• MARINA • Hunter Clarington-BOOK TWO✔

f o r t y - t w o

Everybody was sat in the choir room as Mr. Schue walked in, writing 'MOVIES' on the whiteboard. He turned to the students, "Everybody loves movies. They don't just tell stories... they transport us to other worlds. They are inspirational. They provide comfort, and they help us escape from our day-to-day anxieties." He stated.

Kitty spoke up. "Like getting left at the altar?"

Everyone turned to look at her with deadpan expressions, "Too soon." Ryder muttered.

Mr. Schue continued, "Exactly. Or in your guys' case, studying for exams or... worrying about regionals. In any case, for this week's assignment, I want you to pick your favourite songs from your favourite movies." Mr. Schue paused with a smile as everyone began to clap and cheer.

"Unique knows all there is to know about The Crying Game." Unique grinned sassily.

"You don't get dibs on Les Mis just because you are the poster." Kitty cruelly smirked over to Marley; whose face dropped.

Sam spoke with a dramatic Nicolas Cage voice, "Finally I can do my Nicolas Cage impression. 'Oh, not the bees! No! The bees! No!'"

"That is the worst Nicolas Cage impression I've ever seen." Kitty stated, Sam gaping in shock.

"Do you even know who Nicolas Cage is?" Artie asked Kitty, curiosity laced in his voice.

"Okay, it's not that simple, guys. This is a group competition... boys against girls and we are doing mashups. Now remember, movies are visual. So, it's not just about the singing... it's about... performance, it's about theatricality, it's about the language of cinema." Mr. Schue informed.

"Preach." Artie said to himself, moving himself forward so that he was beside Mr. Schue. "And as I move into production on my first micro-budget feature, I'm happy to offer starring roles to whichever team wins. No trailers, no per diem."

Mr. Schue nodded. "Great. Okay. Well, everyone split up and start working on your song choices."

Everybody began to move onto one side of the room, but first Marina pulled herself onto Hunter's lap, whispering into his ear, "Us girls are going to crush you. As good as you think you are- we're better. We'll always be better." Marina then leaned back, pressing a kiss to the dazed boy's nose. "Bye!" She hopped over to the other girls with a devilish grin.

"You didn't." Arabella said knowingly.

"She did." Kara and Jamie chorused, just as knowing.

"It's good to give the boys some fear on what we're doing." Marina shrugged carelessly.

Sugar stood on top of a chair, looking down at all of the girls. "We should do The Artist, so we don't have to sing." They continued to loudly talk about their ideas, the boys on the other side of the room doing the same.

Marina, Arabella, Marley, Tina, Sam, and Jake stood at Marley's locker, Brittany and Blaine coming over to them. "Guys, Brittany and I were just talking..." Blaine began.

"And we agree that though we love that it's mash-up week and that it's girls versus boys..." Brittany continued.

"It sucks that the guys and the girls can't do a number together, so we were thinking, just as a warm-up, we should do the guys versus girls in the same number, to kick things off." Blaine explained, his hands gesturing wildly.

"And then the girls can kick the boys' butts." Brittany grinned, high fiving both Marina and Arabella.

"Uh, or vice versa." Blaine denied.

"Which is my favourite Fred Savage movie." Brittany stated.

"Well, it'd have to be the perfect movie song, you know, like, uh... 'Dream Warriors' from Nightmare on Elm Street 3." Sam suggested.

"Yeah, or a good song like 'Let the River Run' from Working Girl." Tina crossed her arms as she made her suggestion.

"Anything from Disney." Arabella and Marina chorused hopefully.

"Or... 'Wind Beneath My Wings' from Beaches." Marley suggested, an expectant smile on her face.

"No, no, no, no. How about this... the perfect movie song, totally iconic and everyone loves it, a little ditty from the seminal American college comedy... Animal House." Blaine grinned.

The eight danced throughout McKinley high as they sang, collecting the members of the New Directions and the Warblers. They went from classroom to classroom, to the library, and eventually to the cafeteria where they finished off the song, many singing and dancing along.

Throughout the next following days, the girls practised for their song, as did the boys. It was now their time to perform. Trent, Jeff, Thad, Blaine, Artie, and Joe were dressed in pilot outfits, singing. The girls watched with interest, wondering when the other boys would join in on the song. 

Sam, Hunter, Ryder, Sebastian, Nick, and Jake all slid in wearing oversized white shirts and matching socks, microphones in their hands. The girls cheered loudly, the songs truly mashing up. They danced in their seats, some quietly singing along.

The girls clapped along, cheering loudly when the boys finished. "Wow! Wow. Okay. That was awesome. Where'd you come up with the inspiration for that?" Finn grinned.

"Well, it's our tribute to the early macho cinema of one Mr. Tom Cruise." Artie explained to them all.

"You can't handle the truth." Joe tried to impersonate.

"That's actually Jack Nicholson, not Tom Cruise." Jake quietly informed.

"Girls. You're up." Mr. Schue told them, the girls cheering and ushering them out. The girls hastily changed into their pink dresses, each girl working to make their hair curled to perfection. They then did their makeup, standing in front of the sets of mirrors.

"Hey Mari?" Jamie asked quietly.

Marina turned, an eyebrow raised, "Yeah?"

"I forgot to tell you, but Trent told me that Sebastian told Thad that Hunter says we'll lose." Jamie grinned impishly, the pair bursting into laughs afterwards.

The ten girls stood in pairs, lining up and beginning their routine as Marley and Unique sang the lead vocals. The girls harmonised, moving aside so that Sugar could dance solo. They then moved into a line, singing Material Girl, mashing it up with Diamonds are a girl's best friend. They danced around with their fans, grinning at the boys.

The boys all cheered and loudly applauded when the girls finished, dramatically posed around Unique. "Wow, come on, you guys. Let's give it up for the girls!" Finn exclaimed, applauding.