Mia Anderson

Part 61

We were all in the choir room having fun and I sat on top of the piano while everyone randomly played instruments. I then saw Mr. Shue walk in and moved around on the piano carefully to face him still sitting on it.

(Mr. Shue) "All right, big week, guys. Come on. Gather round."

Everyone gathered around the piano facing Mr. Shue.

(Mr. Shue) "I have here in my hand... Drumroll, please... A secret list of the show choirs that we will be in competition with at Nationals in six weeks. Okay, let's see what we've got. We got the Rust-Belters from Pittsburgh, the Thunder Showcats from Gainesville."

Mr. Shue started to look hesitant and nervous.

(Mr. Shue) "And finally, from Fort Wayne, Throat Explosion."

Shit.

(Tina) "No! Why, God?!"

(Mia) "We are so screwed."

(Jake) "Uh, what? Throat Explosion? That's a joke, right?"

(Blaine) "Anything but. They're the new supergroup the Show Choir Underground's been buzzing about. Their budgets for costume, makeup, hair alone are astronomical. You guys have read that Malcolm Gladwell book. Outliers, right?"

The room was silent and I raised my hand up meaning that I did.

(Mia) "Gladwell says you can't possibly master anything unless you've spent 10,000 hours practicing it. So students can't even join Throat Explosion without proving they've logged in 10,000 hours of show choir rehearsal."

(Blaine) "They don't even go to class. They just perform, every minute of every day. They live their art. They know no boundaries. They're constantly pushing the envelope, living and performing on the edge."

(Mia) "They're like mini Lady Gagas."

(Tina) "We're so screwed... they're not like Vocal Adrenaline, who were unfeeling Borg robots. They're total outsiders and misfits, which used to be our niche. We can't compete with Throat Explosion anymore at that level because we lost our biggest Gaga when Kurt graduated last year. Look around, we're a room full of, like, Katy Perrys now."

(Unique) "Oh, you best check your spectrum, Queen T, because orange is the new black, and Unique is the new Gaga."

(Mia) "I am also definitely a Gaga."

(Tina) "Well, not Marley... she's a Katy Perry. So is Sam, so is Blaine."

(Blaine) "I'm a Katy Perry and I'm proud of it."

(Mr. Shue) "Uh, the truth is, Tina, we're a potent mix of Katy Perrys and Lady Gagas in here. But it's not a liability... it's the way we're gonna beat Throat Explosion. Some of us in here are, you know, ambi-edge."

(Artie) "Ambi-edge? You just made that up."

(Mr. Shue) "Uh, some of us are more, you know, wholesome, innocent, romantic, all-American girl-and boy-next-door types. Uh, who in here would describe themselves as a Gaga?"

Myself, Kitty, Tina and Unique put our hands up in the air while Jake shrugged a bit.

(Mr. Shue) "Okay, great. And the rest of you are Katys?"

(Ryder) "Is there a third option?"

Mr. Shue then went up to the white board and I moved myself around a bit to face it.

(Mr. Shue) "We're gonna mix it up a little bit. We're turning our weaknesses into our strengths."

I watched him as he wrote 'Katy Vs Gaga' on the board and I nod my head slightly smiling.