Glee: To the Next Level (the second book in the Glee series)

Chapter 2: Trio

"They're great singers," I tried to justify myself.

She laughed again as we walked into the classroom. When we sat down she said, "That's your kryptonite. A good singer."

"So what?" I said as I pulled out my physics binder and the rest of the class walked in. "Bree, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the sound of someone's voice. It's not like I'm sleeping with them."

Marley walked in, followed by Ryder, and took a seat in front of us. I knew this meant we should probably stop talking about boys, so I pulled out my pen and started working on the problem that was projected on the board. As always, Bree just sat there and waited until I was done so that she could copy off of me. And there was no more crush talk.

***

Luckily nobody had to meet up during lunch, because John and I had agreed on Thursdays for lunch. We didn't get to spend too much time together, since he was always with Kitty or with Joe, so it was nice to have this time interrupted. That is until we actually got together and had nothing to talk about.

"So, uh..." he began.

"Umm..." I added. Crickets.

"How's school going?" he asked just as I said, "You and Kitty seem to--"

We laughed awkwardly. "Um," he said. "We're doing fine, yeah. We're great."

"School's cool so far," I said.

"That's good," he said.

"Yeah..." I murmured. More crickets.

"So listen," he said after a few seconds of silence, making me jump a little. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Didn't seem like it.

"What's up?" I said.

"You and Ryder," he began. Oh boy.

"What about us?" I asked.

"Are you going to get back with him or..?" he asked.

"Um," I responded. "I don't know. I haven't really given that much thought."

"He misses you," he told me.

"I'm sure..." I mumbled.

"Why do you have to do that?" he suddenly snapped.

I looked up at him. "Do what?" I asked.

"Act like he's just a minor detail you've yet to work out," he said. "He loves you and you just shrug that off."

"John, I--" I started.

"What?" he kept going. "Is that something you learned from your new BFF Bree? Treating people like they matter less than you do?"

"What the hell, John!" I exclaimed. The people at the table next to us turned for a moment.

"You think I haven't noticed how snobby you are when you're with her?" he said. "You and the rest of those cheerleaders are so vapid and--"

"Your girlfriend, you mean?" I said. "Because she's one of us, you know? She's one of the freakin' main ones."

"Kitty's different," he said.

"And I'm not?" I cried. "Damn it, John, what's the matter with you? You're supposed to be my best friend and not this... this judgmental jerk!"

"Whatever Julie," he said. "You look ridiculous in that Cheerios uniform." He got up and walked off. I closed my mouth, which had gaped open, and rushed out of the cafeteria. So that had gone well.

After school, I was anxious about walking into the choir room. I hated the fact that we met nearly everyday now because it meant I hardly had any time to cool down and be by myself. I liked to have alone time and now I didn't really have any. Ever.

Inside the choir room, only Jake and John were already there, sitting down at opposite ends of the room. They really didn't like each other very much and only interacted when they had to. I had to take my pick now, of two guys who I wasn't on good terms with. So I went with Jake.

"Hey," I said as I stood in front of him. I noticed John look up from his phone and then go back to it. 

"Uh, hi," he said as I took a seat next to him. "What's going on today, do you know?"

"More performances?" I suggested. "I haven't heard of anyone else having anything planned."

"Me either," said Jake as Dan and Joe walked in. Those two really seemed to get along. Not too long after, Sugar, Kitty, and Bree walked in. And then Ryder. 

"Hey, is anybody else going to sing?" asked Kitty.

"I don't think anyone said they wanted to," said Bree.

"That's because we are going to boycott this week," said Unique as she walked in with Marley and Amity behind her.

"What?" said Mr. Schue, who I hadn't even noticed sitting at the desk at the edge of the room.

"It's not a fair assignment," said Marley. "We're all for groupability but... What we've been seeing lately isn't a group effort."

"So we're not going to take part in it," Unique added. Mr. Schue sighed. Trouble was definitely starting.