Something I Can't Fake

Chapter One:

For the first time in her high school career, Tina thought about skipping Glee Club. It was the day that followed her confession to Artie about her “stutter”. Glee brought them together, why make things worse by returning. Anyways, there was only fifteen minutes of practice left; there wasn’t much of a point in returning now. As she passed by the room where Glee was practicing, she slowed down and listened.

“That sounded great, guys!” Mr. Schu commented.

Tina could tell their choir director was smiling; he always was after they performed. Without thinking about it, Tina’s hand reached for the door handle, and she let herself inside. The whole group turned their attention to her, but Artie was the first one to loose interest. Tina wasn’t surprised by his actions, but she sure wasn’t ready for them. Some things you just can’t prepare for.

“How nice of you to join us.” Mr. Schu said raising his eyebrows.

“S…sorry…Mr. Schu.” Tina said looking at the ground.

She saw Artie take a deep breath and look at her from the corner of his eye. Probably, he was the only one in the room that knew that Tina Cohen-Chang was a big fake. He looked quite disappointed in her…and honestly; Tina was disappointed in herself too. Stuttering was kind of her thing, she couldn’t imagine what would happen if everyone found out about it.

“How about you take a seat…we were gonna do one more song before calling it quits for the night.” Mr. Schu said.

Tina bit her lip and slightly nodded. Rachel scooted a spot closer to Finn and patted her previous seat with a toothy smile. Artie forced himself not to look back at her, easier said then done. He did not understand why she still had a footprint in his mind. That’s when he realized he was thinking about her.

“See you tomorrow, kids.” Mr. Schu said with a smile. He loved his Glee club. It was the one thing that let him forget all his troubles at home. Every single kid held a special place in his heart.

Artie began to roll out of the room when a book jumped from his arms. Out of old habit, Tina immediately bent down and got it. With the book in her hand, she felt out of place…but walked in front of Artie and handed it to him anyways. Then, before anything else could be said, she speeded walked out of the room. Artie breathed deeply though his nose as he slowly shrugged his shoulders.

“What…Tina too cool for you now?” Finn asked walking up to Artie’s chair.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Artie sighed, shaking his head.

“Uh…okay.” Finn said confused.
“Want a push outside?” Finn asked, trying to change the subject.

“Please.” Artie said looking up at Finn.

Finn took the back of Artie’s chair and pushed it out the door. It didn’t feel right without Tina behind him.

“Damn it, Artie, stop it.” He said under his breath.

As Tina walked down the halls in the opposite direction as Artie, she heard footsteps chasing after her. There was only one person who walked with that much confidence and pride, Rachel. Tina stopped and remained to face forward so “big mouth” could catch up with her. As she waited, Tina imagined what Rachel could possibly want.

“Now Tina, I know you haven’t had the YEARS of practice that I have had, but you’re a little flat. I suggest a tutor. Me, for instance, would be a GREAT choice.”

Tina snickered quietly to herself as she imitated Rachel’s voice in her head. The sad part was that it sounded just like what she would say.

“I have something to say.” She said.

“You always do.” Tina replied.

“Now I know we’re not very close, but I couldn’t help but notice tension in the room between you and Artie.”

“So what?” Tina snapped.

“Well I’m just saying, with sectionals in a few weeks, that you two must clear it up. Any bitter energy during our performance would definitely bring down our score.” Rachel said nodding her head.

“Well I better get right on that.” Tina said, sarcastically.

“Glad we have an understanding. Thanks Tina.” Rachel said putting her arm around Tina before continuing forward.

Though Rachel was kind of a “in your face” kind of person, Tina couldn’t blame it all on her. She didn’t know what was going on, and was looking out for sectionals.

“No Tina today?” Artie’s mom, Catherine, asked pushing his chair on the mini elevator for their minivan.
After Glee practice, Catherine would always drop Tina home. Both of her parents worked late, and it was on the way. Plus, she knew her son enjoyed it. He had always had a thing for her.

“No.” Artie replied.

“Oh.” Catherine said, surprised.

Artie strapped his chair in while his mother made her way to the drivers seat. He looked out the window to see Tina coming out of the school. She looked in his direction, but then just sat on the stop step on the entrance stairs. He quickly lost interest.

“You in?” Catherine asked looking back at her son.

“Yes. Let’s go.” Artie said making sure his mom didn’t see Tina.

Tina watched the Abram family car drive off of campus. With her parents look schedule; she’d be stuck there for another couple hours. To pass the time, Tina took out her mp3 player. The first song that came up on scuffle was “Last Day on Earth” by Green Day, a love song.

“You know…maybe I’ll start homework instead.” Tina said to herself.

“What are you still doing here, Tina?” Mr. Schu said coming down the stairs.

“Oh…um…I-I.” Tina stuttered.

“Want a ride home” Mr. Schu smiled.

“Th…that’d be great.” Tina said picking up her things and following her Glee coach though the parking lot.

It amazed Tina how much Artie’s disappearance in her life effected it. And this was just the first day.