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

Chapter 51: New Girl

"Who put sour grape in your juice this morning?" Sugar asked him.

He didn't respond, instead just crossed his arms as Mr. Schue said, "Actually, I'm in a good mood for several reasons. Reason number one, Emma is back to work and although we had to leave Danny--"

"Ron," Sugar corrected him.

"--in daycare," he said, "we are glad to be back to seeing each other at work on a daily basis."

"Sounds kinky..." Kitty murmured, playing with her nails.

"That was, like, the longest maternity leave ever," Unique pointed out. "That baby's, like, what, four months old now?"

"Anyway," Will ignored her, "the second reason for my good mood is that this morning Danny--"

"Ron," Sugar said, making a few of the glee kids grin.

"That's not his name," Will finally acknowledged. "But remind me to thank Sam for that one next time he comes around."

"Not likely to be soon," Kitty snorted. "Pretty sure he was scared back to New York once my girl and Frankenteen made it official because--"

"Alright, Kitty," said Julie, not laughing this time. "I think that's enough."

Kitty leaned back and shrugged as Will continued, "The third and final reason for my happiness is one that I was really thrilled to share with you all. Sue Sylvester has been demoted back to cheerleading coach for reasons that I am not allowed to share, although I'm sure you can all find plenty of reasons for why she wasn't fit for the job. Anyway, we have a new principal now and--"

"Wait, wait, wait," Bree stopped him. "Coach Sylvester wasn't demoted. She stepped down."

"Is that what she told you girls?" Will asked her and the other Cheerios. All three of them nodded.

"Well then," said Will, "I guess I can't blame her for wanting to keep things hidden."

"Who's the new principal?" asked Ryder.

"Her name is Lisa Hallman," said Will. "She is coming down to us from a private school in North Carolina and I am actually going to be in a staff meeting with her after school, so there will be no glee practice."

"Sugar and I can run the meeting," Joe offered.

Will shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't let you all stay in here without adult supervision," Will told them.

"I'll call Finn," Sugar insisted, reaching for her phone.

"Finn's in school," said Will, but Sugar didn't respond. "In New York... Sugar. We can't just get an alumn to come down every time I can't be in here with you guys. No, there will just have to be no glee today. I'm assuming there will also be no other clubs or practices so enjoy your day off."

Will dismissed them and headed to the teacher's lounge, while the glee kids walked back to the lunchroom at a loss. When they reached the cafeteria, they couldn't find a table empty enough for all of them to fit, so just as Marley, Unique, Amity, and Alex were going to find a different table, Bree kicked out a couple of cheerleaders to make room for them. Nobody said anything, afraid that questioning her would stop her nice streak.

"Guys," said Marley once they had all settled down, "this may sound totally lame, but I think since we were on break I just don't know what to do with myself without glee or school."

"That does sound lame," Bree told her. "But... I actually feel the same way. I mean without glee club or Cheerios practice today, what am I supposed to do with my life?"

"You guys are free to come over to my place if you want to have a quick jam session," Julie offered. "It's nearby and we don't actually need parental supervision to be there."

"That sounds like fun," Bree said, smiling.

"I have a paper to write," Joe said, looking at Bree briefly before giving Julie an apologetic glance.

"Well, not all of us are so lucky," Shana told him, only to have him look up at her like she was crazy.

"I should actually go work on that now," said Joe, getting up to go to the library.

"What's up with him?" asked Kitty. Julie glance over at Bree, who took a drink from her water bottle and failed to give any sort of response.

"I don't know..." Julie murmured. "But the rest of you will make it, right?"

"Sorry," Marley said. "I promised my mom I'd get home early and help her with dinner for my aunt. She's dropping by tonight."

"Rory and I are going to the aquarium," Sugar said, nodding with a grin.

"Why the aquarium?" Unique asked.

"There are fish there," Sugar said, as if the answer was fairly obvious.

"I actually have to work today," said Amity, sounding rather proudly.

"Same here," John said, high-fiving her. To the rest of them he said, "Over break I was promoted to supervisor at the shelter and I was finally able to snag Amity a job."

"Like five months late," Julie told him. He shrugged so she rolled her eyes, smiling as she turned to the rest of them. "So how about the rest of you?"

"Pass," Jake muttered, getting up and heading to a different table with the Cheerios Bree had shooed away. Julie followed him with her gaze, turning back with a frown when he had sat down.

"That's just the Jake response to not getting his way," Marley murmured to her. "He'll get over it."

Ryder, hearing this, decided to change the subject. "So, uh," he said. "We should bring, like pizza, and stuff then, right?"

***

"I really want us to head into Regionals with clear heads," Will told Emma as the two headed down to their staff meeting together. "I mean, we have a fantastic amount of talent this year, but the bad blood is worse than ever."

"They seem to be getting along now," Emma said softly. "Will, you have to be patient. Remember that they're teenagers and they'll get over their petty arguments as fast as they got into them."

"I hope you're right," he said, following her lead into the classroom their meeting was being held in. They took a seat near the front and waited for the meeting to start. When it did, it was headed by a red-headed woman with a British accent.

"Hello everyone," the woman said. "I am simply delighted to be here and cannot wait to get to know all of you. For those of you I haven't yet had a chance to meet personally, my name is Lisa Hallman and yes, I am the new principal here at McKinley High school.

"A little bit about myself. I am a Cancer, ha-ha. I am forty-eight, divorced, three kids. I came here from North Carolina where I was headmaster of the Brockmond School for Girls. I know what you're all thinking, 'who in her right mind would give up a life like that?' Well, when I heard about a school in Ohio that was doing extremely poorly, I thought--"

"Let me stop you right there," said a cold, harsh voice. All eyes darted over to Sue, who made her way to the front. "McKinley was doing fine before you. The reason you were asked to take over is because I missed coaching the Cheerios and--"

"I'm sorry," Lisa stopped her. "Have we met?"

"Have we met?" Sue repeated with a laugh. "Sue Sylvester, prin-- Cheerleading coach."

"How, umm..." Lisa said as they shook hands. "Provincial. Very Ohio." Emma looked at Will, wondering whether he was as nervous about this new change as she was. During the remainder of the meeting, which consisted of listening to Principal Hallman's life story, Sue Sylvester listened with a scowl, planning what she would be doing to make her new status in the school work for her.