Glee, Rachel Berry

[zakandsara]

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High. The Cheerios were flirting, the football team was punching, and the glee club was, as usual, gathered in the choir room for another one of Mr. Shuester's lessons. As the club shuffled in one by one, Mr. Shue greeted them much too enthusiastically, as always, and handed each member his sheet music for the week. 

"Mercedes, how's it goin?! Kurt! Looking good, buddy," Mr. Shue continued. It wasn't until this month's poster couple, Finn and Rachel waltzed in, hand in hand, that the meeting could finally commence. 

"Sorry we're late, Mr. Shue, I was just teaching Finn the importance of the relationship between a well balanced lunch and higher overall productivity. You see, he's been having trouble with his grades, what with football and Glee, and I thought if I gave him some helpful tips, he might finally be able to balance his life with the grace that I manage to. After all-"

"Rachel!" Finn interrupted, not so subtly hinting at shutting her up. 

"I'm sorry....carry on, Mr. Shuester," she said as she pulled Finn through the row of black chairs and took a seat next to him. 

"Uhh, thank you, Rachel. Anyway, to begin this week, I though we'd talk about the power of friendship. I've noticed that most of you aren't getting along as well as you used to and that might be having an affect on the way we're performing as a group. So-"

"Heht'TCHHIIEW!! Excuse me!" Rachel sneezed suddenly, and recovered very enthusiastically. 

"Bless you, Rachel. Anyway, I think this particular assignment would do best as a group project. So, I was thinking-"

"Hah-TSCHIII!" Rachel sneezed a second time and laughed, slightly embarrassed. This time, she noticed, several Glee-clubbers had given her dirty looks. "Pardon me, Mr. Shue. Go on."

"Okay, so as I was saying-"

"I'm sor-HAH'Ktchhiiiew!!! TSSHHHIIW!" 

"Alright Rachel, what's your deal?" Kurt, unable to keep his mouth shut anymore, shot at her. 

"Yeah, is your ass getting a cold? Cause we cannot be having that up in here," Mercedes added. 

"Last time I got a cold, my mom took me to the emergency room for medicine and I came home with crutches and a neck brace," Brittany thought aloud. 

"Guys, guys. Calm down, I'm sure Rachel's fine. You're fine, right?" Finn whispered to his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes dramatically at him and walked to the front of the room to face the Glee club. 

"Yes, friends, what you've heard is true, I am fine. I simply suffer from what WebMD describes as extreme hypersensitivity to my environment," she explained. 

"Um, what the hell are you talking about?" Puck spat.  

"Allergies," Mr. Shue clarified. 

"Yes, team, the rumors are true. And as spring seems to have sprung very early this year and my dads don't suffer from this debilitating condition, there was no medication to be found in the Berry household this morning, ergo no preventative measures were taken. Now, I know you're thinking, 'Oh no, how will we get along with our star soloist impaired in this manner?' Well, fear not, Glee-clubbers. My singing is completely unaffected and as any professional would do in my position, I will continue to push through the sniffling and put on a great show for you all. Thank you for your time and attention." Rachel took an unprovoked bow and returned to her seat. 

"What just happened?" Quinn, who said what everyone else was thinking, broke the silence after several seconds of blank stares toward Rachel. 

"Thank you, Rachel...for your wonderful explanation. Now, I'm going to split you into teams of 4 and I want you guys to come up with a song that truly represents the way you feel about each other. It's time this Glee club showed a little love among it's members, huh?" 

The club cheered out their approval and anxiously discussed their possibly teams as Shue prepared to announce them. 

"Okay, guys, ready? Puck, Sam, Tina, Brittany: team  one. Finn, Santana, Mercedes, Mike: team two. And that leaves Kurt, Rachel, Quinn and Artie for team three. Get to work, guys, have fun with it!"

After the teams met to collaborate for a moment or two, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. The kids all made quick plans for rehearsals and meetings and split, rushing to make their next classes. As the club filed out, Rachel, usually the last one in the room, was just finishing collecting her things when she turned into the crook of her elbow once again. "Heht-EEESHIIEW! Ugh..." 

"Bless you, Rach."

She gasped and whipped around. "Jeez, Mr. Shue, you scared me. I didn't think anyone else was in here," she laughed nervously as her heart rate lowered from the shock she had just received. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you can always go see Emma if you need help dealing with your allergies...I know she tends to help with things like that since she's, ya know, a health freak and we have no school nurse," he explained, chuckling. 

"Oh, well thank you very much, Mr. Shue, but I'm sure my dads will come through soon, it's just that they don't realize because they aren't afflicted as I am. I don't blame them, of course, I just...I know allergies are genetic and I can't help but feeling if my mother were around, she would be much more sensitive to my sensitivities. In any case, I thank you for your advice, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Mr. Shue."

And with that, Rachel left Will Shuester as she usually did; with a quick hair flip and his uninterrupted perplexed gaze all the way to the door. 

Tell me what you think and more will come.

[Anonymouse]

I don't watch this show religiously but I have seen a few episodes and I just wanted to say you did an awesome job at keeping everyone in character! The sneezes were very Rachel-esque too. I really like how you write and I would love to see more!