New Direction

“Are you ready for school, Joey?!” My mom called up the stairs. I had the only room on the second floor and I was loving the privacy.

“Yes! I’m coming!” I looked in the full length mirror once more, smiling at my reflection.

“Good luck, Joe. You’re gonna need it,” I winked to the girl in the mirror before grabbing my bag and running down the steps.

“Finally! You take longer to get ready than I do!” I jumped the last stairs, kissing my mom on the cheek and rushing past her.

“Perfection takes time, ma! I’ll see you after school! LOVE YOU!” I closed the door behind me, running to my dad’s rental car. I got used to getting up early a long time ago. My dad, Rick Perkins, loves teaching; I think it’s the only thing that really keeps him glued together.

That, and Maggie--my mom.

“C’mon, kid! We’re late!” my father laughed after I tripped over my own feet just inches from the car door.

“Sorry! Perfection-”

“Takes time, I know! Now, buckle up! McKinley awaits!” I giggled at his ecstatic tone, but did has he said, jolting forward as he took off.

“Calm down, dad. It’s just another job,” His face fell, pouting at my lack of enthusiasm.

“Aren’t you even a bit excited, Joe?!” I sighed, smiling.

“Of course! WOO!” My father lit up once again, continuing to drive down the road.

“Guess what?” my dad asked as we parked. The school looked so big, and I couldn’t help but give attention to the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

“Hm?” I questioned, unbuckling my seatbelt.

“A little birdie told me that McKinley has a Glee club!” I could feel my eyes sparkling as I jumped from the car.

“Come on dad!-- I mean, Mr. Perkins! Don’t wanna be late, do we?!”

“That’s my girl,” my dad laughed, climbing out of the car and leading me through the doors of my new school. It was still vacant, as it should be. It was- What? 7:03 a.m.? School didn’t start for another hour and a half, so I didn’t expect many students to be lurking the halls. I did find someone studying out of a math text book. I also spotted a couple--blonde, petite girl with a perfect nose in a cheerleading outfit and a tall, cute boy with dark, brown hair and gorgeous eyes holding a football helmet-- making out next to a drinking fountain. I laughed to myself, keeping up with my dad’s long strides.

“This is my classroom,” he announced. Room 128, English.

“Let’s hope I have ya, dad,” I grinned, slugging his shoulder before asking him where the office should be. Even with the simple instructions he gave me, I got lost, easily, and I found myself back at the doors we entered through. The studying student was gone, along with his algebra, and all that was left was the perfect couple-

Now arguing.

“I’m sorry, babe-”

“Sorry?! That’s it?! You’re sorry?! I’m tired of your half-hearted apologies, Finn! Stand up and be a man!” the blonde stomped away, yelling, “What’re you staring at?!” in my face before allowing herself to rush away. I licked my dry lips, glancing back at the boy--Finn. He looked like he was going to cry as he slammed his fist against the lockers. I felt sorry for him as he slid down to the carpeted floor. I took a deep breath and stepped to him, causing him to wipe his eyes and stare up at me.

“Are-are you okay?” I offered, knowing it was a stupid thing to say. Of course he wasn’t okay; he was crying on the floor of his school.

“Not exactly,” he mumbled, looking at his knees. I hesitated, but sat down beside him, clearing my throat.

“Y’know, I’m not deaf. My ears work, if you want to talk-”

“I don’t even know you,” he spat. I understood, under whatever circumstance he was under. He wasn’t trying to be mean; sometimes it just happens.

“All the more to trust me with your secrets,” Before I could think, I nudged him with my elbow, giving him my best, comforting smile. He rolled his eyes, but slightly grinned.

“My girlfriend, Quinn, she… She’s pregnant,” I nodded, letting him continue without interruption. “She wants me find a job and support her, and I’m trying, but she’s putting so much pressure on me, y’know?” Finn looked to me for an answer.

“I completely understand. It must really be hard on you,” the look he gave me told me that I was the first to actually take his side on the concept.

“Yeah, it is… I’m Finn Hudson,” he held out his hand. I shook it, firmly.

“Joanna Perkins. But I prefer Joey or Joe,”

“You want to be called Joe?” Finn chuckled, standing before helping me to my feet. I shrugged.

“I consider it a statement,” he smiled, releasing my hands and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, Joey, I saw you walk past twice. Are you looking for something?”

“The office, actually. My dad gave me the simplest instructions, and all I did was get lost,”

“Just between you and me… I’m kinda glad you did,” I stuck a piece of hair behind my ear, looking up at him. He was considerably taller than me.

“Just between you and me, I’m glad I transferred,” Finn grinned, leading me down a hallway to a room that said Office

“Well, Finn Hudson, thank you for showing me the simplest place to find in this entire school,” I was embarrassed; it barely took us a minute to get here.

“Think of it this way: If you hadn’t of gotten completely and utterly lost, you wouldn’t have met the cutest guy on earth-”

“Johnny Depp’s here?!” I searched the hall, playfully, seeing some students putting their things into their lockers. Finn laughed, opening the office door for me.

“I’ll see you later, Joey,”

“Let’s hope so,” I grinned before entering the office, stepping up to a woman behind the counter.

“You need somethin’, honey?”

“I’m Joanna Perkins, I just transferred here from L.A.?”

“Oh! Yes, hold on,” She rolled her chair to a filing cabinet., searching for a moment then pulling out a half sheet of paper.

“Here’s your schedule, sweetie. Welcome to McKinley!” I grabbed the paper with a “Thank you,” and exited the office, glancing at my classes. To my satisfaction, my father was my first period. In my haste back to room 128, I ran into something sitting in front of me, falling to the ground.

“I am so sorry,” I heard a boy apologize. I looked up to a cute boy with glasses, bow tie, and sweater vest, sitting in a red wheelchair.

“No problem, man. I should probably watch where I’m going,” I laughed, pushing myself off the ground. Now, he stared up at me, smiling a beautiful smile.

“Are you new here?” he questioned, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Is it that easy to tell?” I chuckled, fixing my shirt.

“Yeah, pretty much. I’m Artie,”

“Joey,” I shook his hand with a grin, spotting my schedule on the ground. Before I could reach for it, Artie bent over, picking it up and looking it over before handing it back to me.

“We have the same first. You… You wanna go together?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink before I pushed him away, walking to room 128 for the second time today. Almost all the seats were as we entered the classroom. They all continued to talk and I spotted 2 familiar faces. I sat down next to Artie, placing my bag at my feet, just before the bell rang.

“Alright, everyone, settle down,” After another moment, everyone went silent and my dad cleared his throat.

“Hello, I’m Mr. Perkins. Your former teacher, Mrs. King, was fired for reasons I’m not at liberty to discuss-”

“She slept with Spencer,” a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair exclaimed. The students murmured amongst themselves until my dad brought them back to attention. Teenagers get so off topic sometimes.

“Just let me take roll and then we can get started,”

He read the list off:

Artie Abrams- “Present,”
Mike Chang- “Here,”
Quinn Fabray- “Here and welcome to McKinley,”
Kurt Hummel- “Present!” (he practically-No, he sang it)
Mercedes Jones- “Sup, teach?”
Santana Lopez- “Yup,”
Brittney Pierce- “I wonder what we’re having for lunch?”
Noah Puckerman- “It’s puck, dude,”

“and Joey is here,” I waved at my dad with a smile after the list of 27 was read off.

“Who’s that?” Santana asked, looking at me.

“Joey Perkins,” I greeted, searching my schedule once again. “New student,” I saw a familiar smile from the corner of my eye. I grinned back to Finn before my dad started talking again.

“Mrs. King probably told you that when you come back from spring Break that you were going to start in on Romeo & Juliette. So, what I want you all to do is find a partner and study part of the dialogue. We’ll be performing it in a couple weeks. Get to work!” I turned to Artie with a grin.

“Be my partner?” I would ask Finn, but I’m sure Quinn wouldn’t be pleased.

“With pleasure!” he exclaimed, taking out a literature book and turning to the beginning of the best love story of all time.

Well, to me, anyway.

“I think we should do the proposal scene,” This was my favorite love story, I knew it like the back of my hand.

I got the roll of Juliette back in Cali.

“Absolutely. But, there’s a kissing scene, you know,” Artie bit his lip, pretending to read.

“Yeah, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” I grinned, motioning for my dad to come over.

“Dad, can we go in the hall?”

“Yeah, go ahead, sweetie,” I thanked him before I pushed Artie out into the hall. The whole period was spent rehearsing lines. We had this in the bag.

“I’m glad you’re my partner, Artie. Your acting is great,” Artie blushed, pushing his glasses up.

“Thanks. You’re pretty good yourself-” He was cut off by a slamming sound. I looked to the lockers ahead of us, spotting a huge guy pinning the boy I knew as Kurt Hummel against the lockers.

“Hey!” I shouted, running up to him and pushing him away. “Back off, dude. What’d he ever do to you?” the bigger guy stepped up to me with furious eyes, but laughed in my face.

“He’s a homo! I think that’s doing plenty!”

“Well, you’re fucking stupid! You don’t see me slamming you up against a wall!” His nostrils flared as he resumed his glaring.

“You better be glad I can’t hit a girl-”

“At least you aren’t that stupid,” I spat, glaring back as hard as I could. He moved his glance to Kurt.

“Watch your back, faggot,” He glanced at me one more time before storming off.

“Are you okay, man?” I questioned, looking to Kurt. The fear was in his eyes, but the hurt showed more.

“Sure. Never better,” He started to walk away, but I stopped him. Artie was beside me now.

“Does that happen often?” He shook my hand ff his shoulder.

“Just everyday of my life here at McKinley high. You get used to it after a while,”

“You don’t have to hide it. It hurts to be bullied. I should know,” I was usually the main target at my old school. I was shoved against lockers, walls, and tables; I’ve been called every name in the book, the most commonly used one being “freak”. Kurt stared at me for a second, the tears in his eyes slowly fading.

“Kurt Hummel,” he finally introduced himself.

“Joey Perkins,” He nodded in acknowledgment, all being startled by the warning bell.

“Thank you, Joey. Artie, I’ll see you in Glee,” Burt bowed his head before he took his leave.

“I should go to class, Joe. I’ll save you a seat at lunch,” I nodded to Artie before be rolled away, front wheels lighting up red, blue, and green, like those old shoes I used to have. I chuckled running to my math class, making it just before the bell rang. English, math, science, and now lunch. I was happy for that bell.

It happened to be my favorite one of the day- Besides the last.

I entered the cafeteria, searching the tables for a familiar face. I suddenly spotted Artie, laughing with Tina and Mercedes.

Should I go over there? What if I interrupt something?

“Hey, stranger,” I turned swiftly, looking up. It felt like I was looking up a building, trying to see what was in the sky.

“Finn, hey!” I greeted, not sure whether to stay where I was or hug him.

Girls can hug guy friends without people being suspicious, right? Before I could react, Finn hugged me, pulling away with a smile.

“How’s your first day going?” I shrugged.

“It’s been first-day-ish, y’know?” Finn laughed.

“Totally understand. I was wondering if you wanted to eat together. I could show you the auditorium.”

“Won’t Quinn be angry?” I glanced around, but didn’t see her perky little face.

“She went home sick,” he shrugged, pleading me with his eyes. I looked to Artie one more time before I nodded, grinning up at Finn. He beamed, taking my hand and dragging me to the auditorium. He spent the whole walk talking about how he was on the football team and in Glee club.

“It’s crazy. You never stopped getting beat up on,”

“Then why not quit one of them?” I was leaning towards football. Once I join Glee club, I get to see Finn all the time.

“If I quite glee, I’ll practically die. Singing gets me through my crappiest days,” I understood completely. “But if I quit football, I’ll be out-casted into no-mans land. I’ll never fit in again.” I opened my brown paper bag with a sigh, pulling out a granny Smith apple and biting into it.

“You didn’t strike me as the guy who cared what people think,” I replied after swallowing. He looked down, playing with his food. I decided to change the subject.

“So, how do I join this said glee club?” Finn brightened, setting his lunch down beside him as he let his feet dangle over the side of the stage.

“You’re interested?” I nodded, smiling because he was so excited for me to join.

“Can you sing?” I scoffed, standing up and walking to center stage.

“Of course I can,” Finn paused, then smirked, standing and walking to me.

“Anyone can sing, but can you sing good?” I rolled my eyes, dismissing his grammar air.

“Like I said, of course I can,” I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. The sound came out with beautiful force and it felt so good to sing on stage again.

How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I’ve become so numb.
Without a soul, my spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

Finn helped me a bit:

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve been come.

Now that I know what I’m without
You can’t just leave me
Breathe
Into me and make me real
Bring me to life

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve been come

Bring me to life
(I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside)
Bring me to life

Frozen inside
Without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you
Are the life
Among the dead…

(All of this time, I can’t believe I couldn’t see
Kept in the dark
But you were there in front of me)
I’ve been sleeping a thousand years, it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
(Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul)
Don’t let me die here
(There must be something more!)
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve been come

Bring me to life
(I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside)
Bring me to life

As the last note rang though the corridor, I looked to finn, blushing when I saw his wide open mouth, half based with a grin.

“Joey, that was-”

“Incredible! We both shot our heads to the audience neither of us knew we had.

“Mr. Schue! You heard that, right?”

Mr. Schue (also known as Will Schuester) hopped on stage, staring at me with a huge grin.

“You are a fantastic singer, Joanna,” I placed a piece of hair behind my ear, mumbling a, “Thank you,”

“Are you interested in joining the Glee club?” Again, I felt my eyes sparkle.

“Definitely!” Mr. Schuester laughed with pleasure.

“Excellent! Come to the choir room after school. It’s assignment day,” He shook my hand-clinging to it like he didn’t want to let go- then slugged Finn in the shoulder, exiting stage right.

“Y’know, you two kinda look alike… Anyway, you’re gonna love Glee, Joe. It’s my favorite place to be… And, now I’ll never wanna leave…”

“And why is that?” It was my initial instinct to bat my eyelashes, hoping I didn’t look like I was having a seizure.

“Because you’ll be there…” He leaned down, slowly, and I started panicking. I wonder if he noticed.

Calm down, Joe! Just, close your eyes and kiss him

No matter how wrong this is.

*BRINGGGG!*

Saved by the bell.

“Thanks for showing me this place, Finn,” I coughed out, quickly, picking up my lunch and practically running towards the exit.

“See you in Glee?” he called, hope and a bit of disappointment in his voice. I slowed to a walk, then came to a complete stop, turning to him with a grin.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I saw Finn smile before I walked out, collapsing against the nearest wall. Whatever just happened, it took the breath out of me. It was a good feeling for a bad reason. He has a girlfriend who’s having his child and I’m trying to kiss him. Some person I turned out to be.

“Stay there, Homo!” That voice practically sliced my nerves in two. Once again the football jock had Kurt up against the lockers, arm against his throat. I sighed-more in fury than anything-and dropped my stuff, storming up to them.

“Didn’t we already do this once today?!” I shouted, pushing the jock away.

“Hey Princess, how about you just leave me to do my job?” His breath was something I didn’t want that close to my face.

“Not if it means making someone’s life miserable. Now, get out of my face!” I pushed him, harder this time; hard enough that he ran into the lockers behind him. His eyes burned as he stood in front of me once again.

“Push me again and I’ll-”

“You’ll what? Stuff me into my locker?” I pushed him one last time, and instantly regretted it. Before I could move, his fist collided with my jaw, sending me beside Kurt, denting the bottom locker and my head (at least, that’s what it felt like).

“Oh my god!” Kurt shouted, pulling my chin up. I was going unconscious as people gathered around, excited murmurs all around. I could hear the jock trying to apologize, but no one would let him near me. The last thing I felt was being limply lifted from the floor and carried away.