Unlikely Star

The New Rachel

*A/N: Welcome to Senior Year! I just wanted to give a quick disclaimer here that Mallory and Ryder are close family friends, and he's introduced in this chapter. I am in no way saying that Blake Jenner is a good person, and I do not support him as a person at all. But, I'm going to be separating the actor from the character in this story, so Mallory and Ryder will kind of be friends. Thank you for reading!*

Like every year, summer went by faster than I would've liked. It seemed like just yesterday that I was helping some of the seniors pack up their things and stuff it into their cars. Over the summer, I had to say goodbye to six seniors, which got harder and harder to do every time. I thought by the first day of school, I wouldn't be able to walk due to my dehydration from my tears.

Something positive that happened this summer was not having to worry about Sam leaving at any second. He actually stayed in Lima for the whole summer, mostly spending his time with me or Blaine. We went on so many dates that certain weeks, I had to turn off my phone so he couldn't text me to hang out. Don't get me wrong, I still loved Sam. But being surrounded by someone constantly for a short period of time can become slightly annoying.

Cheerios practices were becoming more and more rigorous. With Santana, and even Quinn, being gone, Coach Sue was trying to find a new top cheerleader to take over the spot of co-captain, and top of the pyramid. I remember from last year, Sue had said that she had been thinking of me for that spot due to my dedication and hard work, but I guess that conversation went out the window when she finally revealed who the captain would be. One day at practice, Sue called us all together and announced, "Your captain, for the 2012-2013 Cheerios team will be... Brittany Pierce."

I was happy for Brittany. At least that's what I was telling myself. I knew she was most likely the top contender for the spot due to the fact that she already had done her senior year before, meaning she had an extra year of experience. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to label myself as captain of one of the best cheerleading teams in the nation on my college application, but hey, hopefully my grades can help me.

I also went on a few college visits over the summer. I tried to convince Sam to come with me, but he told me he didn't want to think about that just yet. He said the thought of having to apply to college was stressing him out, and he didn't want to develop wrinkles just yet. Most of the colleges I was interested in were in Ohio, which was slightly disappointing. I thought I would be able to leave Ohio and be able to actually live in a city with more than one Target. There was one school in Michigan, University of Michigan in Dearborn, which had an amazing education program (what I want to study), and was located near some pretty big cities. It was also far enough away from home that my parents would have to warn me before they sprung a surprise college visit on me.

For once, the Glee Club members actually had a good reputation at school. Walking into the school, I wasn't met with glares or whispers. People were actually saying hey or giving me a short grin, which was a huge step up. I began looking around for Sam, who promised that we would start our senior year off together.

From up ahead, I saw his blonde hair stationed against one of the hallway walls. But before I could meet up with Sam, Jacob Ben Israel stepped in front of me, holding a microphone and shining a light in my face. This hopefully wouldn't become a regular occurrence during this school year. "Mallory Schultz, how do you feel coming into this school year?"

That was surprising. Jacob asking a sensible, non-inappropriate question. "Well, I'm excited to see how this year will go. With my amazing boyfriend, Sam Evans, by my side, I don't think anything could go wrong." I continued down the hallway, with Jacob trailing behind me.

"Now Mallory, is it true that when you found out that Brittany Pierce was the new captain for the Cheerios, you spent most of your time watching the new animated movie Brave in theaters and buying tubs of ice cream to eat and cry in said movie theater?"