Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 97

"No." Shelby stared incredulously at her clinically insane co-coach. "No. What? No. We are not adding flamethrowers and welding equipment to the Nationals performance." She shook her head, returning to her work. Sue had waltzed into her office and had announced that to create a spectacle, they should incorporate sheet-metal work into their numbers.

"Best way to get props is to use props," Sue said breezily. "And what better spectacle could there be than a cascade of welding sparks timed to rhythm?"

"The spectacle of a performance without the occurrence of third-degree burns."

"That's what the face masks are for."

"It's going to be hard enough to sing, let alone to do it while wearing face masks. Not to mention it'll complicate the choreography." Shelby gestured at the diagrams Sue had mocked up. "Look at this, how are they supposed to get complicated choreography down in less than two weeks?"

"Grind, grind, pivot, kick, pivot, spin, flip, split. How complicated is that?"

Shelby's eyes took on a faraway look for a second as she considered - no. No, this was insane. This was almost on par with Sue's cannon idea from last year. And regardless of whether it was a feasible idea, there was no chance of them getting it together before Nationals. "I am all for the use of props as a way to augment a performance, but if you use too much, at some point it just gets tacky. I'd rather focus on the singing and the choreography. It's a show choir competition, not a circus."

Sue sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot." She flopped down on the seat in front of Shelby's desk. "Any idea what Vocal Adrenaline is up to?"

"I'm sure you do."

"Right in one. I have obviously made a grave error in judgement in encouraging Wade Adams to submerge himself in his/her 'Unique' persona. Instead of dragging Vocal Adrenaline down into the dregs of Regional ranking, he/she has in fact catapulted them to the top." Sue tapped her finger on the desk. "Now, since you've vetoed my welding idea, here is the next one. We need one of the boys to dress in drag."

Shelby shut her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We do not need any of the boys to dress in drag."

"It would put us over the top!"

"Even if it did - which I highly doubt - it's too derivative. I don't poach other people's ideas," Shelby told her haughtily. Besides, who would they even get to dress in drag?

Sue shrugged. "Well then, I'm all out. I thought you wanted to win."

"I do want to win, which is why we've been rehearsing every night for the past week," Shelby retorted. "And in my humble opinion, we have a very good chance of winning this weekend." It was true - the kids were very talented, and any deficiencies in raw talent were made up for with sheer practice. Sue had even provided additional dancers from her Cheerios to supplement their numbers, which wasn't exactly against the rules. "Look, we've been working on the routines since March, we can't just go changing it up days before the competition."

"Hmm. Maybe that's true," Sue conceded. "That's Butt-Chin's approach, I bet if her were in charge he still wouldn't have a set list by now."

Shelby scoffed, knowing that it was probably true. Long-range planning was not Will's strong point. "Well, unlike him, I intend to win."

"Good. My Cheerios are riding on this. I'll see you in rehearsals later." Sue stood up, looking thoughtful for a moment. "What about if I order a bunch of little people to dance in the number?"

"No."

..

Later that evening, Quinn smiled as Ryan slouched down on the couch in his living room next to her as they watched a movie. "Tiring day?"