The Way We Were

The Way We Cooter

Coach Sylvester noticed Coach Beiste with a black eye with a frown. The new swim coach, Coach Roz Washington stopped up beside her, both blondes shaking their heads.

"Somebody should do something." Coach Washington smacked her bright pink lips.

"She won't confide in us. I've asked both Curly Sue and Irma but neither know anything." Coach Sylvester put a hand to her baby bump.

"Somebody should still do something."

W.W.W.

"What's this meeting about?" Finn asked as he wrapped his arm around Tina.

"Coach Beiste." Marcy stood in front of the glee club and select cheerleaders and football players.

"Is it because she has a black eye?" Brittany worried. "Maybe she fell?"

"I fall all the time and rarely end up with a black eye. At least just a black eye. Nope. This ain't clumsiness. This is malicious."

"What's malicious?" Puck wondered.

Mercedes rubbed his back. "It means harmful."

His eyes widened. "What?!"

"You mean Cooter has been hurting Coach?!" Finn was just as shocked.

"But Cooter's so nice?" Vic was having a hard time with this.

"People hide ugly well." Marcy's past told her that in Technicolor.

"So what should we do?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Some of you will be performing for her. Songs that'll make her feel better and let her know that she has friends and that we'll be there for her."

"Awesome." Artie was dead serious. "She's the nicest coach in the district and probably one of the nicest people in the world."

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Who's going to be performing?"

Marcy wrote names on the board. "Mercy, Rachel, Britt, Sugar, T, Mari, Tana, Kurt, Joe, Rory. Bas, Anna, P, L, Yuri, Car and Caleb will be her security. Whenever she's on school property, she's under your protection. That means if someone is inky as fuck, keep them away. No matter who they say they are."

"What about the rest of us?" Karen feared what her best friend was going to say.

Marcy erased the board. "Meet me at Breadstix at seven o'clock tonight."

Puck, Mike, Finn, Quinn, Vic, Javier, Karen, Karou, Jude, Artie, Daisy, Mal and Blaine looked at each other in worry.

W.W.W.

"You got in late last night." Mercedes looked at her spouses as they ate breakfast. "Why'd Marcy want to meet you at Breadstix at seven?"

"It was the best time." Quinn said breezily.

"For?"

"Dinner."

Mercedes didn't believe that for a damn minute. She pierced her honest husband with a stare. "What'd you do?"

"Never admit, never surrender, never get caught." Mike recited their family's motto.

Mercedes gasped before hissing, "You killed him?!"

"Dammit!"

Quinn rolled her grass eyes. "It doesn't matter. You can't tell. No snitching. It's the family way."

Mercedes looked at both in worry. Their family had rules; one of which was no telling on each other. Then she thought about it. If Cooter had been hurting Coach Beiste (who was her favorite adult in the entire school), he deserved to rot in hell. "What song should I sing for her?"