Perfectly Imperfect

Laryngitis

"I am very disappointed in you guys."

Finn turned to glare at the brunette who provided their teacher a list of six New Directions who stopped singing in the past few weeks, "I can't believe you narced on us."

Rachel scoffed at the quarterback, unapologetic for her actions because she was suffering the repercussions of their lack of effort, "Don't get mad at me for exposing your laziness. I'm tired of carrying all of your weight. Regionals is in a month, guys."

Will Schuester reviewed his list of the six New Directions who hadn't been singing: Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, Brittany S. Pierce, Noah Puckerman, and Danielle Karofsky. Puck, Brittany, Santana and Quinn he could understand, but Finn and Dani was surprising to him. "I'm just trying to understand what's going on here. Finn, why did you stop singing?"

"Cause you started giving all the male leads to Jesse. It kind of shook my confidence, y'know."

When Mr. Schue looked to her next for an explanation Santana released an exasperated sigh, leaning forward on her elbows that rest on her tan knees, "What difference does it make? Everyone knows that my job here is to look hot."

Quinn shrugged, propping her chin on the heel of her hand, "My baby hormones are making me moody."

"There are so many lyrics," Brittany announced to justify her lack of performance, rubbing her temples to rub away the flooding memories of the countless words she'd had to remember over the past few months.

When Mr. Schue looked at one of his original six New Directions, all the Cheerio did was shrug and lean against Mike Chang's shoulder, "I might as well be wallpaper to you guys."

"Okay. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A glee club is about a myriad of voices coming together as one. Alright? This ends now. Which is why your assignment for the week is for each of you to come up with a song that best represents how you see yourself, where you are in your lives right now. Your voice. Then you're going to stand up here and sing your hearts out. All of you."

"Solos? In front of everyone?" Kurt gasped excitedly as Mike looked at his girlfriend, his eyes filling with dread.

Mr. Schue looked at each of his students, reassuring them that they were in fact assigned to perform solos over the span of that week, "The Glee Club has lost its voice. It's time for us to get it back."

Dani hung back as everyone slowly filtered out the doors of the choir room, eyeing the cello in the corner of the room. After Schuester noticed her still lingering in the room, she finally voiced her concern, "I'm sorry about last week. I was projecting onto you, I just am tired of being forgotten and I guess when you assumed I had something to do with it, I freaked. I just thought you knew I was better than that."

The following afternoon, the Glee Club assembled in the same room at the same time, awaiting the mezzo soprano who claimed the first slot and their teacher to bound into the room. The teenagers splintered off into small groups, having mini conversations on varied subjects. Mike, Mercedes and Dani were talking about what song the two dancers were going to sing when Noah Puckerman sat beside Dani, smirking at his latest object of affection, "Girl, you got more curves than a Nissan ad."

Mercedes, baffled by his lame attempt to pick her up, looked between the Cheerio she was conversing with and the football player who now lacks his signature mohawk, "Seriously? That's what you came up with?"

Dani chuckled, watching Mercedes turn back around so she didn't have to see Puck, imitating swinging a baseball bat as she taunted a disappointed Noah Puckerman, "A swing and a miss."

Mr. Schue finally entered the classroom, clapping his hands twice, "Alright, guys. Let's get things started."

"As I was first on the sign-up sheet, I'll kick things off," Rachel declared, taking her spot in front of the New Directions.