you're rocking the boat, [ mimi + rachel ]

[mimi riter]

I’d had a rather successful week, yet stressful all the same. I mean, it didn’t suck, really. I’d met a guy, Andrew, a fellow teacher who I’d hit it off with. I mean, we weren’t going to date or anything but we had sex on a student desk and I doubted that it would be a one time offense. I liked sex with random, gorgeous men, especially when it was repeated in the school environment. On top of that (pardon the pun), Vocal Adrenaline was officially scared shitless of me which was what I’d wanted all along, so I had that going from me, but it wasn’t easy. I guess Shelby Corcoran had been a bigger bitch than I thought. But it didn’t matter because, in the end, they’d fear me to the point of respect and that was how we were going to win Nationals for the countless year in a row.

But it made me miss performing. I was used to getting up on stage day after day. I was in all of the local theater productions both in England and New York during my schooling years, not to mention most of the productions Tisch put on and countless off-Broadway plays. And, of course, I’d participated in the revival of Guys and Dolls, getting great reviews in the process, so the sudden halt of all things Broadway was really getting me down.

Lucky for me, I had absolutely no sense of direction so on my way to find coffee one day, I’d gotten lost and found myself in the ghetto of Akron, Ohio. Now, I wasn’t afraid because the Akron ghetto was nothing like the New York ghetto and I found that a lot of them were afraid of really short, loud people. Or, at the very least, I freaked one of them out when I used my press badge to interview a few of them while they were in jail. It was a pretty eventful article, I had to admit, but I wasn’t really afraid about getting raped or killed even if I didn’t even weigh one hundred pounds and I was all talk. However, I didn’t want to get coffee in the ghetto because, while I’m not racist or prejudice or anything like that, no one there could make a good cup of coffee. That, and I think they probably would’ve taken offense if I told them I liked my coffee black with a lot of sugar.

Or I would’ve gotten flirted with. Depended on who was working at the time.

So I started driving in another random direction and found coffee. I made conversation with the owner of the establishment, got another cup to go, and gotten lost (again) on the way home. But in the process, I stumbled across the Civic Center. I’d been visiting the stage, then, once a day for the rest of the week. And, because I had Saturday off (thus, the life of a teacher), I had every intention on spending the entire day there.

I was prepared, with three cups of coffee and sheet music in case I decided to use the piano. Luckily, there was no one else in the parking lot when I arrived -- I didn’t want an audience. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty pumped up in front of a crowd and I don’t suck, but that was when I had a purpose. When I was performing for the hell of performing, I was vulnerable, and I didn’t like anyone seeing that side of me. I had a front that I put up, and while I wasn’t being ‘fake’, I liked that people only saw that side of me. The other side was for me and me alone. I didn’t have many good experiences when people saw me vulnerable. Noah had cheated on me and Gabriel called me a hobby -- but no one would dare do that if they thought I was nothing but a hard ass.

I sighed softly as I stood center-stage, taking a moment to look out at the plethora of empty plush seats in front of me. After a few seconds, I cleared my throat, the lyrics to an acapella ‘Everything Else’ from Next to Normal filled the auditorium.

[rachel berry]

gonna stand t

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"Do something productive with your time, Rachel. Ballet's at five, and we're making cherry pie for after dinner." I shut the door behind me and threw my set of keys in the air, catching them and doing a small pirouette and fist pump when I did. I felt like I could burst out into song at any moment, and I was waiting for the first few words of Good Morning Baltimore to involuntary come belting out of my mouth. I really had no idea why I was so happy, but it was still fun. I'd woken up extra early and had a protein shake whilst working out on my elliptical and blasting my workout play list. Most parents would have complained at the loud music, but my dads were fine with it. Or, at least, they tolerated it. It was possibly the only downside of having a child protege for a daughter. If they ever complained I would always play the 'maybe you shouldn't have used such a talented egg donor' card. And it almost always worked, so I guess I just had a way with words. Oh, and I could do the most convincing, gosh darn adorable puppy dog eyes you've ever seen. But most of the time, we got along, my dads and I. We could stay up all night watching musicals or eat popcorn and watched a documentary on the life and times of Stephen Sondheim, but sometimes I just liked to get out. Remind myself that there was a whole world out there. And today was one of those days.

I had a whole day to kill (metaphorically, I loved metaphors and any type of figurative language) and as my father had suggested, I should do something productive. I got into my car and switched on the ignition, pulling out and driving away from our little town house, still deciding where to go. I could have called on one of my... friends, but.. well. But I didn't really have any. None that would enjoy my company until five, anyway. So spending the day with another teenager was out of the window. I bit my lip and then decided. I'd head to Akron, even though I ran the risk of bumping into Jesse or Shelby (or maybe because I ran that risk), check out the upcoming shows at the theatre and maybe give my vocal cords a bit of an exercise on the stage. Then, I'd grab a smoothie and then head to the impressive library the town sported and do a spot of research for my history project. What a way to spend my Saturday. Who needed alcohol and sex when you had singing and extra credit work? Not to mention the smoothie I would be treating myself to.

The traffic was low for a Saturday, especially in a town as large as Akron. It only took me a short while to get to the theatre, and when I arrived I saw that someone was already here. I didn't really mind, it was probably someone checking out the facility to see if it was suitable for a tour stop. Or someone wanting to go to the McDonalds across the road who was too lazy to walk (wasn't everyone who ate at that grease pit?). I got out of my car and locked it before prancing over to the double doors of the old Civic Theatre. I paused to look at the timetable and let out an audible sigh when I noticed that there were no new shows scheduled, before letting myself inside. Surprisingly, the person who had parked in the car park hadn't been a fast food junkie. Or at least, she didn't look like one, but for all I knew she worked out a lot and burned the calories she ingested from those 'burgers'. It was a woman, in her thirties perhaps, singing on the stage. Alone. Some may have found it absurd, but I empathised with her. After all, she was doing what I had come here to do. But there was something about her that caught my attention. She seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite pinpoint where I had seen her before. School? Theatre?

Both.

It didn't take long for me to realise this lady was none other than Mimi Riter, the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline. I despised the heartless show choir, but I did know that my mom had stopped leading it. She had sent me a message on Facebook, along with a few pictures of little Beth. But knowing that there was a new director was not enough for me, oh no, I had done some investigative work and found out who it was exactly. And I had recognised the name from one of my many expeditions to New York City to see a show or two. She had been the star of the Guys and Dolls revival, and I remembered her having a great voice. Sure enough, I recognised it standing here, at the back of the theatre, and after a few minutes of just observing like a mute, I decided to muster up the courage to talk to her. I hoped she wouldn't think that I was intruding, or worse, spying on her. But I was going to have to find out.

I descended the steps so that I was standing in front of the stage, looking up at her. I was rather small, yet it had never been too much of an issue. But the stage was pretty high up, and she looked a little intimidating. I bit my lip and shook my head ever so slightly. I didn't get intimidated. I was Rachel Berry, the only people with the power to intimidate me would be Barbra Streisand or Sarah Brightman. I cleared my throat and stood on my tiptoes, attempting to catch her attention in case she hadn't seen me yet. "Hello? I hope I'm not interrupting. I... you have a lovely voice. I'd pay to come see you sing... or should I say, I have paid to see you sing."

[/color] I said with my best delightful smile "I know who you are. Mimi Riter, am I correct? Your performance in Guys and Dolls was superb. Really top notch, but don't think I won't be beating you to the Tony Awards."[/color] I bit my lip and then let out a small, awkward laugh, hoping I hadn't offended her. "You took over Vocal Adrenaline, didn't you? Not quite sure why, they can't be that much fun. All red bull and anabolic steroids. I'm Rachel Berry by the way."[/color] I added in, casting a glance down at the ground and then looking back up at her, attempting to judge her reaction. I really hated being all the way down here, looking up at her like an insignificant rodent. I was so much more than that, and I was determined to show her.
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NOTES: so much rambling
OUTFIT: coming soon!
WORDS: 1 1 7 9
MUSE: goodish!
CREDIT: NOTHING_PERSONAL@CAUTION 2.0
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