Lyric Baldwin wants the rest of her high school years to be dedicated to the one thing she loves the most : music. She wants to hone in her craft, but little did she know that the music would lead her to fall in love with McKinley's star quarterback...
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"What's going on? How bad is it?"
Lyric sat by Mercedes, who had a thermometer in her mouth, bedside with Santana. The two enemies turned friends were taking turns as they pressed a cold compress to Mercedes' forehead. Lyric grabbed the thermometer after it beeped, tilting it down slightly, so Santana could see the number. The very, very high number. They exchanged worried glances.
Coach Sue took a step closer to the bed, looking down at Mercedes. The woman plucked the thermometer out of Lyric's hand, sighing anxiously. "Her temperature's 101 degrees. Given the fact that Weezy's complaining about an upset stomach, it's either Amazonian dengue fever or the H1N1 super virus."
"Or I have food poisoning." Mercedes rolled her eyes.
Santana handed Lyric the compress before standing up from where she was sitting on the bed. She walked up to Mr. Schuester. "We all wanted burritos for lunch, so we went to Chipotle, but Mercedes tried some dive called Senora Salsation."
In theory, the place Mercedes ate at sounded good, but after seeing the inside of the restaurant, Lyric tried to change the girl's mind. Lyric hoped this wouldn't take Mercedes out of the competition. She felt bad for the girl. This was their last year, their last time officially being a part of the New Directions.
"Will, word, please." Sue pulled Mr. Schuester off to the side. Lyric glanced over her shoulder as the two teachers confided in each other about the next steps in their Nationals plan.
Mercedes groaned, closing her eyes. "I can't believe I might miss Nationals."
"Don't say that." Lyric tried to remain as optimistic as possible, but seeing as how they were approaching the wire, she wasn't so sure.
She spared a single glance at Santana, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we've come too far to be taken out by a bad burrito."
"I agree." Mr. Schuester said acknowledging all the girls, who sat in the room. He clapped his hands together. "So, here's what's gonna happen: Mercedes, you're on bed rest, Quinn, you're stepping in."
"No, no, no, I can't dance that number." Quinn's eyes widened. Her eyes filled with fear. "I can't sing it, either, not like —"
Tina leaned forward in her chair. "The Trouble Tones need you. And you're better than you think you are."
"Tina, you, too." Mr. Schue informed her. "You're in the Trouble Tones. And since we're down one powerful voice, we're gonna replace it with another. Lyric, you still want a solo?"
The blonde stared in shock. A solo for Nationals. She'd have to be an idea not to take it. She nodded her head. "Good. I'll get you the sheet music before you head down to rehearsals."
"Mr. Schue, this is my last competition. I don't want to miss it." Mercedes spoke up from where she laid on the bed.
Sue stepped towards the bed. "Amen, to that, sister. That's why I'm putting you on a vitamin B-12 drip. We're flushing your system with Pedialyte, and I'm gonna fill that bathtub with ice and see if we can't get your ambient body temperature back down to normal." Lyric's raised her eyebrows, taking a hesitation look at Mercedes as Sue grabbed the ice bucket and headed for the bathroom. "Worked in Jacob's Ladder."
