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"Ballad. From Middle English, balade. Who knows what this word means?" Will asks the kids, writing the word on the whiteboard. "It's a male duck." Brittany answers out loud. "That's a mallard." Cynthia whispers to the girl as Will chooses Kurt, whose hand was raised. "Kurt."
"A ballad is a love song."
"Sometimes, but they don't always express love. Ballads are stories set to music, which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the ways we express feelings that we can't get out any other way. Okay, now, sectionals are in a few weeks, and there's a new rule this year–we have to perform...a ballad." Cynthia claps silently, excited for the chance to perform a ballad.
"Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off!" Rachel comments enthusiastically.
"Okay. So here's our assignment for the week: I'm going to pair you off, and I want you to pick a ballad to sing to your partner. Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it." Will tells the group about the assignment.
"I pick Quinn." Finn announces, but Will is quick to dismiss him. "No, no, no. Too easy. Your partners will be chosen by fate." The assignment became more intriguing, with everyone oohing curiously. "Ooh, yeah. I put all your names in this hat. Whoever you choose is your partner." Knowing her luck, she was sure to get stuck with Puck or Rachel as her partner. One would not even care about the work, and the other would make Cynthia commit homicide.
"I bet the duck's in the hat." Brittany whispers, making the girl chuckle in amusement. "But we are thirteen of us. One of us won't get a partner." Santana points this out.
"Um, I guess I'll just have to put my name in the hat for now." Suddenly, getting Puck or Rachel didn't seem too bad to Cynthia. He writes his name in a chit and puts it in the hat, taking a seat on the chair next to the piano. One by one, the glee club goes up and picks a name out of the hat.
Puck gets Mercedes, and Artie gets Matt. When Finn goes up, his body goes rigid for a moment, reading the name on the paper. "Kurt." The boy sits up in excitement while everyone giggles, with Cynthia rolling her eyes. Finn turns to the teacher. "Mr. Schue, I don't know if I can do this with another guy."
"The fates have spoken, Finn." When Finn comes back to his seat, Tina goes up and picks up a chit. "Other..Asian." Cynthia and Tina both had an incredulous look on their faces as Tina came back to her seat. Santana went up next and was elated when she got Brittany.
Being next, Cynthia went up and put her hand in the hat, praying to God that she would not get the teacher. Picking a chit, she lets out a huge sight of relief upon opening it. "Oh thank God! Quinn." Quinn offers the girl a smile as Cynthia takes her seat behind the couple. Just as Rachel, who had gotten Will, walked to the piano, the quarterback tapped his friend's knee, getting the girls attention. "Psst, can we switch?" Instead, Cynthia slaps the back of his head. "Don't be mean." The boy pouts, turning to look in the front, rubbing the spot.
