Gleeboot (Season 2)

7. Pity Party

As Mia continued dancing with her dad, they were once again joined by her mother, who planted a kiss on Harry's lips and then showed Mia an envelope.

"What's this?" Mia asked, slowing to a stop.

Leslie handed it to Harry, who said, "There are other presents, of course. But I may need to leave the party a little early to catch my flight. So... I wanted to make sure I was able to present you with this one directly."

"What is it?" she asked as he gave it to her. She slowly opened it and saw that inside were three plane tickets.

"I made some calls and found out the official location for your cheerleading nationals competition," her dad explained. "It's going to be in Myrtle Beach. So, I went ahead and purchased your tickets. And it's going to be the week of your spring break. So, after a very long back and forth with your mother, we decided that we trust you to go by yourself."

"What?" Mia said.

"Those are tickets for you and two friends," said Harry, "so that you can stay in Myrtle Beach for the whole week. Hotel and everything."

Mia began to squeal but Leslie cut her off, "No drinking, no clubbing, nothing inappropriate or unsafe. Got it?" Mia nodded. "There's an itinerary at that hotel resort for family-friendly things that you girls can do. Spa, pool, beach, all of that great stuff. And I will be sending an adult with you to look after you."

"Someone from staff," Mia nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Still. This is amazing." She jumped up and down in celebration then said. "But mom, you won't get lonely here if I'm gone all week?"

"Actually," said Leslie, "I'll be flying out to Europe."

"What?" Mia frowned. "Without me?"

"It's a work trip," said Harry. "It's actually a great opportunity for your mother."

"I'll be joining your dad on a new line," said Leslie proudly. "We're going to create the concept together." She hugged up to Harry and said, "We planned to take you but we're going to be in so many meetings all week that it would leave you stuck in the hotel room pretty much the whole spring break."

"And with Nationals so close," said Harry, "we can't risk you getting stuck in another country. Cheerleading is everything to you, after all."

"True," Mia nodded, but the feeling in her was bittersweet.

"Go enjoy the party, sweetie," said Leslie. "Your dad and I have some details to work out."

They walked away and Mia glanced down at the tickets. There was one problem left. She had two tickets but she didn't have any friends to take with her.

***

Mia made her way to the glee table. Lola, Perla, Dominic, Floris, and Teddy were all there, talking, but they stopped when she arrived with a fake smile on her face.

"My dad just gave me one of my presents," she said. "He bought me tickets to Myrtle Beach for spring break. Apparently that's where cheer nationals will be so... He's letting me stay at a resort there all week."

"That's amazing," Floris said, hugging her while everyone else just stared in silence.

Mia looked at Lola and Perla, holding back her words for a moment before saying, "If you're willing... I mean, you both need to go to Nationals, anyway, right? Um, so I was thinking that I could take you two. It's an all-expense trip. It's not Palm Springs or anything but I think Myrtle Beach is supposed to be a cool city. I've never really been..."

She trailed off and the girls looked at each other. Then Lola said, "I have to check in with my mom first. And my coach. He might not let me miss so many practices."