tina, look, I understand that you feel like your voice is being stifled right now, in the Glee Club. I mean, I have no idea why you would choose this moment specifically to make a stink about it but I want you to know that you are being heard. Which is why I'm willing to offer you $50 just to let this all go until after Nationals." When Tina glared at Rachel, she tried again. "Do you have any idea how important Nationals is to me? I mean, if I can convince Carmen Tibideaux to come and watch us perform, then it's basically like a do-over for my NYADA audition, which means that my entire future depends on us being amazing, which means that everyone needs to do their part."
"Their part to make you look good. I have sat, for three years, in the back of that choir room, holding Mike's hand or crying or smiling and swaying, while everyone else was out there singing solos," Tina ranted. "Maybe I say something, most of the time I don't, team player all the way. I am tired of being silent. I am one of the original Glee Club members, and I was singing Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" when Finn, Mike and Puck were still throwing Slushees at us. So when is it my turn?"
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be me?" Rachel asked. "Do you have a Facebook account or Twitter account? Do you have time to watch Bravo or read a book or buy laces for your incredibly high comical boots? I don't. It's exhausting being me. I get up at 5:00 in the morning just to get all of this prepared, in case a solo is thrown my way. I have the entire Sondheim, Hamlisch, Lloyd-Webber, Elton John songbooks memorized, including every single Katy Perry hit, as well. And I do all of this while keeping my boyfriend interested and physically satisfied and being the captain of 16 clubs and keeping a 3.86 GPA."
"I could do all that," Tina snapped.
"And you will. Next year. You'll have your chance next year," Rachel said.
"All I want is, for one moment, to feel like you... be up on that stage and get one of the standing ovations you're so used to getting," Tina said.
What was Rachel supposed to say? Tina HAD been the featured soloist at Sectionals with Rachel out. She was sure that Tina would be the female lead after she herself graduated. "It's like I said before, you'll get to next year," Rachel said.
x
"What was Coach Sylvester saying about you dressing like a girl?" Finn asked his brother as he, Rachel, Kurt and Blaine drove home from school.
"Coach Sylvester thinks that in order to win, there has to be a boy dressed like a girl, so she wants me to do so for Nationals," Kurt complained. "I don't feel comfortable with that."
"Of course you don't," Blaine said.
"Unique wasn't dressing as a girl for show purposes," Kurt said. "She was dressed like that because she's a girl trapped in a body with male parts. I am a man. Unique's a woman."
"Well, we're not going to let Coach Sylvester do that to you," Finn said. He turned to Rachel. "So, how did talking with Tina go?"
"The best I could do was tell her that next year she'll get the chance to be the lead female," Rachel said. "It's too close to Nationals to change another number."
"It's kind of stupid to already be changing one this soon," Blaine said.
"We're not changing it," Kurt said. "They're doing Edge Of Glory, like we originally planned."
Finn was now tempted to ask the question he'd been tempted to ask. "Do you think we have a shot?"
"I think so," Rachel said. "Even though there's no Finchel duet, our numbers look pretty good."
"It would be pretty amazing to finish up high school with a Nationals win," Kurt said.
"I'm nervous," Finn admitted.
"Me too," Blaine said. "At least I have next year. This is your guys' last chance."
"I know," Finn said. "I think that's part of the reason why I'm so nervous."
x
Rachel sat in the auditorium practicing her vocal scales. She still hadn't heard back from Carmen Tibideaux, and maybe she wasn't going to. But maybe Carmen would see her performance online...
Tina came in. "Sounded pretty good to me."
"I'm singing into the notes, not through them, but I'll get it," Rachel critiqued.
"It never stops for you, does it?" Tina asked.
"Well, I let myself get overconfident once, and I'm not going to let it happen again," Rachel admitted.
"Have you heard back from Carmen Tibideaux yet?" Tina asked.
Rachel sighed. "I just have to accept the fact that I'm not going to. I've e-mailed her and called her, and there's nothing left that I can do."
"You could go see her," Tina suggested. "It's what you suggested I do in the body-swapping dream I had about us. When I fell in the fountain at the mall and hit my head. It was like Freaky Friday. I was you, and you were me, and Kurt was Finn, and he wanted to have sex with me, as you."
That sounded a bit odd. "That's very disturbing."
Tina laughed. "But then you, as Tina, told me, as Rachel, 'Go see Carmen Tibideaux in person and not take no for an answer.'"
"Okay, I'm very confused. But the advice I gave myself in your dream was good," Rachel admitted.
"I did some research. Carmen Tibideaux is teaching a master class at Oberlin. If we go right now, we can still catch her. I could drive," Tina offered.
Rachel couldn't believe Tina was offering to help her. Tina was right. Rachel had gotten most of the solos these past few years... "You would do that for me? Why? I mean, all that stuff you said. I mean, you weren't wrong. Look, everyone is important, and I'm very sorry if I made you feel like a supernumerary."
"Everyone has their part to play, right? Maybe this is mine," Tina said.
Rachel went over to hug Tina. "Thank you. You do know that next year, you're going to be the lead female vocalist. And it's a lot of pressure, but I'm not worried. Oh, no, please don't cry. You need to drive. Is your Hyundai gassed-up?"
"Yes, let's go," Tina said.
The girls headed to Tina's car. "So tell me more about your dream," Rachel said as they got in the car.
"I guess it was the universe's way of showing me how much pressure you're under," Tina said. "I was trapped in your body and everyone was telling me about how they need Rachel to do well at Nationals. Mercedes was Brittany and told me that she needed help bailing Lord Tubbington out of jail because he tried to sell her iPod for drugs. Finn was Kurt and Puck was Blaine, and Finn-as-Kurt wanted me-as-you to go to Between the Sheets with him to get some music and Puck-as-Blaine didn't want him to go. Mr. Schue and Coach Sylvester were each other, too."
"I can't say I've had a dream like that!" Rachel said.
"How's the wedding planning going?" Tina asked as they started driving.
Rachel had to admit, lately they'd focused on Nationals. "Kind of slow lately, but we still have the same plan: win Nationals, come back, graduate, and then just have a nice little church wedding performed by a rabbi with our nearest and dearest. And hopefully nobody will get tragically injured this time."
"You think we're gonna win Nationals?" Tina asked.
Rachel had to admit, she'd always hoped they would win, but they hadn't in the past. "You know, our first Regionals and last year, I had this feeling, like we were just gonna win. But this year, nothing. I just really, really, want to win, though. If not for us, then for Mr. Schue." Now she was thinking about NYADA again. "What if we go all this way, and Carmen just says no?"
"She won't," Tina said.
"She might. I don't have a back up plan, all right? And I don't want to waste lose a year of my ingenue eligibility," Rachel fretted.
"You always make it so hard, but you were born under a blessed gold star. Everyone knows it," Tina assured Rachel.
Rachel wasn't so sure. "I don't know if I think that way anymore. I mean, think of most of the adults we know, okay? I bet you that things used to go their way all the time, and then one day, just, they didn't. And now they have a job they hate and they live a life that they don't even recognize. And I bet you that they don't even bother to dream anymore."
"That's not everyone," Tina said.
"Yeah, but most people." Rachel decided she shouldn't think that way. "No. Okay. I'm not going there yet. Carmen is going to say yes."
"There's the Rachel Berry we all know and love," Tina said.
Rachel smiled. "Yeah, I'm really glad we're doing this together. Thank you."
"Can you do me one favor? Before you graduate, can we sing together?" Tina asked.
Rachel realized that she and Tina had never sung a duet. "I would love that."
When the girls arrived at Oberlin, Carmen Tibideaux was getting ready to leave. "Madame Tibideaux, hello. I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's me, Rachel Berry. I'm sorry. I realize that I've been a little persistent, but I'm just..."
Carmen Tibideaux looked annoyed. "I am a very busy woman. Every moment I spend deleting yet another one of your voicemails about lost hopes and dreams takes time away from another student. What makes you think you are entitled to any more attention than other hundreds of people I see with the same hopes and dreams?"
Rachel felt bad now. "No. I'm so sorry. I don't mean to take time away from them."
"But you do. And I'm tired of it," Carmen said.
"Ms. Tibideaux, I know exactly how you feel," Tina interrupted. "Rachel Berry is a pain in the ass. What she wants, she gets. And I've spent a lot of time resenting her for it. But the fact is, she gets it because she's exceptional. Not just the voice, which is sick, but the focus, the drive. How often do you come across the real deal?"
"The real deal that couldn't remember the words to the song?" Carmen asked.
"Which was as rare as a Bigfoot sighting," Tina pointed out. "She had an off day, and that decides her entire future?"
Rachel felt like she needed to speak again. "Ms. Tibideaux, I realize that I'm asking you to take me into special consideration. But let me ask you. You've had an amazing career, did you get there by playing by it safe? Please, we're performing our Nationals in Chicago, and we saw that you're gonna be singing there at the Lyric Opera. And before you close the door, I just, I need you to hear me sing. I have to. There's nothing that I'm as good at or as passionate about or that brings me that much joy. And I think that that sets me apart."
"And I think it's time for you and your friend to go," Carmen said.
Rachel might not be getting anywhere. "Okay, but I just want you to know that... I'll see you again next year. And every year after that until I get in. Didn't I read somewhere that you auditioned for Juilliard four times?" With that, Rachel noticed that Carmen looked like she was thinking. That was progress, right?
x
"Are you ready to go?" Finn asked Rachel at her locker the day before they left for Nationals.
"I think I am," Rachel said. "Are you ready?"
"I think so too," Finn said. "Do you think she'll come see you?"
Rachel knew what Finn meant. "Well, when Tina and I went to talk to her, she looked like she was thinking about it at the end. If it wasn't for Tina, I would never have gone to see Carmen Tibideaux."
"Yeah, she's like an offensive lineman. She always in the trenches, picking up blitzers so the quarterback can lead the drive," Finn said.
Rachel had no idea what Finn meant. "Sorry, you lost me at offensive lineman, but I'm sure whatever you said was really nice. All right, there's no other option but just to exceed all expectations. We have to win at Nationals. There's no alternative."
Finn smiled at Rachel. "You know, you really are our Unique Factor."
Rachel looked down the hall, where Sam was doing an impression and lots of the other glee kids were laughing. "You know, I think we all are. I mean, in a sea full of kids who are just desperately clinging to their own kind, we're different. We took the time to get to know each other and reach out and accept one other. That's our Unique Factor. And that's what I love about us."
Finn kissed the top of Rachel's head. "Yeah, me too."
After talking with Finn, Rachel went to the auditorium to sing with Tina. Mr. Schue and Coach Sylvester had decided to go back to the originally planned Troubletones number, so Rachel and Tina decided to sing What A Feeling together.
Rachel: First when there's nothing
but a slow glowing dream
that your fear seems to hide
deep inside your mind.
All alone I have cried
silent tears full of pride
in a world made of steel,
made of stone.
Tina: Well, I hear the music,
close my eyes, feel the rhythm
Rachel: Wrap around, take a hold
of my heart.
Tina and Rachel: What a feeling,
Bein's believin',
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life.
Take your passion
and make it happen,
Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life
Tina and Rachel: What a feeling,
Bein's believin',
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life.
Take your passion
and make it happen,
Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life
What a feeling.
Tina: What a feeling
Rachel: Bein's believin'
Rachel and Tina: Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life.
Tina: What a feeling.
Rachel: What a feeling.
Tina: I can have it all
Rachel: Have it all
Rachel and Tina: Call, call, call, call
Tina: I can have it all
Rachel: Bein's believing
Rachel and Tina: What a feeling.
At the end of the song, the girls went to join the rest of the glee club on the bus. "Let's go to Nationals!" Mr. Schue declared.
The group cheered as Rachel hugged Finn. They really were on their way, and she had a feeling this was their year.
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