New Directions

This paticular Monday found Emma at her desk, sipping some hot coco . She always took the first twenty minutes of the day to get herself together -- listen to her voicemail and review the notes left in her box from the over the weekend.

There was one note in patiular that cought her eye. "Will you please tell that creep to stop making out in the hallway?" The note didn't have a name attached to it, but as Emma continued going though her notes, she came to find out that these complaints were about Theo.

They needed to talk. She was sure that he was going though a tough time. So, she sent her student aid: Emily to fetch him.

How was it that he could be in his thirties and still feel like a stupid teenager, screwing up all the time? He didn't know how Emma had found out about Shelby and April...but he should never have been near those women in the first place. Not when he was trying to create something with Emma, who was the sweetest, most caring person he'd ever met.

Maybe he was the one who needed counseling. Will pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He hadn't slept well this weekend, and he could barely concentrate on anything.

He had to figure out finals, he had to do some more arranging for Regionals, and he had to grade more papers. He was worried about Finn flunking his class. He had to meet with Terri to discuss some things about the divorce and he had to actually meet with his lawyer.


Too much on his plate. Way too much.

She was definitely not going to duck out on Miss Pillsbury this time.

Lillian had become very good at making it seem like she had no problems whatsoever. She was generally a cheerful person so it was easy for her. And her parents were pretty cool, so it was also easy to feel better around them.

But when she was alone, she thought too much, and when she was starting to be hyper, she really thought too much. She tried not to use her prescription to sleep unless she absolutely, positively had to, so it was becoming a little unbearable.

She knocked softly on the door to Miss Pillsbury's office.

Thank God for study hall. For once this week, Eva didn't have homework to do during it. Thus, ninth period, she got a pass from her study hall supervisor and made her way to the guidance office.

Just out of eyesight of the glass walls, she paused. The girl hesitated a little before bucking up and walking to the door. "Ms. Pillsbury?" she ventured, poking her head in the door. She waved the pass in her hand. "Are you busy?"

((OOC: Thread is open-ish if anyone wants to eavesdrop/spy/interrupt...I just ask that if you interrupt to let Emma and Eva go back and forth a little! :) ))

The Glee picnic was at noon that day, the old football field cleared for the day as the large grill that had been ordered was pushed into the enter of the white lines, picnic tables set up and a some coolers put out as Tanner made sure things were all in order. He'd gotten all the meat just an hour before, the cooler stinking of it as he turned the grill on and waited for someone, anyone who actually knew what they were doing to show up.

For once, Will wasn't thinking about Glee.

Well, okay, he wasn't thinking about Glee much.

But his first order of business was to get these Spanish essays graded...and if the kids thought writing them was hard...correcting them was even harder. Right now, it was threatening to turn his brain to mush.

He'd sharpened his red pencil several times by now. At least he could count on Quinn's essay being nearly perfect. He kept pushing it farther into the pile because at least he could grade that nearer to the end and give his brain a rest.

Emma had a somewhat slow day, so she decided to go and visit Will and the Glee kids. She really just enjoyed watching them perform and work their way up to their final product. With a folder full of papers that she was running off for her SAT Prep class later that evening, Emma made her way carefully into the choir room. But in trying to avoid touching the door handle, Emma lost her grasp on the folder, and when the door opened, her papers went scattering across the floor. With a defeated sigh, Emma bent over, trying not to touch the floor as she picked up her papers.

Things between Will and Emma had been tense and strange. They were still unsure of if their action would have consequences and Emma felt their relationship suffering for it. Will sounded supportive and loving-

Emma, meanwhile, feels guilty and uncertain.

But what she is certain about is that she is utterly in love with William Schuester and that was all that mattered. She finishes wrapping his Christmas presents and takes a deep breath before dialing his number.

"Pick up...pick up...come on, Will, pick up..."

Emma clutches onto her bag, walking in the hallway toward her office. She is still pretty distracted...

-What happened between you and Will was wrong, Emma. You two are together now, but you go ahead and go all the way with him on the first date? Since when are you that kind of girl?-

But she's relieved that work will become a distraction from her distraction.

Turning a corner, she sees a girl near her office, one that she's never spoken to before. She's sitting down, staring at her hands, shaking almost.

Emma isn't blind. The girl's face is bruised.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Emma kneels down to the girl's level and tries to make eye contact with her, but the girl just stares into her lap.

This is serious.

( Good morning, starshine! The Earth says: Oh, that probably wasn't the best idea... )

( This is how I know. This is what I see. This is love to me. )

Even though this wasn't precisely a frivolous party, that didn't mean that it wasn't a social event! Therefore, there are munchies and soft drinks, and plenty of seating in the Fabray's den.

The Abrams' had come over to help her organize the meeting and create the agenda. Mrs. Fabray had looked over the site over the past few days and she couldn't believe how horrible and cruel the writers were.

When she was a girl, nothing had been this vicious.

Mrs. Fabray sighed and as the first attendees to the meeting began to arrive, she called, "Quinnie, could you get that?"

[OOC: Chris, I know we said that you'd post this, but judging by the Will/Emma threads, it makes more sense that Emma would approach Ken, I think. I hope you don't mind!]
--

Emma takes a deep breath when she arrives at Ken's door. She promised Will that she'd be honest, and honest she would be.

Still, her heart is beating like she's never felt it beat before.

She knocks at the door and opens it slowly, peeking her head in.

"Ken?"

...here goes.

Emma had debated telling Will all day about the website. She really had. But it was best to warn him now before things escalated further.

She walks into his classroom and closes the door behind her. She finds him grading Spanish papers and sits down in a desk in front of him. Her laptop is open, and the internet is open to this.

"Will...we have a problem."

She points to the two stories involving herself and Mr. Schuester and looks up at him, horrified.

Emma sits in her office, scrubbing her hands with Purell and biting her lip nervously.

What had happened last week should not have happened. It began as innocent...a friend helping another friend...

And ended with lips meeting lips, hands holding hands, fingers caressing hair, dear Je-

She taps a pencil (that she, of course, sanitized) against her desk and prays for a student. Anyone.

Didn't that Kurt kid mention that he wanted to stop by? Some sort of...problem at home?

Whatever the problem was, she waited for it with open arms. Any sort of distraction from her conscience would be highly appreciated.

Emma walks to school, bag in hand, a smile planted on her face.

A brand new day! The sun is shining, it's a beautiful day, the air is fre-

Suddenly, a car drives by the sidewalk. Which would not have been bad.

However, this particular car decided to drive through a puddle. A rather large, dirty, and frigid puddle.

Which then proceeded to splash on Emma, covering her head to toe.

Unsure of how to react, Emma stands there, motionless, mouth agape, horrified.

Emma stops by Will's room at the end of the day and quietly enters, looking at her hands.

She wasn't sure if it was wrong or right. But...she was in need. And at this moment, Will was the only one who could help.

She knocks on the doorframe. "Will? Remember that big poofy dress I danced in with you the other day?"

Danced with you the other day...oh, how that sounds wrong...

She coughs. "Yes, well...I don't think it'll work. I mean...as you know, it's really hard to dance in...c-can you help?"

Emma walks to Mr. Schuester's room after school. She honestly didn't know who else to talk to.

Walking in, she finds Will wiping off the dry erase board, which is covered in Spanish conjugations. Hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos...

"Will, we need to speak. I think there's a problem among our students that needs to be addressed, and soon."

She sits in a desk, looking up at him with concerned eyes. Her heart continues to race while watching Will Schuester, but there are bigger problems in front of them. Emma hopes that that serves as a big enough distraction.

Ben was lost. True, this was nothing unusual, Ben was always lost, both figuratively and literally. Today was no different.

Admittedly, he hadn't been attending McKinley for very long and had been out sick for most of his official time as a student there, but really...in a couple of years, he would probably still be getting lost in the halls.

He squinted at the crumpled sheet of notebook paper on which he'd scrawled a map and sighed, dragging his battered backpack by one strap. Surely he would find where he was going eventually...right?

Emma walks down the hall, enjoying the clicking of her red heels (that, of course, match her outfit) and keeping her hands close to her body where no germs could possibly reach.

(Hopefully)

Her mind is in the clouds, wandering, until she hears...what is that, music?

She peeks into the auditorium and sees, of course, the glee club rehearsing. The kids dance and sing with energy (not a lot of energy, but it is late, after all)

It's tempting to stay, but-

You're engaged, you're engaged, you're engaged...

...but Will had invited her...right?

She stands beside the auditorium door, twiddling her thumbs, unsure of what to do.