The Gleeful Return [Q. F.]

- 14 - Party

Recap: Juliet tried to talk with Quinn and help her sort out her feelings for Finn, Sam, and Puck. Quinn ended up eating lunch with Juliet one day, and she was persuaded to sing the next day. Juliet sang "Just Like Fire." Quinn was going to sing, but Sam volunteered quicker. Once he started singing, Quinn ran out of the choir room. 

"Quinn?"

Quinn glanced over to me but quickly turned the other way. She sniffed and put her hands on her face, probably wiping the tears away. "What?"

"I came to see if you're okay." No response. "Are you... okay?"

She finally turned to me. Sniffing and wiping her cheeks again, she said, "I don't know what to do."

"I wish I could help."

"Yeah." Quinn choked out a combined sob-laugh. "Me too." I almost said something, but Quinn was quicker. "Why did he have to sing that song? That stupid song..."

"I don't know, Quinn. Do you need anything?"

"Can you just... stay here? I don't want to go back to Glee and I don't really want to be alone right now."

"Yes, of course." Quinn kept her hands on the side of the sink with her glance fixed down. I stood a few feet away with my back against the sink. And that's how we stayed for the rest of the period.

---

"This year's theme for Regionals is anthems. I want to try something new that I think could really put us ahead of the competition. I would like us to perform at least one original song at Regionals." I watched Rachel's eyes light up like a Christmas tree, or rather a Hanukkah menorah. "We have two weeks, let's get at it."

This is my chance to beat Rachel. Besides Rachel and me, I watched Puck, Mercedes, Brittany, and Artie scurry to start songwriting. I know I can do this. After a little while of thinking, I realized that song writing is much more difficult than people make it seem. I tried to channel all of my inner emotions into a few lines of text, but I was struggling. I decided to put my notebook down and step back. I'd come back to it later with fresh eyes.

There was big news coursing through McKinley's veins today: Quinn Fabray, Cheerios captain, broke up with Sam Evans. And as if that wasn't enough, Quinn was back hanging around Finn. And while Quinn and Finn were together, Rachel was left in the dust, though I didn't get any details on why. There seemed to be a popularity shake up leaving clear winners and losers.

By the end of the day, I was bored of sitting in class, it was a Monday after all. I tried to jot lyrics down in my notes, but nothing came to mind. I needed to pay attention to the lesson, though, so I didn't have much of a choice. I sighed and let my mind find its way back to the lecture for the rest of the day.

After school, I rushed to finish my homework so I could go to gymnastics with a clear conscience. This was state week, after all, and the coaches demanded our full attention. Just like last year, I would compete at the State meet to try and qualify for Regionals. After Regionals would be Easterns, which I failed to qualify for last year. That's where my goal was, Easterns. Our goal for Glee Club was Nationals

All through gymnastics practice my mind wandered off to song lyrics land. I tried to find good ideas, but I couldn't catch any. I knew that I should have been focused on my events, but I couldn't quite get songwriting out of my head. Even when I went to bed that night, words and phrases were still floating inside my head.

I walked into school Tuesday morning like any other day. My morning classes were the same as always. But when I got to Glee, the day changed.

"I've been thinking... that we should do something as a team, like team bonding. I think that would really help us connect with each other to increase our on stage chemistry. On stage chemistry will help our voices and personalities blend together more, which should give us a leg up on the other competitors. After all, this is Regionals. We have to win here to get to Nationals. And Nationals this year is in New York. Wouldn't that be exciting? Going to New York?"