• MARINA • Hunter Clarington-BOOK TWO✔

f i f t y - s i x

"All right, guys. It's finally here. Regionals." Mr. Schue announced to the excited group.

"I just found out, because of safety concerns related to late-season tornados, Indianapolis has declined to host the competition. So! As defending champions, we're having regionals here, in our auditorium." He exclaimed. Everyone cheered.

"Home court advantage, yo!" Artie exclaimed.

"Now, because of a sexting scandal at Our Lady of Perpetual Loneliness, their glee club, the Nun-Touchables, has been excommunicated by the new pope. They've been replaced by the world-famous boys of Ziegler Prep, the Waffle-toots." He then explained.

"Like cake farts?" Artie confusedly asked.

"They're very good." Blaine acknowledged.

"But... they're an all-boy group." Thad sulked.

"The Hoosierdaddies are still the odds-on favourite. I mean, their lead vocalist, Frida Romero, is a tiny juggernaut of talent. We are in for the fight of our lives. So... let's get real. There comes a moment in every performer's life that defines him or her, sometimes for the rest of their career. This is our moment. We've struggled, we've endured, and now we must triumph. And speaking of that, I want us all to just take a moment to send some positive energy to one of our very own. She has her final call-back for Funny Girl today. So, let's all give a big round of applause to Rachel, wherever she is." Mr. Schue spoke slowly, a smile on his face as he wished for Rachel to get her part in Funny Girl. Everyone wanted her to get the part. Everyone clapped, wishing her luck.

They were all coming back into the choir room, ready to do their final preparations for Regionals. Mr. Schue was counting everyone, making sure they are all there. "six, seven, eight, nine..." He then had to quicken as the ten stepped into the room. "That makes nineteen...." He then surveyed the room, "Uh, are, are Joe and Sugar here?"

The two in question entered the room with grins on their faces. "Present, Mr. Schue." Sugar grinned.

"Where have you two been all this time?" Marina laughed, hugging them both.

"Vacation." Sugar squealed, "You know I could never miss a competition!"

Joe nodded in agreement. "I've been busy teaching the new God Squad."

"Come on." Mr. Schue welcomed them into the room, "Great. Okay. Guys, we have finalized our set list. We are going with 'Smooth Criminal', sang by Marina and Sebastian originally by Michael Jackson, 'Hall of Fame' by The Script and will.I.am." He paused, grinning, "And Marley's original song 'All or Nothing.'"

"Hey, Mr. Shue, what about my original song? Do you remember?" Brittany suddenly entered the room, back from MIT. She began to sing her original song from two years prior, Artie joining in.

"'My Cup' is one of a kind, but we're going with Marley's song." Mr. Schue stated.

"Oh, come on, boo. Two thumbs down. The only way to polish that turd of a song is with my angelic alto voice. So, I demand to sing it as a solo. And I demand to sing all the good songs as solos. Everyone can snap their fingers and march around behind me. Marina, please make an exact replica of Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar dress." Brittany complained, ordering people around.

Marina scoffed, "She may be iconic, but, um, no."

Brittany clicked her tongue. "Um... yes. Let me break it down. No one in this musty choir room compares to my megawatt star power. Blaine, you're shorter than your average lawn gnome. Joe, you look like a Yucatán spider monkey. Tina is... you know, she's... Tina."

Sam jumped from the piano, walking up to Brittany. "Wait, baby. Baby, I love you, but you're really out of line, here." She'd pulled out her phone and began to text. "And would you stop texting? I'm trying to talk to you, it's really rude."

Sam's phone then buzzed, the boy staring in disbelief. "Did you seriously just break up with me? By a text?" Sam questioned Brittany.

"Yeah. As fascinated as I am by your down-filled, pillow-soft lips that are ten times too big for your face, I really miss my sweet, sweet lady kisses. Sorry/not sorry. Moving on, I repeat: I require all the solos. That's just the way it's gonna be." Brittany said sassily.

Mr. Schue gave her a confused look. "Brittany, why are you doing this?"

Brittany half-smirked. "Well, I'm just living your lesson, Mr. Shue. It's all or nothing."

After Brittany left, everyone moved their chairs to sit in a circle. "Uh, first up, we're gonna tackle Hall of Fame. It's got a unique beat..." Mr. Schue was speaking to them all, but Ryder stood, cutting him off.

"All right, look. I'm-I'm sorry. Excuse me, Mr. Shue, but I've got to say something. Okay. Look, so I hate to pull a Brittany here, but the bottom line is, I'm not performing in regionals until Catfish reveals themselves. This whole situation is out of hand and needs to end. Hey, look, I'm serious, okay? I can't take it anymore, it-it's tearing me apart. And someone in this room is playing games with me, and I want to know who!"

They all had blank looks on their faces as the boy spoke. "Somebody, just say who it is." Sugar said quietly.

"I don't think it's any of us." Tina responded hastily.

"Pull out your phones! Everybody pull out your phones right now!" Ryder yelled, kicking the box that was in the centre of the group. Multiple people jumped, beginning to speak at once.

"Ryder, relax, man. Dude." Jake muttered.

"I know this is upsetting, but..." Blaine mumbled.

"Well, now nobody is going to admit it for fear of being murdered." Kitty mumbled, Thad nodding in agreement with the blonde.

"I've told this person everything, and I want to know who it is. I want to know..." Ryder spoke slowly.

"I know you're upset..." Blaine began, but the boy cut him off once again.

"No, you don't know. You don't know, okay? Who is it?" Ryder began to accuse the members of the group, beginning to speak harshly.

"It's not me." Artie stated.

"All right, fine. If nobody's gonna say anything, pull out your phones. And I want to see all of your phones. All of your phones. Pull out your texts. I'm serious! Texts!" Ryder began to shout and kick things in anger, Arabella tightly gripping Kara's hand in fear.

"Whoever it is, just say it." Sugar pleaded.

"Who is it?" Ryder asked once more.

Marley stood. "It's me. I'm Catfish."

Everyone was shocked, Ryder stumbling on his words. "What? What do you...? No, I-I-I asked you. You swore to me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." Marley apologised.

"Look, just take it easy, Ryder, okay? This was just a little joke. Things got out of hand." Jake stood too, defending Marley.

"What, you're-you're defending her? Huh? Are you kidding me? What's wrong with you people?" And then Ryder stormed out of the room.