New Directions

To: Principal Sue Sylvester
From: Margaret Hale
Date: December 3, 2010
Subject: Resignation

Dear Principal Sylvester,

I am writing to you today to officially tender my resignation from William McKinley High School effective at the end of the Fall 2010 semester.

I have enjoyed getting reacquainted with Lima and McKinley High, but when I received an offer to join the editorial staff of World Traveler magazine, I simply had to take advantage of it.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you and the staff and students of McKinley High for adding to the wonderful memories that I have of this place as a student. It's a rare opportunity for a person to be able to go home again. I wish you all the best of luck.

If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks again for everything.

(signed)
Margaret Hale

Was the semester really half over already? Maggie wondered as she claimed an empty table in the McKinley High staff lounge. It felt like it had just begun.

She then wondered if she was the only teacher who seemed to need as much time as her students to get back into the academic groove, so to speak. Everyone else in the room thus far didn't seem to have that problem, she thought, looking around. They seemed to have been re-energized by the summer break and returned to work ready for anything.

On the other hand, it had been a rather difficult summer for her. Maggie's father's health, which was already a bit delicate, deteriorated a little and the stress had taken its toll on Maggie and her mother. He was hanging in there, though, thank God. They all were.

A long red carpet leads from the parking lot to the lobby of the school gym, decorated for pictures of the happy couples and groups. From there, the carpet leads to the gym, which is decked out in red and black balloons and silver stars.

There's an actual DJ this time near the “bar” where drinks are being served...well, sodas and water. It's high school, what do you want? There's tables scattered about the edges of the dance floor, with red tablecloths and movie-themed centerpieces.

Have fun, kids. Try not to get into too much trouble.

Maggie had promised Will Schuester long ago that she would help with the non-musical aspects of the Glee Club, but admittedly had not been very active in that respect. Since she had not been contacted to assist with anything, she assumed that everything was still in the planning stages and her services was not yet needed.

She had, however, kept tabs on the club's doings through her students that were members of the club, and knew from what they had told her that the Glee Club was getting up a production of RENT. She had even known about the TV commercial, and dutifully watched it with a mixture of amusement over their obvious excitement about the production, and wonder at how much kids seemed to be able to accomplish nowadays.

Maggie was not surprised that certain parties in the community would have a strong reaction to the idea. She was also curious as to how the club was dealing with it.

To that end, she sought out Will in the staff lounge the very next day. Spying him sitting by himself at a table, she approached, the newspaper with the offending letter in her hand.

"Will, may I have a word?"

Maggie was glad to see that her lunch was still in the refrigerator; on her first week, someone had taken it and she had developed the habit of writing her name on her food containers.

She nodded politely to a couple of familiar faces as she took an empty table. Even after almost an entire schoolyear at McKinley, she still felt a little different, a little alienated from her co-workers. Many of them still treated her as an outsider. However, she supposed the most important thing was that they all treated each other with respect. The faculty at McKinley were mostly very nice people who seemed committed to doing their jobs well. Maggie could relate to that.

There was only one problem with playing weekly at a piano bar--it was the repetition of the requests. How many times had he played 'Misty' already this week? That one wasn't as bad as the 'Girl from Ipanema' request. They lived in Lima, for heaven's sake!

But still, sometimes it had its recompenses.

And he did love to sing, even if he didn't get to very often in his other job.

( Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody... )