“Oh.” Rachel had almost forgotten all about that idea. She was surprised the rumor mill had been spreading it—usually, if the news wasn’t something nasty, no one cared. “It’s something I’ve been looking into.”
Maybe it was partly the Glee Club’s recent success that made her think twice about transferring, but even before that, her heart just hadn’t been in it. Maybe there were better schools for her to develop her talent, but McKinley High had one thing none of them did: Finn Hudson. She knew it was silly to base her decision—and possibly her entire future—on a boy she’d talked to a handful of times, but she couldn’t help it. She knew something was there.
Finn nodded and leaned back against the lockers. He looked so casual and handsome, like a boy in the JCPenney ads that came in the mail. “Well, I just wanted to tell you that I thought what you guys did at the dance was pretty cool. You sounded really good. And looked good.” He turned red. “I mean, all of you. Not just you.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “Thank you,” she said, her brain reeling. Finn really seemed nervous talking to her.
Finn shrugged. “I just wanted to make sure I said something to you before you left.”
Rachel smiled sweetly. “I’ve actually decided not to go anywhere. A certain person helped me change my mind about McKinley,” she added pointedly.
“Oh, cool.” Finn didn’t seem to catch her reference, which was fine. He was dating Quinn Fabray, after all, and Rachel wasn’t going to throw herself at him. Well, not exactly. But there was nothing wrong with letting him know what he was missing, was there? “Their loss is McKinley’s gain, then.”
Besides, Rachel thought, the performance at the dance—which had been almost completely spontaneous—ha w€pontaneoËs—hd reminded her how easy it was to shine brighter when surrounded by mediocrity. She was ready to be the big fish—the biggest, glitteriest, most talented fish—in the very small pond of McKinley High. In fact, she was born ready for it.
“That’s really nice of you to say.” Rachel glanced toward the cafeteria, and she saw the Glee kids waiting outside the door for her. “I guess I’ll see you around, Shark Finn,” she said sassily before she spun around on her heel and walked slowly away.
Finn stared after her, watching her cute butt sashay down the hallway. How did she know it had been him? “Hey, wait a second!” His long legs only needed a couple of strides to catch up with her. He lowered his voice so no one nearby could hear. “If you got my warning about the Cheerios messing up the recital, why did you still go on?”
“No offense, since I know you’re dating one, but the Cheerios don’t rule the world, and I’m not going to let them tell me what I can and can’t do.” Rachel’s lips tingled from being so close to Finn. She’d had a dream the other night in which they were sitting in a library—a nice one, with leather books and chairs, not like the school library—and he looked up from a book and leaned over to kiss her. When she woke up, her body tingled all over. The kiss had felt real—so real she felt like the dream was a premonition. She was going to kiss Finn Hudson someday.
“That’s probably a good policy.” Finn gave her a half wave and turned away. He had a funny feeling in his stomach, like he’d eaten too much shrimp or something.
Rachel grinned to herself as she walked away. Up ahead, she could see a football player take Kurt’s math book and throw it in the trash. Okay, so maybe things weren’t completely different yet, but at least they were heading in the right direction. Glee Club had entertained the entire school at the dance, and Finn Hudson was talking to her. Someday, she might even kiss him.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of McKinley High,” Rachel said into the announcement-room microphone a few minutes later. When Principal Figgins had originally agreed to let Rachel run the morning announcements on a two-week trial basis, he probably had no idea how excellent she was going to be. He was most likely going to be heartbroken that this would be her final broadcast—it wasn’t that inconceivable that her cheerful morning updates were like a ray of sunshine in his otherwise depressing day.
“As you all know, this weekend saw our very own McKinley High football team lead a valiant effort against Central Valley. While we did not win the game, I know everyone—myself included—is proud of our team.” Rachel paused. She wondered whether Finn knew she meant him. She wasn’t really proud of anyone else.
She took a deep breath so the next words wouldn’t get stuck in her throat. “Also, I’d like to extend my congratulations to the new homecoming king and queen, Finn Hudson and Quinn Fabray.” But, really, she wasn’t jealous. She never wanted to be someone who was admired just for her outer beauty, like Quinn. It might be nice for a while, but Rachel would much prefer that people admire her for her amazing talents instead.
Besides, if Quinn’s boyfriend kept having “moments” with Rachel, Quinn’s life couldn’t bõ€ife couldË’t e that perfect.
“But most of all,” Rachel’s voice boomed through the classrooms, “thank you, everyone, for your undivided support of the brief Glee performance at the dance. You’ll all be happy to know that Glee Club has, at long last, been awarded substantial funding, and you will definitely see more of us in the future.” She didn’t care if Coach Sylvester came bursting into the room threatening to suffocate her with a pair of red-and-white pom-poms; Rachel had earned the right to give herself a little pat on the back. And the other Glee kids, too, of course.
“In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some words from Tom Petty.” Tom Petty wasn’t her favorite recording artist, but she couldn’t find a more perfect song than “I Won’t Back Down.” She belted out the lyrics with power. Rachel backed away from the microphone, unable to keep the grin off her face. She imagined the lyrics slowly sinking into the conscious brains of the McKinley High students and faculty, courtesy of her own sweet voice.
The year was off to a pretty great start, after all.
As Rachel strolled away from the announcements office, Mr. Schuester approached Mr. Figgins’s office from the opposite end of the hall.
“Figgins? I wanted to talk to you about the Glee Club.”
herbod N
Glee_ The Beginning_ An Original Novel (Glee Original Novels) - Sophia Lowell.mobi Page 15