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

Chapter 62: Picnic

"Okay!" Sam exclaimed. "That's great feedback! Let's, uh, let's go to the auditorium! Great acoustics and so much more space and--"

"That's not really what I meant," Sugar muttered.

"Okay, you know what," Sam said, getting pumped up. "Screw this sweatervest." He took off the vest and his shirt came off. 

"Dude," said Jake, "you didn't have to take both off."

Sam shrugged. "Sorry, they came together," said Sam, tossing it aside and covering himself with crossed arms. "Listen. After school, we're going to take a little field trip. So if you drive yourself to school, make arrangements to carpool with your carless peers because we're going on a picnic."

The New Directions glanced at each other dubiously and he dismissed them just as Bree and Joe were walking in. "What happened?" Bree asked as they walked past her. "What did I miss?"

"We're going on a picnic..." Julie said with a complete lack of enthusiasm as she left. John, who was walking right behind her, looked at them and tried not to snicker, patting Joe on the back sympathetically and leaving the room. 

***

"We're all here now, right?" Sam said as he gathered everyone up at the biggest park in the area. "Fantastic. Listen up. You have this entire area to go play and have fun and sing songs and I've set up an eating and resting area for later."

"What are we, five?" asked Alex, but Shana and Sugar were already rushing to the merry-go-round. He sighed and muttered, "Guess we are," grabbing Amity's hand and leading her away from the rest of them.

"Great, four already getting into the magic of the scenery," Sam told them. "The rest of you should go on." They began to scatter as he cheerfully walked to his food area, a small pavilion with several picnic tables underneath. He took a seat and watched them all disappear out of view. 

***

"Where are we going?" asked Julie as Ryder led her towards the other end of the park.

"You've really never been here before?" he asked her. 

"I'm not from this side of town," she reminded him. "I mean, we have money but we don't have this much money."

He smiled and told her, "We come down here for birthday parties and that sort of thing. And my favorite spot in the entire park, is right around those trees. Come on, I'll show you."

***

Marley stood by an isolated fountain, which resided just above a beautiful pond. "A wishing fountain," a voice said from behind her. She turned around to find John, who held a quarter out and handed it to her.

Smiling, she took it, closing her eyes before tossing it into the pond. She opened her eyes and looked down, watching the vibrating water for ripples. But the coin was gone, lost among thousands of others she could just make out below.

"What'd you wish for?" he asked her. 

"I can't tell you," she grinned. "It's bad luck."

"Oh come on," he insisted. "Just tell me. What was it? Eternal peace? End hunger? A unicorn?"

"Ooh, I should've gone with a unicorn," she said jokingly. 

"Whatever it was," he said, "I paid for that wish so when it comes true... You're welcome."

She laughed and looked back at the beautiful fountain. "I didn't know such a great place existed around here," she told him.

"Yeah, me either," he confessed. "Sam really has outdone himself. I guess he wants us to be inspired by the scenery to sing. And I mean, I see the fountain, I see the trees, I see the clear sky. But I can't really think of a Disney song about parks."