Welcome to Glee Club [Q. F.]

- 15 - Girl Power

The adrenaline from our win coursed through our veins for the next couple weeks. We got off school for Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop our new found confidence. Once we got back, Mr. Schue had a new idea for us.

"I'm thinking about starting tribute weeks for Glee Club."

"Tribute to a particular person?" Finn asked.

"Yes, Finn. Tribute weeks dedicated to a famous singer. This week, we're going to focus on Madonna." The girls in the room cheered. "This week I want to focus on girl power. Don't worry, we'll dedicate a week to the guys here too, but this week is going to be Madonna. I'd like all of you to split up into boys and girls again. Each group should prepare a song to sing on Friday. If you, individually, would like to sing another song, by all means, go for it. There are no wrong answers here, but I want you all to do some reflecting here on the power of Madonna."

I turned to Mercedes, who was sitting next to me, and smiled. I was pretty excited for this assignment. "Alright, ladies, what songs are y'all thinking about?" Mercedes asked.

"I like 'Papa Don't Preach,' but I'm thinking about doing that one individually," Quinn said.

"Yeah, and I'm thinking about doing 'Cherish' individually," Rachel added.

"I like 'Like a Prayer.'"

"Oh, that's a good one, Juliet!" Brittany said.

"'What It Feels Like for a Girl' is another good one," Santana mentioned.

I thought about that. "Hmm, yeah that's also a really good one, Santana. I actually think that one might be better."

"'Express Yourself?'" Tina added. We nodded, agreeing that that was another good option.

"There's just too many good songs to choose from," I said, slightly frustrated. "What are the guys doing?"

"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel chirped. "What song are the boys doing? We want to make sure we don't do the same one."

Mr. Schue nodded and turned to the boys. I heard him ask, "what song are you all planning to do?" I couldn't hear their response. "Alright, so the boys are thinking about 'What It Feels Like for a Girl.'"

"Of course they are!" Santana shouted.

Mr. Schue looked a little concerned. "It's okay, Mr. Schue. We can find a different song. That actually helps narrow down our options, right girls?" They looked at me and nodded. "So what are we thinking? 'Like a Prayer' or 'Express Yourself?'"

"Can we do both?" Quinn quickly asked. "If we can't choose, why not just do both."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why not?"

"I'm down," Mercedes said.

"Yeah," Santana added. "Let's show 'em."

"Fantastic!" said Rachel. "We should get started now, then."

---

"Mercedes, wait up!" I jogged through the hall to catch up to Mercedes. "Mercedes, I really can't thank you enough."

"You don't need to, Quinn." She paused. "Really, you don't."

"I don't know how I'll ever repay you guys. I screwed it up with Finn, I know that. There was only one place for me to go and I messed that up too."

"Hey." She put her hand on my shoulder. "We both speak God's language. It was the right thing to do. I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night if you didn't have a safe place to sleep."

I smiled and mouthed, "thank you" back. There wasn't anything left to say.

"You're going through a lot right now, and I don't think that's gonna ease up anything soon. You don't have to apologize for anything, Quinn. I mean that."

"What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?"

"Nothing. That's the beauty of friendship."

---

I don't know why I thought winning Sectionals would change anything at school. I held a false sense of hope that the jocks and the cheerleaders would actually care about us if we won something. I couldn't have been more wrong. Sue tried to recruit Mercedes and Kurt to the Cheerios since she lost Quinn and I. I'm really glad she didn't get them to join, that would have been a low blow to the New Directions.

We girls decided to do "Like a Prayer" on Thursday and "Express Yourself" on Friday. The boys were also going to perform their number on Friday. Quinn, Rachel, and Kurt planned to do their songs on Thursday. That left today the last full day to practice. We split the solos amongst all of us in "Express Yourself." Santana and Mercedes were going to lead "Like a Prayer."

I think we all felt the importance of this week's lesson. I mean, we know what it's like to be a woman. We carry those lived experiences with us everyday. The guys don't really see it. They don't understand the difference that society writes between us. I know singing a few Madonna songs won't really change anything, but it's at least a start. It's a start for the men of the world to understand that we're not going to back down.

---

Rachel went first singing "Cherish" yesterday. She was totally singing to Finn, no doubt. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it was really mushy. Rachel has a great voice but she's so dramatic.

Kurt sang "Vogue" after Rachel. That song fit him so well. Kurt is such a cool person. I mean, just talk about his sense of style. I know for sure he gets this week's message. God, why can't all guys be like Kurt?

Quinn was the last one to sing a solo yesterday. She sange "Papa Don't Preach." This one was all too relevant to her current situation... the pregnancy, the baby daddy, her dad. But hey, Quinn's definitely showing her strength. I couldn't imagine being in her situation. It takes a lot of power to give birth to a child, and keep said child, when you're a sophomore in high school. I admire that strength, but I don't think I'll ever possess it myself.

---

It was finally time for us to perform "Express Yourself" and the boys perform "What It Feels Like for a Girl." We went first to kick off today's class. Everything went as we practiced, maybe even better. Unfortunately, I'm not sure all the boys really got our message. Either way, they went next. "What It Feels Like for a Girl" is a good song, don't get me wrong. I wish we could have performed it instead. I guess they did do well, but again, I'm not sure they got the message. I guess time will only tell.