Mr Harwood pulls it off...
Before any of them realised it, Easter had come and gone, and those all important final exams loomed for many of them. The Spotlight was again robbed of a large number of its usual staff as they concentrated all their time on their studies. For those that were studying the artistic fields, the practical work was a lot easier in contrast to all of the theory and technique that had to be studied and recalled. It then had to be written about intelligently in exam papers and essays. Jeff found himself being eternally grateful that his husband had fallen in love with the seascapes painted by Turner; they had come up as one of the study topics for his finals, and he had a reference book about them to utilise at home, whilst his contemporaries had to share the same handful of textbooks and the various online resources at the library. Studying the artist so much inspired Jeff to head down to Port Jefferson one weekend on his own, when a late spring storm was forecast, to try his own hand at drawing the sea in its angry state. His image was no Turner, but it still captured the tumult of the waves, and was well received by his tutors, who had been encouraging all of the senior year students to leave their comfort zones. His seascape went well in that category with the detailed drawings he had done of plants.
For those at NYADA, there was an end of school performance to give, with marks not only for their actual performance on stage, but also for what they contributed behind the scenes. Theatrical history was also a major area of study, along with the evolution of the various genres, and the importance, or otherwise, of music, lighting and set design. It was by no means easy for any of them, but they helped each other through the tough areas, knowing full well that Carmen would be observing them at all times, either directly or through the staff. On top of that, Sebastian was still working three days, four shows a week. He was tired out by the end of it, not that he would ever admit it, as he knew that he had to put in the hard work and effort if he was to achieve his goals in life. If nothing else, that had been drilled into him by his father over the years. No matter how hard things got, there was not one single moment that he wished that he had stayed in accountancy as his father had wanted. To have done so would have driven him to distraction, despair and ultimately death…
As for Nick, he seemed to have vanished without a trace to all of them except Jeff. Even with cutting his days working at the Law Library to the bare minimum, his workload seem titanic. Every moment of every weekend was spent in writing essays and answering mock exam questions from past papers. As well as his usual classes and tutorial groups, he was also taking part in mock trials every two weeks, alternating roles from prosecution to defence, and on one occasion, even taking on the role of judge. He did more of that at home too, when he was supplied with all of the evidence that was given in an actual case and had to weigh it all up before providing a verdict. There was no right or wrong answer in those; he just had to back up his decision with evidence. His tutors were very pleased with him, rating him highly, but that just encouraged them to push him all the harder.
All of that left Nick feeling drained, and desperately missing his snuggle times with Jeff. He could not wait for the end of May, when he would finally be free to enjoy himself again, and had come to the decision that he would be taking the whole month of June off before he had to think about work and all the associated pressures. To that end, he had found a few moments to send an E-mail to François, to see if there was a chance that his parents might be out of town for any point in that month, and if they were, would he be willing to accommodate a pair of visitors. After all, he had promised to take his husband back to see all those painting at the Musee d'Orsay again one day, not to mention all those they had not seen at the Louvre. He said nothing about it to anyone else, leaving it to be a big surprise for his husband, in grateful thanks for being so understanding and supportive. Thus it was that both halves of Niff were keeping something secret from the other, but in both cases, it was nothing bad…
Over in Ohio, Thad was preparing his boys for their exams too. On top of that he was also preparing some of them for something even bigger. His second year group of Warblers had been bolstered by several new arrivals, including one that was, to his delight, the holy grail; something that had not been seen since an endearing spy had turned up in Thad's own junior year… A countertenor was a prize beyond compare to the Warblers, and young Conrad was cosseted by all of them. At Thad's urging, the boys had kept quiet about his existence on social media, and the first the world of show choir knew about him was when he wowed the judges with his performance at Sectionals. Even the alumni had been kept in the dark, which had lead to some awkward phone calls for Thad…
They had then gone on, with Conrad being supported by a supremely talented group of young men, to win Regionals so convincingly that Will Schuester had come over to congratulate Thad on his victory before the New Directions had even performed. Now for the first time in a generation, Nationals loomed for the boys from Dalton Academy, and it meant a trip to Boston on this occasion. Thad had immediately found himself being offered support by Mitch and Gabriel, the latter actually being prepared to give up his limited vacation time from work to help out. Thad just hoped that everybody's faith was not being misplaced. His priority had to be the grades of his boys in their exams after all; it would be nice to triumph, but he could not have that at the expense of their futures. Still, if they could somehow pull it off, it would be a massive feather in his cap, and he had a feeling that all of those connected to the Warblers, no matter how tenuously, would erupt with joy if they succeeded…
It had not been an easy time to prepare the boys for the contest that would shape their memories of their time at Dalton; events in Florida had shaken them all to the core, and the boys at Dalton had rallied to the cause of the brave students from that school at once without question, with the full support of the staff. They in turn had also been in full agreement that the President's suggestion that they should start to covertly carry a concealed weapon themselves as protection against a shooter was a non starter. As Dylan had put it succinctly in a staff meeting, what was there to stop a kid with a grudge attacking said teacher, taking their weapon, and then using it on their fellow pupils? Thad couldn't help but think that there might well also be some teachers that would use it themselves if they finally reached breaking point. Dalton Academy would stand firmly against such a move, and if any attempt was made to enforce the scheme, they would fight it to the bitter end...
Thad had of course kept all of the alumni he was closest to informed, but he did not expect to see any of them arrive in Boston. The world of work and the pressures of college took up so much of their time now, and he knew that the only reason Mitch and Gabriel would be present was because they actually lived in the city. Skylar had called him however to say that he might be able to put in an appearance at the second day of the event. The organisers had decided to split the show into two parts this year; an elimination round on the first day that would see each team perform two songs, and based on that they would be cut down to ten teams entering the final day. Those ten would then sing a further two songs for a new set of judges to ensure that no favouritism could carry over from the previous day. It was a less stressful way of doing things, Will Schuester had informed Thad, as the day had been so very long in the old shows.
Even so, with each team on the first day being given a performance time of 8 minutes maximum, it would still be a six hour long marathon of song and dance. The contest was scheduled to commence at 1pm prompt; the Warblers had drawn the 8th slot of the show, which meant they would be on at 2.10pm, given that a two minute changeover gap was factored in to the time scale. Thad had decided that this was a good place. Not on first, thus avoiding that pressure, but not so late in the show that nerves could have set in after seeing so many other performances, or worse still, hunger pangs could have developed. The results would be announced for 8.30pm, giving adequate time to prepare for the following day, win or lose. Skylar had told him that he would come on the second day, win or lose, as he could help to console the boys if the worst happened and they crashed out in the first round. Thad was grateful to him for that, and he couldn't help but think at that point that he would be a wonderful candidate to take over his position with the Warblers, should the worst ever happen, and he be forced to give up the role that he had inherited from Wes…
As it was, phones buzzed amongst the alumni that Saturday night with a very short message - 'Made the final ten!' It was greeted with a smile by all of them; they had been so pleased just to see the Warblers make it to the Nationals stage at all, but this was now so much bigger. There were quite a few regrets that night that they could not be there to see the actual event the following day, but then Trent sent out a reminder that the whole event was being streamed live on Facebook the following day, and so if they had a moment then they could at least watch their successors perform. He himself had a lot of work to do for Burt; a speech to write for Monday in protest at yet another of the President's ridiculous policy ideas. Most already agreed that he was the worst in the history of the nation, and what he had done with the tax system had only benefited his friends. Still, he would spare the time to watch Thad's boys perform, and then would watch with bated breath and fingers crossed to see who would triumph at the end.
Thad for his part had promised to confirm to all of them the Warblers' time slot on the second day the moment that he knew, so that those with very limited time could at least spare the eight minutes it would take to see their own team perform; to see his boys put on the show of their lives. He had saved the best of their performances for this moment, using the most technically difficult of their four pieces to wow the judges in the first round; it had been a risk, but it had paid off. Now he had to enforce an early bedtime on all of his boys, as they would be up early the following day; they had to head up to Harvard, where he had managed to find a convenient hall for them all to rehearse in, away from the competition. He knew that the competition was always cut throat, and having been told that they would be performing in sixth place, there was more of a risk from spying by the other teams, or even a spoiler from one of the first five if they knew what they were going to perform. It was unlikely, but it was not a risk he was prepared to take…
The second day of Nationals was scheduled to commence at 2pm; Thad had his boys begin to practice at 9am, but in a relaxed manner. They were not due to be on stage for another six hours after all, and he did not want to tire them out. He got them to rehearse the dance steps as he sang the songs they would be performing with the assistance of Mitch and Gabriel, so as to rest their voices. The boys themselves would only sing for the last hour, and then only singing each number twice; once on its own, and once with the choreography. Thad could see Wes watching as they did the latter, nodding in approval of what they were doing. At 11.30am prompt, they headed for lunch at a special venue; the diner that Wes had frequented whilst he lived in Harvard, and where Angela had reserved tables for them. The food had already been ordered, and so was served to them in a matter of minutes. It was all good, energy giving fare, designed to give them the sustenance that they needed to get through until after the results had been announced. Angela surprised Thad by putting on her coat and joining them for the return trip to the venue downtown; she had purchased herself a ticket for the audience the moment that she knew that the Warblers would be performing. She had a feeling that Wes would have wanted her to go and support his old choir and their coach, his boyfriend.
Back at the competition, they arrived to find Skylar waiting for them, and at his side, to everyone's surprise and delight, was David. He had flown in from L.A. at the last minute; he had volunteered to represent Google at a conference at M.I.T. the following day, and no-one had said that he couldn't fly in early. In any case, he was sure that his best bud would appreciate his support. That much was very true, and Thad was glad to have David's arm wrapped around his shoulders as he watched from the wings as his boys gave what he hoped would be a winning performance just after 3pm. In the audience the others watched in delight as they did, knowing full well that across the country, other alumni were watching this moment with the same delight and hope. The applause from the audience was thunderous after both of their songs, and they received a standing ovation, the first of the day, but that was only a part of the final result; in the end, it was the judging panel that would decide, and the thoughts of the crowd mattered very little. All that Thad could do as he looked across at the poker faces of the panel was hope that they might just have felt the same way about their performance as the ticket buying public had done…
After his boys had come off stage and move to the seats they had been allocated in the auditorium, Thad allowed himself a moment alone just to contemplate what had happened, at David's suggestion. He left the boys in the care of the alumni; after all, he had done all that he could to get them to this point, and the last ten at Nationals was further than the Warblers had been for two decades. He checked his phone and couldn't help but smile at the fact that his inbox was chock full with messages, and not just from his own erstwhile teammates. The 'If they don't win I will demand that a Federal enquiry is launched!' message from Trent made him grin for a moment. Then there were all the messages from the rest of the faculty at Dalton, his brother and several of the New Directions. Not one of them was critical, and he couldn't help but feel that there were fingers crossed all over the country for them.
"You really managed to pull it out of the bag there, my little one," came a voice, and he smiled on looking up to see Wes sitting across from him, and beckoning him to come over and sit beside him, which he did. "The result today doesn't matter, not really. You have done far better than I ever did, and have made the case for a faculty advisor to be available to the Council at all times all the stronger. I always knew that you could do this; maybe if I had pushed you into the job of Head Warbler in your own senior year…"
"There is no way that I could have done what I did this year then Wessie. It was so hard to get those boys to this point, and that was with them doing exactly what I said, and sticking to the rules. Even if I had still had Blaine to count on, and the plan you had made with Principal Carmichael to get Kurt back to Dalton with a scholarship had been successful, it wouldn't have worked. If anything, it might have ended up as an even bigger disaster than it was, given that Sebastian would have been hitting on Blaine constantly, Kurt would have threatened to murder the meerkat all the time, and everyone else would have to have taken a side… No, the time wasn't right then. In any case, we haven't won, not yet anyway. Right now, there is probably another team killing it."
"I don't think that any team here could hold a candle to your performance, but I guess that you never know. Anyway, you should get back to them. I will come back at five for the moment that they put us all out of our misery and announce the result…" With that, Wes left, and Thad headed back to his choir, his presence greeted with cheers of delight. They had had a very good run, and now, even just to place would be an achievement…
At the appointed hour, the call went out for the top three choirs to return to the stage. Joyful Noizze came from a school in Utah; The Buchanan Tunesters came from a school in North Carolina; and then, after a pause which left them all trembling, the Warblers were invited back up on to the stage. As the boys and Thad made their way back to the stage, Skylar's phone began to vibrate, and he quietly answered the call, which turned out to be his three Warbler roommates on speakerphone.
"I can't believe it! They've placed!" whispered Seth.
"We had to call, because the suspense is killing us. We should have come too," added Colin.
At Skylar's side, Mitch was grinning at a message from Trent, full of his excitement at the prospect of a win. David smiled as Mitch showed it to him and a very quiet Gabriel, and wondered just how many other people were desperate for the announcement to be made….
"In Third Place, for a performance that was described as excellent, we have The Buchanan Tunesters!" There was the usual polite applause after the announcement as the team coach stepped up to accept the trophy.
On his phone, Skylar heard Edward saying "The Top Two! C'mon Warblers, we can do this!" which made him grin.
The atmosphere was charged, and on stage Thad was struggling to keep his emotions in check, whilst praying that his boys would remain dignified if the result was not in their favour….
"In First Place, for a performance our judges rated epic, and far exceeding expectations, we have…"
The announcer paused to heighten the tension, leaving them all frustrated, and Thad on the verge of screaming "Get on with it!"
"…from Westerville, Ohio…"
The rest of his words were drowned out by the sound of an audience erupting and of Thad's own boys screaming in delight. They had done it. For the first time in forty years, the Warblers had won Nationals.
In the audience Gabriel was screaming for joy, his arms wrapped around Mitch as the two of them bounced up and down like mad. David was hugging a crying Skylar as the phone in his hand emitted screeches of delight at the result from New York.
In the city itself, Jeff ignored all the instructions and flew into Nick's study without knocking. He needn't have worried about being told off though; Nick grabbed him the moment he entered, and swept him right off his feet in a hug.
Sebastian, taking off his make up after the Sunday matinee, whooped and punched the air, and his fellow Mormons, who all knew what he had been listening to online, were swift to offer their congratulations. Meanwhile at Dalton itself, Principal Lefevre was silent as her predecessor cried with sheer happiness.
Back in Boston, on the stage, Thad Harwood was shaking as he accepted the trophy, as his boys behaved in a most undapper fashion around him, jumping about for joy. It was the perfect way for his happy band of Warblers to end the year, and he knew that on their return the following day, the whole of Dalton would be celebrating with them…
Then their moment on the stage was over, and they were back in the now empty green room, joined moments later by four alumni that had tears of delight marking their cheeks. As Gabriel, Mitch and Skylar ran over to join the boys with the trophy, David made his way over to Thad, and pulled him into a hug. As he held him, he whispered the words "Wes will be so proud of you, and rightly so. You got the balance just right. You let the council run the show, but with your own input to avoid the trickier issues arising. You helped them to build up a repertoire that would set them apart from the rest, and realised, as no-one had before, that the choreography had to be as spot on as the vocals if you were to get to the top. You had your doubters and detractors at Dalton, but you've just proved them all wrong. These boys will remember this moment for the rest of their lives, when they are no longer young, and are stuck in dull jobs… As for next year, you'll still have Conrad and his fabulous voice, but then, his voice isn't the only strong one in the freshmen and sophomores, is it?"
"No, there are a few talents I have been quietly nurturing," Thad whispered in reply, just in case anyone was spying on them. "After all, everyone will try and find themselves a countertenor for next year; I hear on the grapevine that Vocal Adrenaline are already advertising discretely. Conrad will be important, but do you see that red head next to him; that is Boyd Harries. He has a wonderful baritone, and next year, we might go a little more soulful in our choices. Oh, and that guy with the blond mop of hair at the back? That is Todd Pawton, and he can give Beats a run for his money. He will be the official beatboxer next year. Forward planning will be the key to continued success, and I have a back up in mind for each of the last two. Conrad is irreplaceable, so there is a full ride scholarship deal waiting in the wings should his parents ever consider pulling him out of Dalton, paid for by Wes' money. He would approve, I hope; I will need to ask him later…"
"Yeah, I'm sure they will be around, all three of them, ready to celebrate with us… Speaking of which, we need to get to that restaurant as the boys will be starving," said David, before adding "Oh, and by the way, get the trophy back from Gabriel. He seems to be a little too attached to it…"
The night turned into one of total celebration. Thad did indeed find it hard to wrest the trophy back from Gabriel, and in the end he was forced to threaten the oldest former Warbler there with several rounds from Mr Bangy. It was a joyful group that went for their booked meal, but Thad as careful to remind them all that they were representing Dalton and so had to act with decorum at all times. As they left the competition venue, they were met by a crowd of wellwishers, and they stopped to chat with them for a moment. Angela was amongst them, and Thad asked her to join them at the restaurant. She agreed, and as he had surmised, with a lady present at the table the dapper Dalton boy image came right to the fore during the meal.
After dinner, it was back to their accommodation, and early to bed for the boys, given that they had a very early start in the morning. Gabriel and Mitch headed home, the former giving the trophy one long last wistful look before he left. Thad was confused by that, until David explained it to him. "Mitch told me that Gabriel's biggest ambition as a Warbler was to get his hands on that prize, no matter what it took. Never forget that we actually reached Nationals the year that he was Head Warbler, but when they woke up on the morning of the actual competition…"
David's prompt had reminded Thad of the story, which Wes had told him long ago, and so in a low voice he carried on where David left off. "The lead soloist and his back up both woke up with severe strep throat, and couldn't sing. They had to stay in the formation for the sake of numbers though, and just stand mouthing the words as unprepared voices sang their parts. As a result, they came more or less at the bottom in the results…. I remember that now, and it also explains why he handed me a bag with enough throat sweets and cough mixture to start a branch of Walgreens in it when he got here…" David nodded with a chuckle, then followed Thad back to his room, which he would share that night before his own early start in the direction of M.I.T.
An hour later, everyone was asleep, apart from Thad. He found himself wide awake and watching a sleeping David in the bed beside him. He had the feeling that there was something wrong, or soon would be with his best friend - and he did not like the feeling one little bit…
Next day though he forgot his worries, and was all smiles as the bus that had picked the Warblers up at the airport pulled up outside the main door to the school. A reception committee was waiting; the Chairman of the governors, along with a number of his colleagues, stood alongside the Carmichaels, Principal Lefevre, and a number of the staff, Jeff's cousin Dylan amongst them. Thad let the boys off the bus with the trophy first, knowing what awaited them; the great victory walk that every successful Dalton team made en route to the trophy cabinet. He watched from the bus door as his boys shook hands with people, Principal Carmichael volunteering to hold the trophy as they did so, out of the goodness of his heart…
His wife made him give it back, and then the boys walked in, greeted by deafening cheers, paper streamers and confetti. Thad followed slowly in their wake, a part of his heart wishing that this could have happened seven years ago, when Wes had been Head Warbler, and he and David as the other two councilmen could have walked proudly behind him. That had not been the case, but this was good enough for him. Now as he watched the trophy being placed beside the Tony Award he felt a great feeling of satisfaction, but realised that this was just the start of a new challenge. After all, in the history of the Warblers, the choir had never managed to retain the Nationals trophy for a second year…
