4x6 ~ GLEASE ~
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"All right, guys, listen up. I have an announcement to make." Mr. Schue said, as the group turned their attention to him.
"Adele is dead." Brittany commented, as Lexi raised her eyebrow.
"No. I have been asked to join a blue ribbon panel to rewrite the arts curriculum nationwide." Mr. Schue answered.
"Wow! Congratulations." Sam called out, as everyone nodded in agreement, before clapping and cheering for their teacher.
"Thank you." Mr. Schue nodded. "I'll be taking a short sabbatical, which means I'm leaving McKinley at the end of the week."
"What? That's crazy!" Tina exclaimed, shocked.
"But Glee Club is your life." Artie protested.
"Which is why this is only temporary. I'll be back right after Sectionals." He assured them.
"So you're saying that you're going to miss our Sectionals competition?" Lexi asked, as all of the New Directions began to get their points and complaints across. She swore that the volume level increased by one hundred percent.
"Guys, guys, calm down." Mr. Schue interjected. "Look, I knew I needed to find a replacement, which is why I brought in Finn Hudson."
"Mr. Schue, Finn cannot take over Glee Club!" Tina shook her head in disapproval. "He doesn't know what he's doing at all. Sorry, Finn." She apologized.
"He's been our group leader before, Tina. I think he's more than capable of handling our family for a few weeks." Lexi spat.
"Guys, I know I can do this. And I've got some really great ideas for Sectionals." Finn insisted.
"We'll all be dead by then! Finn doesn't know how to direct a musical!" Tina continued to protest.
"Oh god." Lexi shook her head, as Sam chuckled, bringing her into his arms. "You know, I'm telling you, the kids never stop complaining." She joked.
"You have a point, babe." Sam sighed, an idea popping into his head. "You're the one who's currently in control...so go do your job." He joked in return. Apparently, Lexi thought he was giving literal instructions, because she stood up, and walked to the middle of the room.
"Hey! Hey! Guys! Listen!" She yelled, as Sam whacked the drums to gain the group's indirect attention. They succeeded, because the group turned to them, and immediately, the room went silent.
"Yeah, listen to your mom, kids." Sam commented, as Lexi sent him a smile, before she regained her bitchy expression, and turned to the group.
"I do not want to hear anymore bullcrap or arguments regarding Finn taking over Glee Club, while Mr. Schue is away on his sabbatical. For those of you who forgot, or don't know, let me talk about Finn for a minute. He is a natural born leader, he's gifted, he's kooky, understanding, has some anger issues that he copes with by kicking chairs, but to sum it up, we love him, and we trust him. Think about it for a minute, won't you? Mr. Schue wouldn't have granted him the position if he wasn't fit for the job, huh?" She asked, as everyone nodded. "Mr. Schue gave him his trust, and instructions on what to do, and what not to do. We have to trust that Finn is going to take care of all of us, and lead us to Sectionals. For now, I want us to respect him and treat him like a teacher. I want you all on your best behavior, and to cut him so slack. Am I making myself clear?"
"Yes mom." The group answered simultaneously, although sarcasm was evident in their voice.
"Those are my kids. I love them, and sometimes I want to squeeze them to death." She whispered to Sam, who rolled his eyes playfully, before he leaned down, capturing her lips in his. The group gasped when Sam dipped her over.
"Wow...mom and dad are really going at it." Tina muttered, as everyone laughed.
"No we're not." Lexi muttered, flustered, while Sam tried to go further, but she shook her head, preventing him from doing so.
"We can do that at home, not here." Lexi assured him, as they both laughed.
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"Okay, hold on and suck in." Tina said, as she tried to help Marley fit into her costume.
"I am!" Marley exclaimed, as Lexi handed Tina the needle she asked for. "I don't understand. This fit yesterday."
"Maybe it's stress bloating." Lexi shrugged. "I get it all the time."
"Hey, Tina." Sugar called, as the girls turned to see her and Brittany in their costumes.
"I love it so much." Brittany admitted, as Tina smiled. "I promise I won't pee in it."
"I'm here for my fitting." Kitty said, as she approached the girls. "Where is Harajuku Girl?"
" I thought you quit because your part was too small." Sugar frowned.
"Well, Spread Hawk Nose, to quote Shakspeare, "There's no small parts, only fat actresses." She said, before gasping dramatically when she turned to see Marley. "Oh I'm sorry. Did I say fat? I was distracted by Marley's unfortunate and very noticeable weight gain."
"Kitty, leave her alone." Lexi said in a dangerously low tone.
"I swear, I'm not eating any differently." Marley cried. "How is this happening?"
"I usually don't believe in the lamestream media's definition of science, but it just makes sense that your metabolism is grinding to a halt." Kitty said, as she flashed a fake smile at Marley while walking towards the girl. "You're getting the body you were destined to have. I had to accept how I am. I spend almost every weekend alone because everyone just assumes that the popular girl's busy. I'm doing the play because I could use some friends. Real ones."
"Seriously, come on." Lexi rolled her eyes. She was growing fed up with Kitty mocking and harassing Marley.
"So, in the spirit of Grease, I thought it would be a good way for us to get to know each other, if we had a sleepover." Kitty continued.
"Sleepover?" Brittany asked excitedly, as Kitty nodded at the girl.
"Tomorrow night, my place. Just us girls." She said, before she turned to Lexi who sent her a fake smile. "You too Mila Kunis wannabe."
"Can I come?" Unique asked.
"I'm not going if Unique's not invited." Marley said, defending Unique, before Kitty could comment. "Please?"
"Ladyboy cna come." Kitty rolled her eyes, before walking right up to Unique. "But if I catch you hiding your dinky between your legs, and prancing around like Silence of the Lambs, you're out."
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Since Kitty had invited all of the girls for a sleepover at her house, Lexi had to admit that she was hesitant about the invite at first, but figured Marley might need her if Kitty became too much to handle.
"Triple-layer fudge cake, yo!" Brittany cheered, as her and the other girls walked into Kitty's room with large amounts of food.
"Kettle corn!" Sugar piped up.
"I brought pizza, the water, and the sodas." Lexi added, placing them on the table set out in the bedroom.
"And chocolate donuts.' Unique smiled, holding up a box of donuts.
"Dig in everybody, and then we'll have pillow fights, and ghost stories, and prayer circles, and back rubs." Kitty smiled, although Lexi could see she was feigning it.
"Want donuts, Marley?" Kitty offered the girl a box of donuts, to which she refused.
"Are there any healthy snacks?" Marley asked, a little uncomfortable.
"You can eat Kleenex. They taste like clouds." Brittany suggested.
"You mean tissues, because Kleenex is the brand, Britt, right?" Lexi asked, as the two girls giggled. She had been helping Brittany through her post break up with Santana, and the girl was thriving much more than Lexi had expected.
"Honey, we need to have a little talk." Kitty said slyly, as she dragged Marley into the bathroom.
Lexi frowned concerned, knowing that whatever Kitty was scheming couldn't be good. She shook her head, and grabbed a cookie, and quickly munched into it.
"Hey, where's Marley?" Unique asked confused, after a few moments had passed.
"Why, I'm right here, wearing my signature Newsies cap with my mud brown hair." Kitty said, impersonating a rather artificial version of Marley. "I'm gonna bat my bargain-basement eyes and steal your boyfriends, just like I stole the lead in the musical." She added, as Lexi rolled her eyes.
Kitty
Look at me I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity.
Won't go to bed til I'm legally wed, I can't!
I'm Sandra Dee1
Yo watch it, hey I'm Doris Day
I was not brought up that way.
Won't come across even,
Rock Hudson lost,
His heart to Doris Day
I don't drink (no!)
Or swear (no!)
I don't rap my hair (no!)
I get ill from one cigarette (cof cof cof)
Keep your filthy paws
Off my silky drawers!
Would you pull that crap with Annete
As for you Troy Donahue
I know what you wanna do
You've got your crust I'm no object of lust.
I'm just plain Sandra Dee
Elvis Elvis let me be!
Keep that pelvis far from me!
Just keep your cool,
Now your starting to drool
Hey fungoo, I'm Sandra Dee
"Are you making fun of me, Kitty?" Marley asked, innocence evident in her tone. Lexi just shook her head in disbelief at Kitty's behavior.
Kitty only scoffed, as she pulled the wig off her head, before sending Marley a side-eye.
"Some people are so touchy."
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Lexi frowned when Finn approached her in the science classroom. She looked to see Artie wheel in behind him.
"What's up?" Lexi asked confused, as she closed her textbook.
"Well, we have a question for you." Artie began, as he looked at Finn. "Finn?"
"We were hoping that you've been rehearsing your lines, because your Rizzo." He smiled.
"Wait, what?" Lexi asked, as she bit her lip slightly, preventing a smile from gracing her face. "What happened with Unique playing her?"
"Her parents pulled her out of the play." Finn answered. "They weren't happy about the casting in the musical, or her in general."
"So, s-she won't be involved at all?"
"Sadly, no." Artie sighed. "But you're up for the job, right? You'll play Rizzo for all our shows?"
Lexi took a moment, before breaking into a smile. "I'd be more than happy too." answered, as the two boys high-fived each other, before pulling her into a hug.
Lexi smiled at the fact she'd get to play one of her dream roles. She was proud that she got to perform in front of her mom, one final time. She predicted it as being final, due to never knowing when her mom could die. She didn't want to think about that right now, so she pushed the sad thought away, and focused on the musical the next night.
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Lexi let out a breath as she sat in front of the mirror. She was in her full costume, retouching her makeup, and fixing her pink jacket. She saw Sam's reflection in the mirror, and turned around to see her boyfriend approaching.
"Well, hello there." Sam flirted.
"Like what you see?" Lexi flirted back, as she stood up, allowing Sam to pull her into his arms.
"I do, very much." Sam nodded, kissing her cheek, as she blushed. He frowned when she she fiddled worn her fingers and avoided eye contact. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, and no." Lexi shrugged as he kept his hands around her waist to give her something to ground herself with. "I feel proud to be performing in front of my mom, for what could be her final time seeing me onstage. Yet, there's another part of me that feels terrible for Unique."
"You're mom's going to be so proud of you. Although, she's already proud." Sam assured her. "As for Unique, it wasn't your fault, but I too feel terrible she couldn't perform." He admitted, as she nodded.
"Well, we're going to go out there and do kill it!" Lexi cheered quietly, after a few moments, causing Sam to laugh.
"That we are, babe." He agreed. "I love you so much, and I'm proud of you."
"Same, and I love you too." Lexi whispered, as he leaned down, capturing her lips in his. She smiled into the kiss, before pulling away, and letting Sam pull her into a hug. She felt him hide his head in the crook of her neck, and frowned when she felt the same stinging sensation.
"Sam, not now!" She whacked him playfully. "We're supposed to save it for the show. It'll look more natural. But I'm giving you permission to do it onstage, and when we're at home." She added.
"I can't help that you're so hot." Sam pouted, as she chuckled, allowing him to kiss her forehead.
"Lexi, Sam, you guys are on in ten." Mike announced, walking into the backstage area. "I forgot how grossly cute you two can be."
"They're like magnets." Brittany agreed. "Their force is too powerful."
Lexi let out a laugh, as she kept her arms around Sam's neck, before she leaned her forehead against his, as their noses touched, while they enjoyed their moment before going onstage.
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"Watching the skill, the nuance, this receiver was forced to ask himself. Is this not how it felt? And might the directing team of Mr. Hudson, and Mr. Abrams be headed for careers at Nasa?" Artie said aloud, as he read the critiques from the newspaper. "They should be, because last night, they plucked stars from the firmament and named them Marley Rose, and Ryder Lynn."
At that review, everyone clapped and cheered, while Lexi sent Marley a proud smile, only to receive a grateful nod in return.
"Has ever an audience been so enraptured? Perhaps. But when the last breath of life crosses this reviewer's lips, Grease, McKinley, bravo."
Everyone continued to cheer, and congratulate one another, as they read more and more reviews. Lexi smiled, as Sam wrapped his arms around her neck, while she held onto them, and leaned against his chest.. She knew that they both knew that Sara was more than proud. She would always remember her mom crying while she sang There Are Worse Things I Could Do. That was truly one of her favorite moments from performing.
"If there's one person who loves the Glee Club as much as I do, it's Finn." Mr. Schue spoke up, as the group looked at Finn, before looking back at their teacher. "And I know in my heart that he has what it takes to get you guys a win at Sectionals. I have so much to thank you guys for. But for giving me this chance to share joy with others. I'm gonna see you guys in a few months, but hopefully, there'll be a brand-new Sectionals trophy in that case over there. I love you guys. I'm really gonna miss you."