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"HEY, MOM?" Courtney called out as she arrived home. The older woman had to leave school early that day for an interview, so Courtney had to find a way home herself.
"In the kitchen, sweetie," her mother replied. Sue was cutting some fruit for Courtney as an after-school snack. Seeing the bowl of mangoes on the counter, the younger blonde brightened. She loves mangoes.
"So... A little birdie told me that you let Becky Johnson on the Cheerios. She's a lot like auntie Jeanie, isn't she?" she remarked, popping a mango slice in her mouth.
"When I saw her audition, she reminded me of the girl Jeanie always wanted to be. Instead, she's in hospice. I feel like I let her down. So, I made a promise to myself. I will never let Becky down the way I let Jean down," her mother confessed.
It was hard for Sue to think about her little sister's condition. When they were children, all Jeanie would talk about was how she would love to be able to dance and cheer.
Unfortunately, her disability led her to be bedridden. The woman could not stand up without help, let alone dance on her two feet. It was heartbreaking for Sue to see her sister that way. She was the older one. The one who was supposed to protect her sister. Instead, she was forced to watch her sister lose the sparkle in her eyes, unable to do anything about it.
Moving to pull her mother into a hug, Courtney sighed. "Oh, mommy. You didn't let auntie Jeanie down. She loves you so much, and so do I. Besides, having a pseudo-little sister doesn't seem so bad to me."
Sue tightened her arms around the younger girl. "You always know how to make me feel better. I love you, baby," she mumbled into her hair.
"I love you too, mommy."
♪♪♪
This week's assignment is to sing a ballad with a partner. Since the New Directions had an odd number of members, Mr Schue put his name in the hat, which proved to be a terrible idea.
The older man was partnered up with Rachel, who decided it was appropriate to sing Endless Love as their ballad (he was her teacher, for God's sake!). The other students seemed to like it, but Courtney could only scrunch her face in disgust at the apparent love-stricken gaze the brunette gave her teacher.
Courtney will admit that it was a fantastic performance, but she was uncomfortable with the energy Rachel had brought into the room. It was creepy. The girl was glad that she got Matt— who seemed like a respectful guy.
The two teens decided to sing one of Courtney's originals, titled Tell Me That You Love Me. However, that didn't end up happening. Tina and Mercedes brought up the idea of singing a ballad for Finn and Quinn instead, so that's what they did.
