Pirouetting Places (Chapter 1, Part 1)
“Hey Rachel!” Mercedes calls from her spot next to Kurt, the boy who had become her other half over the course of the current school year. “Kurt and I are goin’ to Pizza!Salad! to hang out and think of a song ideas for this week’s assignment. You wanna come?”
“Five dollars for bottomless salads! Fat free dressing, of course!” Kurt offers.
“No thanks, Mercedes, Kurt, I have places to be!” Rachel calls, before picking up her schoolbag and a small, purple duffle with her initials embroidered in white.
Mercedes and Kurt glance at each other and shrug, confused.
They tried to invite Rachel to one of their outings, but she obviously had somewhere else to be.
It’s Rachel that they’re thinking about and most in Glee Club don’t understand her, so they brush it off. They’re not going to over- think a situation that’s never been.
Though they use to find Rachel obnoxious, she hasn’t done anything to compromise Glee club lately, and, dare they say, she has become tolerable.
Puck glances at Finn for an answer, but Finn shrugs. They have long since decked out their anger through fist fighting, and though Finn kisses and tells like most guys, he’s not really sure what to say about where Rachel goes after school most days. It’s not his business to say, so he doesn’t.
Though no member of Glee club will say anything, they wonder about Rachel… they care about her whereabouts and not just for practice reasons, or because she’s co-president of the club… they wonder because she’s their acquaintance... their friend…
Rachel rushes out of McKinley high and to the Mauricio Augustus School of Dance in downtown Lima.
This afternoon, she has Advance Dance 4 at the dance studio. In AD4, the class does relatively complex routines and the teacher points out how moves are be done differently in Advanced Point 4.
A frail blonde strolls gracefully into the studio, sets her bag down next to Rachel, and sits down next to her bag.
“How are you today, Diana?” Rachel asks, as she finishes putting on her pointe shoe on her right foot.
“Good. “ The blonde pushes her bangs back and slides a bobby pin in. Her bun is now perfect.
“Excellent! Have you been practicing turning your foot out during your fouettes?” Rachel asks, mostly so she can tell Diana that she (Rachel) has been practicing hers and perfected it.
“I have.” Diana pulls out a shoe, only half- listening to Rachel. She knows that Rachel tends to show off, and she has learned to zone the blabber- mouth out and only listened for emphasized words, due to Rachel’s love for the… dramatic.
“I have to, Diana! Mine has much improved since last class, and let me tell you, I am psyched to show Madam Guilia and the class! I have learned that if I focus on my knees, I can keep my toes pointed, and I think that the class will feel that this tip will help them, as well…” As Rachel speaks, 5 or 6 other dancers come in and began to change in small, but effective room designated for doing so.
“Cool.” The laid back dancer offers a chilled smile, big enough for Rachel to notice her attention.
“It is!” Rachel agrees, standing up and tying her pink skirt over her black leotard.
“Diana! Rachel! Hey!” Tanned, brunette, Violet walks in, her eyes seeming even wider though her thick, violet colored glasses. She tosses a can of (sugar- free) Red Bull into the recycling on her way through the door.
“How many of those have you been through today?!” Natural- brunette- dyed- blonde, Laura challenges.
“Not as many as Rachel has had cups of coffee!” Violet defends herself.
Rachel perks up at her name.
“Hi guys!” Red- haired Gabrielle calls, practically running through the door, knowing that she is late. “What are we talking about?” Gabrielle demands to know.
“Violet’s Red Bull versus Rachel’s coffee consumption.” Laura notifies the group shamelessly. At Carmel High, she has a 4.2 GPA, is the student council president, and will be attending NYU in the fall. Her mind is always being spoken, and she is (almost always) agreed with.
“I don’t really know.” Diana shrugs.
Rachel wiggles in her spot on the floor where she is stretching. The other girls can tell that she is anxious to say something.
“What is it, Rach?” asks Gabrielle, ever- the- compromiser.
“Can I just say that I AM a busy person! I have school, vocal lessons, Glee Club, which I am the captain of, not to mention dance. I--“
“Afternoon, ladies!” Madam Guilia is standing at the door of the girl’s changing room. “It’s 5 to 5, so make your way over to Studio A, now.”
With their instructor’s words, Gabrielle rushes to take her inhaler, Laura to take her blood sugar, and there is a lot of shuffling around as 15 girls rush to finish getting ready and onto the dance floor. All conversation is forgotten.
Dance class ends and while the other 14 girls in the class take their time or prepare for their next class, Rachel rushes out. She has vocal lessons to get to across town.
She jumps in her car (she was practically the first junior at McKinley to have her license), she speed- eats a vegan health bar on her way and downs a cup of cold coffee she filled from the coffee machine at the dance studio (Rachel’s idea, but they kept one there, because the girls practically lived there.)
She parks her car sloppily- 2 feet from the curb- then runs into the music studio.
Her vocal coach, Joanna, is sitting, flipping through a sheet music, looks up, slightly annoyed. “Are you ready?” she asks Rachel.
Rachel scoffs, “Of course I’m ready! I was born ready! Who do you think I am?!”
Joanna smirks. Rachel drips the kind of confidence that can only come from a girl who knows she is talented and will have options once she gets out of her sheltered world.
It’s Tuesday, and Rachel has a brief meeting with Finn after school.
They’re in the music room and it’s empty, because the band kids have a performance over at the elementary school. It’s a wonder that no other club members have shown up wanting to use the room yet; but Rachel is known for her motivation and speediness, and already had dibs on the room.
Rachel has ordered an emergency meeting with Finn to decide what duet they are going to sing on Friday for their weekly Glee assignment.
“Although I appreciate your initiative,” Rachel lowers her voice. “I don’t think that I am suited to sing Every Other Weekend… It’s too country…”
“And no offense, but I don’t really want to sing show tunes all of the time, either…”
“I don’t really like your answer,” Rachel swallows and Finn prepares for his girlfriend to blow up, “But I appreciate your honesty.”
Finn sighs deeply. “Well, what about Falling Slowly? That Once movie we watched last Friday for your theatre group was kind of cool.”
Rachel lights up, and Finn grins back.
“Okay, so I think that we should…” Rachel begins blabbing off ideas and Finn nods his head, listening to as much as his brain can take. He knows that Rachel will give him a copy her notes later, so he mostly just sits and listens.
A few minutes later, Puck opens the door and Tina, Artie, and Mercedes file in after him.
“Hey Dude.” Puck nods his head at Finn. “Hey Rachel.”
“Hey,” Finn greets his friend.
“Hello Puck, thank you for the welcome! Hi Tina, Artie, Mercedes.” Rachel waves to each person, then frowns and looks around the room frantically for a clock.
“Whoa, slow down. What are you looking for?” Puck asks, in a teasing manor, which could have been mistaken as mean, had he not been a member of Glee and almost one of Rachel’s friends.
“I- uh- am looking for-“ Rachel begins to say, but doesn’t finish, then grabs her book bag and monogrammed purple duffle and runs out of the room.
Rachel rushes to the dance studio, but drives surprisingly well. Ten minutes later, Rachel is at the dance studio.
Diana’s nose is in a tabloid and Rachel stops a moment to wonder what Diana’s mom would say if she caught her reading it. Violet is talking animatedly to a group of 5 or 6 girls in their tap class about her latest hookup. Violet is loud and brash about all things regarding her love life. Rachel wonders Violet’s sister Lilah is on her mind. Rachel knows that it’s on all of theirs, but she’s not really sure how people deal with death, because it’s not something that Rachel Berry knows how to do. Laura is checking her blood sugar and Rachel remembers the sixth grade when Laura got sick, was admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes- something that none of them had any idea about. Gabrielle is swirling around a canned health shake prescribed to her by a doctor, and Rachel worries that Gabrielle’s weight might be dropping again, but Rachel doesn’t say anything about it, because Laura and Gabrielle are in an intense conversation about some intense plans.
“Sky diving?!” Gabrielle suggests, her medium length hair bobbing, as she hasn’t put it in the required bun yet. Short hair is not allowed in dance, as it can’t be put in to a bun.
“Movies?”
“Rock climbing?” Gabrielle grins, her green eyes wide.
“Too far.” Ever-the-logical-friend, Laura responds.
“There’s that indoor place.” Gabrielle offers.
“What are you talking about?” Rachel asks, trying to join the conversation.
“Fun activities!” Gabrielle exclaims. “We haven’t done anything outside of dance in like… a week…”
“Ooh!” Violet joins the conversation. “What about…”
“Laser tag!” Laura, Violet, and Gabrielle all say at the same time, then break out in joyful laughter.
Rachel frowns, sad that she did not have the thought, but then again, laser tag is a concept hidden in her mind behind everything musical theatre, Barbara Streissand, boys, and dance.
At school, Rachel would be brash and make an obvious comment, but there is something to be said about giving a comment to a person whose friendship doesn’t much affect you.
“You in?” Violet asks. “Diana?”
Diana looks up and tosses the tabloid back to Laura.
“Rachel?” Violet asks.
Rachel frowns. “I have theatre group tonight, which I can not afford to miss if I want to-“
“Get into NYU and study theatre, star on Broadway, be the *Rachel Berry with a star on her name?” Laura asks, her tone light and teasing.
Rachel pouts, but the other girl’s shrug it off- they have known each other since they were 3 and know how to tell Rachel Berry “no”- and they know that she won’t leave them now. Not after everything that they have been through together.
“Tomorrow?” Diana suggests.
All 5 of the girls nod, and with simple head movements, their plan is finalized. They are dancers, after all, and they know how to read body movement.
“Girls!” Madam Guilia calls, signaling that class is going to star soon.
Class ends and Rachel rushes out of Studio A and pulls off her tap shoes, even though her feet are still vibrating. She feels her pulse practically beat to the rhythm of the dance that they were working on in class.
She puts her feet in her Mary Jane’s quickly and gracefully- something that she has learned from years of multitasking and dance- and rushes out.
Theatre group is at 6:30 at the local recreational activities center.
The group watches a movie a week, then meets on Tuesday nights to discuss the movie they’ve each watched on their own over a light dinner. Rachel keeps up on all films this way.
Rachel’s evening ends with the prospect of watching The Sound of Music. Everyone in her group has seen it before, but they will all watch it again, and have it fresh on their mind to discuss next Tuesday.
Rachel drinks a cup of coffee at film group, then ends her night doing homework to The Last Five Years soundtrack (Jesse’s recommendation).
Wednesday after school, Rachel meets with Finn and Brad. They go over the song that they will sing on Friday (Falling Slowly from Once), 3 or 4 times, then they leave so that Brad can help the other groups go over their songs.
“This way!” Rachel demands.
“Um…” Finn responds. “Okay…?”
“I got Mrs. Mayer to unlock the bio room, because they don’t actually do anything in here and there’s tile floors. They’re not wood, but we’ll have to make due. Do us a favor and push the desks out of the way?”
Finn got up and pushed 3 or 4 desks out of the way and that cleared a space in the front of he classroom to move.
“Pushing them further out would be extremely helpful!” Rachel exclaims.
Finn cowers, but not too much. He has become used to Rachel’s loud, demanding attitude.
The two begin to dance, but it quickly becomes clear that Rachel is annoyed.
“Um… Rach?” Finn asks, detecting that something is wrong with his girlfriend
“What?!” Rachel snaps.
“Is something wrong?!” Before Rachel and Finn were together, Rachel would always blunty exclaim her opinion. Now, she holds it in or Finn detects something is wrong and asks before she can freak out too much.
“YES!” Rachel exclaims. “These floors are too slippery in street shoes, you’re a half a beat off!”
“Um… sorry…” Finn apologizes. “You know that I’m not too great as you are at this whole dancing thing…”
“It’s okay,” Rachel sighs. “With some work… okay a lot of work… you’ll be fine.”
Finn looks up at his girlfriend, surprised by Rachel’s comment. “Uh… thanks…”
He considers kissing Rachel, but decides against it, as Rachel is currently in one of her zones. Finn doesn’t know many dancers, but he knows that they do get lost in their moves sometimes.
An hour and a half later, Rachel slows down.
“Drink some water. Being dehydrated won’t do any of us any good. And remember, it’s right, left, right, left, back, back.” Rachel reminds Finn.
“Yeah.” Finn picks up his water bottle and is about to take a sip, when Mercedes and Kurt walk in with determined expressions on their faces.
Mercedes and Kurt pressure Rachel back against the wall.
Rachel squints her eyes, but keeps them open. Looking into the BFFL’s eyes, she speaks to them with confidence. “Whatever you two have to say, just say.”
“Okay, fine.” Mercedes says. “Kurt?”
“Yeah. We know that you’re going to be a star one day, but seriously, where do you spend all of your time?!”
“Yeah.” Mercedes agrees. “You’re always rushing around. And not that we’re questioning your loyalty to the club or anything, but you’re kind of our friend, and we want to know where you go.”
“You’re not putting anything into your system, right?!” Kurt demands to know. “Drugs? Alcohol? Because I think that you more than anyone else in the club understand the importance of natural body enhancement and body care.”
“Guys!” Rachel exclaims. “I can ASSURE you that I am not doing any of those things!”
“Then…” Kurt says.
“What are you doing?” Mercedes finishes Kurt’s sentence.
“Mondays, I have Glee, dance and vocal lessons, Tuesdays I have dance and theatre group, Wednesdays, I have Glee, dance, and I hang out with my dance friend’s afterwards…”
“You have friends?” The words come from Puck, who has shown up behind Mercedes and Kurt, though it’s more of a tease.
“Thursdays, I have…” Rachel sighs and practically screams as she spots the clock on the wall and reads the time. “I have to go!” Rachel swoops under Mercedes’ arms and grabs her bookbag and purple duffle bag.
She is about to dash outside of the door, but Kurt has beaten her to it, and is blocking it.
“Rachel.” Kurt says firmly. “We are your friends. And we want to spend time with you.”
“Outside of Glee.” Puck adds.
Rachel huffs. “I am honored. But I am also late.” She pushes her way through Kurt, who is surprisingly strong. “Check my relationship calendar with Finn to schedule a time.”
And with that, Rachel is gone.
Rachel enters the dance studio and it is five to four.
“Your late!” Gabrielle exclaims, signaling to the other dancers around them, who are all dressed and ready, a few of them fixing their buns or tying their outfits or shoes on.
“I know that I am late, Gabrielle!”
“Hurry up, hun! Madam Guilia’s in a bitchy mood today and we have a ton to go over!”
“It’s our long day and I haven’t had a cup of coffee because my friends made me late with their questions! DON’T mess with me!”
“Your school friends? Like that hottie of yours, Finn?” Violet asks, her eyes wide and her mind open for a fresh bit of gossip.
“Finn. But mostly my Glee club friends.” Rachel says and strips her clothes, unfazed by the action. She is a theatre kid, after all.
“We keep you too busy here?” Diana Laura.
“Sometimes you do.” Rachel replies, as she pulls on her pink tights.
“You know you love us!” Violet exclaims.
“We should really meet these other friends of Rachel’s!” Gabrielle says, sitting on the floor with her legs in a butterfly, and pushes her chest into the ground.
“I know!” Violet agrees.
“We do!” Laura agrees, as Rachel pulls on her black leotard.
“Sometime when I am not busy!” Rachel exclaims, pulling on her pink skirt.
“Help!” Laura calls to the Pointe class.
Rachel sits on a bench and begins to put on her Pointe shoe, as Violet puts on her other one, as Diana comes up from behind her and pulls Rachel’s hair in a bun.
“We still on for after class?” Violet asks, as she finishes putting on Rachel’s point shoe by tying the bow around Rachel’s ankle.
Wednesday is the longest and most intense day of the week for the Advance Dance 4.
During dance class, the girls and two boys (Adam and Tanner), learn a new routine and go over three others. By seven, sixteen dancers are exhausted, but they continue to move on.
“You girls ready?!” Laura grins, her dance shoes replaced with her running shoes.
“Hell yeah!” Violet grins.
“You bet!” Diana agrees.
“Yeah!” Rachel exclaims.
“Adam, Tanner, you guys up for lazar tag?” Violet invites the two boys, who have come out of the guys changing area and into the girl’s lobby.
“Sure,” tallish, muscular brunette Adam shrugs. “Why not?”
“Yeah. Just lemme text my Dad!” a scrawny redhead, Tanner, grins.
“I’m driving!” Rachel exclaims. “And don’t worry, everyone will be home by nine! I have a quiz in Spanish first period and another long day tomorrow!”
“Tanner!” the usually very quiet Diana calls. “We’re definitely on the same team!”
There is nothing romantic about Diana and Tanner’s relationship- but they had been inseparable since their ballroom routine when they were 9- and they both knew sides of each other that no one else knew.
“We better be!” Tanner opens his arms and Diana makes her way into them.
“Rachhhh! You should invite Finn! We like never see any of your friends and you like always see ours!” Violet exclaims.
“We never see yours, either!” Rachel protests. “We are always together! Friends forever!”
“Wow, Rach, that was deep.” Adam teases.
Rachel pouts back, and picks up here phone just to prove her friends wrong.
“Hey Finn, my relationship calendar says that you are out of football practice, and I was wondering if you wanted to go play lazar tag with me and my dance friends… Finn, is Kurt there? I need to talk to him!” Rachel pauses. “Kurt! Tell Finn that he needs to go out with me! Thanks!” Rachel pauses again. “See you there!”
Tanner, Diana, Laura, and Gabrielle pile into Rachel’s car and the others pile into Violet’s car and others’ cars.
The dancers and their friends arrive at the Lazar tag place a half an hour later.
They are split into teams.
“Pew! Pew!” Rachel shot Laura, who in return shot Tanner. Diana got mad that someone shot Tanner and shot Adam.
“Team with me!” Tanner called to Diana. They both put their backs together and put their lazar tag guns up in front of them loaded.
“No fair! You’re teaming up!” Rachel complains.
“Maybe you should team up with someone then!” Violet rebuts, unfazed by Rachel’s complaints from years of practice.
“Finn! Team with me!” Rachel calls to her boyfriend.
“Uh… sure.” Finn replies, looking around nervously.
Adam wolf- whistles.
“Man, Rach had Finn is whipped!” Violet calls.
“I’m not sure if that’s a complement, but thank you, Violet!” Rachel says.
“Rach, this way!” Finn calls to his girlfriend, as he scampers behind a wall.
“This way, Tanner!” Diana calls to her best friend, the Kurt to her Mercedes.
As everyone scampers around, Gabrielle follows Rachel and Quinn quietly.
As Rachel rounds the corner, Gabrielle shoots Rachel with a “Pew! Pew!” of her Lazar Tag.
“You tagged me!” Rachel exclaims with a huff.
“It’s payback for everyone else!” Gabrielle tells Rachel, as she accepts high fives from Diana, Tanner, and Violet.
Rachel sticks her tongue out at everyone.
“Another game?!” Violet asks excitedly.
Rachel checks her bright purple watch and frowns. “I would. But we all have two dance classes and yoga tomorrow.” Rachel says, ever truthful.
“Ray’s right.” Laura agrees.
“How about that concert Friday night after classes? My Dad can get us tickets.” Laura offers.
“True that!” Violet agrees.
“Sounds perfect! Just send me the emails! I’ll reply on my Blackberry. I can feel a great night coming on…”
“Rach, we need to get together with Glee kids sometimes, too, they’re like always asking about doing stuff with you and they wonder where you are.” Finn says to his girlfriend.
Rachel shrugs.
“Yeah.” Laura signals to the people who have gathered behind her. “I feel like you’ve met our friends and know all about them, but we know so little about yours. I mean, you let us know Finn.”
“It’s different.” Rachel begins to explain. “Finn knows and accepts all of me.”
“And how did he get to know that?” Laura challenges back.
Rachel sticks her tongue out.
“Gd, you are so immature!” Laura says half jokingly.
Rachel sticks her tongue out again.
“How about Friday?” Gabrielle suggests.
“Fine!” Rachel huffs dramatically, seeing no way out.
It’s Thursday and Rachel has a quick run- through of her routine with Finn, then rushes to the studio for 4 o’clock Advanced Jazz 4.
“You’re on time!” Gabrielle exclaims.
Rachel sticks her tongue out as she kicks of her street shoes. “I am, thank you very much!”
The girls continue to get ready, and it’s not long until they’re in black pants, shirts, and in black jazz shoes. They’re doing a number with sparkling colored fedoras, and they each have one of four colors. Class with Sean, the jazz teacher, ends, and soon the girls are back in the lobby.
Rachel is scoping out staff coffee maker, she’s long since forgotten isn’t for students.
“I FORGOT MY TAP SHOES!!” One younger girl exclaims. She’s a freshman in high school and though she’s in Advance Dance 4, she’s one of the youngest.
“Where’s your bag?” One dancer asks.
“Why’d you take them out?!” Another asks.
“Why didn’t you leave them in a locker?”
“I’m new to A.D. 4! I took them out, because I needed them to practice a routine at school, so I couldn’t leave them in a locker. I took them to my Dads, but then I had to go to my mom’s to babysit my little sister. And I don’t know where they are!”
“Bobby’s going to be furious!” One dancer exclaims.
“Great early impression!” Another mocks sarcastically.
Violet, who is checking her blood sugar, looks up. “Does anyone have an extra pair of tap shoes?!” she yells, taking command of the room.
A dozen girls dig into their bags in search of old or il-fitting tap shoes.
“What size are you, in dance shoe?! Rachel calls from the side of the room to the center.
“8…ish?” the freshman says, not having the time to be picky, though she knows that her feet will not be happy about it later.
“I have a 7 and a half?” Rachel offers.
The timid freshman walks over to Rachel and Rachel hands the girl her told dance shoes.
“Thanks Rachel.” the sheepish girl accepts the tap shoes from Rachel.
“You’re welcome, Ali,” Rachel smiles, as Bobby knocks at the door to signal to the dancer’s that class is starting.
Tap class rolls by and soon the exhausted dancers are preparing for an hour of yoga stretching designed specifically for dancers.