You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

05. Wheels

Melanie glanced over at Tina, who seemed lost in thought as her gaze drifted towards Artie, who was trying to tie his shoe. With a mischievous grin, Melanie leaned in and nudged Tina gently.

"Artie's cute, don't you think?" she whispered teasingly.

Tina's cheeks flushed pink as she tried to play it cool. "Um, y-yeah, I guess."

Melanie grinned, nudging Tina again. "You should ask him out!"

Tina's eyes widened. "N-No, we're just friends," she insisted.

"If you say so," Melanie laughed, shaking her head.

Tina rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, if you think he's cute, you ask him."

"I'm more into blondes," Melanie mused with a grin, softly nudging her friend.

"Alright, guys, we're doing a new number for sectionals. I know that pop songs have sort of been our signature pieces, but I did a little research on past winners. And it turns out that the judges like songs that are more accessible. Stuff they know. Uh, Standards, Broadway," Mr. Schue announced as he handed the students sheet music.

"Defying Gravity?" Kurt exclaimed. "I have an iPod shuffle dedicated exclusively to selections from Wicked. This is amazing!" he added excitedly.

"Think you can handle it, Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked, turning his attention to the girl.

"It's my go-to shower song. It's also my ringtone," Rachel said confidently.

"Why do we have to go all vanilla on this song? See, what we need is my chocolate thunder," Mercedes quipped.

"Okay, we don't have time to rearrange the song for you, Mercedes. Rachel is singing it. Don't worry, we'll find something for you to dip in chocolate," he told her.

"Onto item two. The school won't pay for the special bus we need to take Artie and his wheelchair with us to sectionals," Mr. Schue announced sadly.

"W-W-What?!" Tina exclaimed.

"That's so unfair," Melanie added in disbelief.

"So, we're going to have to raise money to pay for it ourselves. See, when I was in glee club, and we needed new silk cummerbunds for Regionals, we held a bake sale," the teacher suggested, causing most of the students to groan or laugh.

"You're joking, right? I mean, bake sales are kinda bougie," Santana said.

"So hip, people stopped eating delicious sugary treats," Mr. Schue questioned.

"It's not that. It's most of us don't know how to bake. I find recipes confusing," Brittany said.

"My family is fully committed to takeout," Rachel added.

"Well, all of us wouldn't need to do the baking. Maybe just a few of us could do it if not everyone can," Melanie suggested, trying to find a solution that appeased everyone.

"Most of us have a lot more going on than just glee club. I mean, we've got homework, football, teen pregnancy, lunch," Finn countered, listing his responsibilities, and Melanie deflated slightly at the unintentional jab.

"Can't Artie's dad just take him?" Mercedes asked.

"He's part of the team; he should be riding the bus with us," Melanie insisted.

"I agree," Mr. Schue said, crossing his arms. "I can't believe how insensitive you're all being. Are you a team?" he continued.

"Of course. But Artie understands, don't you, Artie?" Quinn said.