f i f t y - n i n e

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They had lost Nationals, coming second place. Everyone was heartbroken, Sue deciding to shut down the Glee club. That infuriated many, everyone going back to the choir room for the final weeks it could be called that. Marina sauntered in with Hunter, Sebastian, Thad, Jeff, Trent, and Nick behind them. Jamie, Kara, and Arabella were all already inside the choir room, waiting for the seven.

When they came in, they went in their old seats, Marina quickly greeting both Mercedes and Rachel.

"Mercedes! Love the album!"

"Rachel, Broadway beckons you in its presence!"

Sure, Marina loved them both, but it would always be fun to watch the chaos of two feuding divas. "Greet each other." Kurt hissed as Rachel stole the centre seat, Mercedes staring down at her.

"Hello, Rachel. I am so happy to hear about all of your success." Mercedes said with faux happiness.

"Oh, thank you so much, Mercedes. And you are looking well." Rachel responded with an equal amount of faux happiness.

"Thank you." Mercedes thanked, brushing down invisible dirt from her outfit, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll make my way to the back of the bus."

Mr. Schue wrote '100' across the whiteboard. "100 lessons."

"Hey, can I get Finn's plaque when we clear this place out?" Puck questioned, dressed in his air force uniform. Marina was surprised to see him so successful.

"No, the plaque stays here. Lillian and Finn belong here at McKinley. It means so much to me that so many of you came back on such short notice to celebrate the past few years. To sit in this room one last time and sing. Your assignment is to sing one of the songs we sang in here but reinvented in some way. Way back in the old days when I started the glee club, I would give an assignment, and then I would... I would give a little demonstration of what I was looking for."

At Mr. Schue's words, everyone began to loudly cheer. Santana scoffed in warning. "See, you all cheer now, but just wait till he starts rapping."

"Okay, no hip-hop today, Santana." Mr. Schue laughed, "However, I have asked a very special person to come and join me. And it seemed appropriate since her contributions helped me save the Glee club, or at least the auditorium way back when." Tina seemed to know who he was on about, grinning excitedly.

"But you're right here?" Jeff questioned in confusion. Nick laughed, shaking his head at his boyfriend.

"Sugar." Marina guessed with a grin.

"Please welcome, all the way from Broadway, Miss April Rhodes!" The woman in question burst through the door, grinning. It seemed as if everyone who joined the New Directions before Marina knew who it was, clapping and cheering in excitement.

April gathered everyone around the piano, in the midst of telling them all a wonderous tale nobody grasped the moral of. "So, Mr. Moneybags says to me, he says, 'April Rhodes, you sing like an angel and make love like a tiger. But the old ball and chain's got your number. So, I'm afraid I gots to set you loose.' So, you know what he did? He bought me an island! That's right. I own my own island in the Caribbean called Santa Abrilrodeo. It's not war-torn or filled with landslides or got destitute locals in it. Just me and my manservant Kadeem. With long, sensuous nights full of home-brewed poi and intimate massage..."

Mr. Schue cut her off with a chuckle. "Okay, thank you, April, for that... wonderful lesson in female empowerment."

"Amen!" She grinned back.

"Amen, but... why are we all holding these plastic champagne flutes?" Artie questioned, holding his glass up for all to see.

"'Cause we are about to pop the cork with some bubbly. But don't worry, this Spumante is virgin. Probably like you will be for a long time. Anyways... Will and I want you to raise your glass to celebrate the glee club by singing hands down the best song New Directions ever did." April grinned.

• MARINA • Hunter Clarington-BOOK TWO✔Where stories live. Discover now