When You Call My Name

“It’s been a week.” Jesse stated. He was standing on the stage, the rest of Vocal Adrenaline had taken seats in various spots on stage, since once again Jesse was keeping rehearsal from starting. If Ms. Corcoran would just show up then they could start, but like last Monday, and like last Wednesday. She’d been late more and more lately.

She had adopted a baby girl last year, and since then she’d been showing up late to rehearsal.

And it had only been a week.

Bethany thought she should have just gone through with her original plan and quit, but Jesse and most of the others agreed that they shouldn’t fix something that wasn’t broken. She had taken them to Nationals for years. Why change coaches now?

Still, it did result in them having to sit around listen to Jesse.

Again.

“It’s been a week and she’s not back.” He repeated.

“Why are you still hung up on this?” Bethany snapped.

“It messes up the whole group dynamic. We’re going to lose at Sectionals because the entire feel of the group is off.”

“No, we’re going to lose at sectionals because you won’t shut up and let us practice.”

“It messes up the choreography for the group numbers and her voice was more well suited for some of the songs. Besides, we don’t want her over at New Directions, telling them stuff about us, about the songs and the dances and how we work. She knows our weak links. The last think we need is them knowing everything we know. Everything she knows.”

For the first time Bethany shut up. Clearly that hadn’t occurred to her.

When Jesse had gone to New Directions he hadn’t told them such things. He wouldn’t put it past Alex, who clearly didn’t like any of them anymore.

Especially him. He still had that last text message from her. And the last thing it had been was friendly.

“I need to figure out a way to get her to come back here.” Jesse said, mostly to himself.

Text messages clearly weren’t going to work. He had to talk to her.

“It doesn’t matter.” Bethany finally said. “We can still beat them.”

“I don’t know.” Jason said slowly. “Better safe than sorry, right?” He asked.

Jesse nodded. “Besides, Alexandria was good. And even if their group does suck, they have some good voices. We really should get her back before she decides she likes it there.”

“What if she already does like it there?” Jason asked. “She’s been there for an entire week.”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah. But if I start now I can talk her out of anything she’s decided she likes.” He said confidently. “It’s only been a week. She was with us for three years.” And he’d known her since they were both children.

Just then Ms. Corcoran walked through the door. “What are you all doing standing around? Jesse, I thought I told you to just lead rehearsal when I’m late. And have you found a girl to replace Alex yet?”

“I’m working on it.” He said as rehearsal finally began. The others were standing on stage, ready to start rehearsal as soon as Ms. Corcoran did. “Actually…I have an idea to get Alex back. She’d be a better option than a new kid. She has three years’ experience and a strong voice.”

“You don’t have to convince me, Jesse, I want her back too. I don’t want to train a new kid and get them into performance shape by Sectionals. It’s a lot more work.”

“Well my plan needs your…permission.” Jesse said carefully.

She raised her eyebrows. “What’s your plan?”

~*~*~

It was nearing the end of rehearsal. It was getting a little better, Alex thought. They seemed to be accepting her now. She’d been in New Directions for a week.

And it was weird, getting used to how Mr. Schuester ran things. The second day back Rachel had announced she had a song to sing. And he had let her. That wasn’t how things worked in Vocal Adrenaline. When it was rehearsal it was rehearsal. They didn’t sing random songs, they sang the ones they were going to perform. That was what they did, they put together performances. Part of the time they focused on dance, part of the time on singing, and then they put it all together. And they drank a lot of energy drinks during their rehearsals, which grew longer closer to big performances.

But she kind of liked it. She wasn’t sure about how performances would go, but she liked relaxing. Which she could kind of do in Glee club.

Not that school was any fun. Because despite easier classes, she was not popular. Not even close. The cheerleaders—Cheerios, they were called—hated her, as did the football players. For the simple fact that she was in Glee club. They didn’t even know her.

Mr. Schue finished giving them their assignment that week—he wanted them all to do a type or genre of song they wouldn’t usually do.

That was another interesting thing. The weekly assignments. Last week she had just watched everyone else do their songs about new beginnings. This week she was going to participate though.

Watching them perform she knew that New Directions had talent. And a lot of it. Most of what Vocal Adrenaline said and thought about them was wrong. And she had a feeling anyone who had really seen them perform knew it too. It was just that Vocal Adrenaline had a lot more access to tools that made them winners. Enough money to afford cases and cases of energy drinks. They drank way too many energy drinks in one rehearsal alone. Expensive dance coaches that mostly just insulted people and put them on crazy strict diets. Well, the girls more than the guys.

And for some reason Alexandria had stayed on that diet all summer, out of force of habit maybe. She’d been on it for three years straight. She had finally stopped it last week, eating white pasta for, literally, the first time in over three years.

And then, of course, was the fact that Vocal Adrenaline had more access to potential members. Nobody wanted to join here, because they would be unpopular and bullied. Almost everyone at Carmel High wanted to join Vocal Adrenaline. They were the most popular kids in school.

So, basically, the odds were stacked against New Directions.

Mr. Schuester dismissed them, pulling Alex out of her thoughts. She grabbed her bag, heading out of the school to the parking lot. Another thing to get used to. Getting out of rehearsal at a decent time. What would she do with all her free time?

Even though her question had been serious, the thought amused her. She walked through the parking lot, making her way to her car. She still used the one Ms. Corcoran had bought all of them a couple years ago for one of their wins.

Another thing Vocal Adrenaline had over New Directions. An extensive and generous budget.

Still, she couldn’t afford a new car, and it was a nice car. She loved it.

But something made her stop as soon as she reached it.

And that something was Jesse St. James.