episode 1: 'Going in a New Direction'
       *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

      IT HAS BEEN A ROUGH COUPLE OF YEARS FOR SAM EVANS. He was left in charge of William McKinley High School's glee club, the New Directions, after all of his classmates left to pursue their dreams. He doesn't know how Mr. Schuester did it, it's kind of hard to convince teenagers to join a club where they are guaranteed to get bullied by the school's jocks.

    But as they say, 'New Year, New Me', and it was finally a new school year. The returning students have already settled in, spending the first two days catching up with their peers, while the scared little freshmen are still terrified of there being two stories to the school. It was finally time though! Clubs are starting up and Sam is wasting no time getting his sign up sheets pinned onto the cork board.

      He holds onto his bag as he rushes into the school, proudly holding the colorful paper in his hands. He takes a thumbtack out from the corner of the board and pins up the sheet in the middle for everyone to see.
      "Do you really think this year is going to be any different Evans? I'm surprised the program hasn't been shut down yet." A deep voice chuckles from behind him. They approach the board and pin up a sign up sheet for the school's cheerleading team. "I mean, you're practically paying to rent out that choir room."
     Mr. Henry Levroy; the, very handsome, physics teacher who was brought to the school to coach the Cheerios, and brought the team back into star-status after just his first year.

      "I have a good feeling about this year Mr. Levroy. This new batch of kids looks promising." Sam turns around to look Henry in the eyes, attempting to stand his ground.
      "You said the same thing last year, and you barely had enough kids to sing harmonies. But, good luck, God knows you need it."

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     Frederick Jane recently came into the life of an overachiever, the idea of his freshman year scared him into a panic about his future. He spent the summer planning out his year in his small journal, a small leather book with calendar pages. He decided on which extracurriculars would compliment his college application the best.
Freddie was the first student at the bulletin board this morning, begging his mom to let him arrive early with her just so he could get his name up there. He scans the wall of papers, searching for all of his clubs. He checks his journal once more before scribbling his name on the sign up sheets. 'Baseball . . . Speech . . . Spelling . . . Mock Trial . . . and-'
Freddie's hand hovers over the audition sheet for the Glee club. It isn't in his plans, hell, he counted out the idea after seeing a former glee kid get a slushie thrown at them in the hallway. But, he really does like showchoir, a little too much if you ask his friends.
      He takes a deep breath, crosses off cloud watching club from his journal, and writes in Glee club.

      "Uh..Hello, my name is Frederick Jane. Just call me Freddie. And I'll be auditioning with 'Teacher's Pet' from the School of Rock musical." Freddie stood on the auditorium stage, his grandpa's guitar in his hands and already hooked up to an amp.
      "Okay Freddie! Whenever you're ready." Sam says into the small microphone in front of him, sitting at a table in the middle of the empty audience.
      Freddie takes a deep breath before playing the first few measures of the song before the rest of the band joins in. "Baby, we was makin' straight A's, but we were stuck in a dumb daze. Don't take much to memorize your lies." He gains confidence as he sings, quickly taking over the stage with his presence. "And if you wanna be the teacher's pet, well, baby, you just better forget it. Rock got no reason, rock got no rhyme.You better get me to school on time." His smile is infectious by the time he gets to the chorus.
He ends the song with one final hit and is immediately met with a standing ovation from Sam. "That was amazing! I- That was great Freddie."
"Oh! Thanks!" Frederick takes off his guitar, packing it away into its case. "It's was a great experience."

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It was a strange feeling for Atticus. Purposely putting himself out there for others to see was a fear of his. He likes to hide behind a pen, being an avid writer and a part of the McKinley High Newspaper club, keeping himself from the constant ridicule his peers loved to hand out. But, for some reason, the glee sign up sheet calls to him every time he passes the bulletin board and he always pauses to look at it.
     "When are you going to sign up for that club?" A voice asked.
     He jumped, holding a hand against his beating heart. "Geez Meg! Warn a guy next time." Atticus takes a second to breath, turning around to face Megara. "I have no clue what you are talking about."
     "Please Atticus, I'm not an idiot, I can tell how much you want to join the glee club." Megara sighs, pushing her way past the boy. "This will be a great opportunity for you," she pulls out a pen, writing down Atticus's name and her own, "and a good look on my college resume!"

Atticus was practically sweating through his shirt. Megara gave a reassuring squeeze to his hand, immediately regretting it and wiping the sweat off onto her pants. "You're gonna do great!" She tells him for the twentieth time, shoving him out onto the stage.
It didn't help calm Atticus, his nerves spiking after watching the last guy's audition. How is he supposed to follow a guy who was playing GUITAR and SINGING. He takes the center of the stage, furrowing his brow as the bright lights shine into his eyes.
     "My name is Atticus Larson and I'll be singing 'Take Me To Church' by Hozier." Atticus nodded at Meg, signaling her to start the instrumental track.
     "My lover's got humor," his voice comes out shaky and quiet, he takes a quick breath before singing the next phrase, "she's the giggle at a funeral."
He takes the microphone off the stand, walking closer to the front of the stage. "Aye-, Amen, Amen, Amen." He lets himself wander around to the music, occasionally leaning onto the microphone stand.
"Offer me that deathless death! Good God, let me give you my life." Once he finishes the song, he gives a small bow and speed-walks off the stage to Megara's and Sam's applause.

"That was so good! You did amazing, I don't know if I can follow that." Meg hugs Atticus, clapping him on the back.
"Thanks," he says sheepishly. All he wants to do is leave, but he has to be a good friend and support Megara the same way she did for him.
Sam's voice rings through the speakers, calling on the next audition. Meg lets out a deep breath, about to march onto stage, but someone beats her there. "My name is Diana Cortes and I'll be singing 'Shallow' from A Star Is Born."

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Diana Cortes is one of the top students of McKinley's freshmen class. She has a promising future, the first female president or the scientist who finds the cure to cancer, a future nobel peace prize winner many of her teachers believe.
     It's not odd to find her surrounded by people, her friends consisting of anyone who talks to her for more than a minute.
When she saw the sign up sheet for the glee club, she payed it no mind and skipped over it to scribble her name under a different sheet. It wasn't until she attended the first Mathletes meeting and met Frederick, she even learned what the club was. He kept talking about it nonstop with the poor sophomore who decided to sit next to him. It peaked the girl's interest and the next day she signed up for auditions.

     "My name is Diana Cortes and I'll be singing 'Shallow' from A Star Is Born." She smiles at the director, squaring her shoulders and straightening her back. She readies herself in front of the microphone and nods to the guitar player she hired. "Tell me somethin', girl. Are you happy in the modern world?" She softly sings into the microphone, closing her eyes as she internalizes the beat. She holds onto the stand, her hands delicate. "Tell me something, boy. Aren't you tired tryna fill that void? Or do you need more?" She riffs, moving her head with the notes. Once she reaches the chorus she leans away from the microphone, keeping it from peaking as she gets louder.
"In the sha-ha, sha-la-low. We're far from the shallow now." She quiets back down, increasingly getting louder as she sings until she reaches the chorus again, singing at full volume and tightening her grasp on the stand. "I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in. I'll never meet the ground."
"We're far from the shallow now." She ends with the guitar, a smile returning to her face the instant Sam claps. She curtsies, miming a skirt, before trotting off the stage while discussing the changes she wants to make with the guitar player.

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It was only her first day of writing for the school newspaper and she's already been tasked with writing about the many clubs available this year, the topic already bored her. She wanted to delve into drama, or even the homecoming game coming up in a few weeks, but was handed a yawn-inducing article.

She was on her way to list all of the clubs that were listed on the bulletin board, the most logical place to start, when she saw Atticus, a friend she made at the newspaper meeting two nights before. He was tasked to discuss the new Cheerios uniforms for this year and shared Meg's disdain for how boring the topics are.

He was just staring at the sign up sheet for the glee club. Meg was interested in going was she first saw the sheet, but pushed herself away after thinking about her current reputation boost from her father. But just cause she didn't sign up for the club, doesn't mean she can't help her friend.
"When are you going to sign up for that club?" She asks.
     Atticus jumps, holding a hand against his beating heart. "Geez Meg! Warn a guy next time." He turns around to look at Megara. "I have no clue what you are talking about."
     "Please Atticus, I'm not an idiot, I can tell how much you want to join the glee club." She sighs, pushing her way past the boy. "This will be a great opportunity for you," she pulls out a pen, writing down Atticus's name on the paper. She thinks for a moment before letting her impulses take over, writing her own name down under his. "And a good look on my college resume!"

Megara now stands in front of the microphone, fidgeting with the bracelet she has on. "I'm Megara Ross, and I'll be singing 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird' from Sweeney Todd." Meg takes a breath before immediately starting, "Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird. How is it you sing?" She notices Sam's eyebrows raise once she starts, probably not expecting the sudden high notes.
"How can you remain staring at the rain, maddened by the stars?" She stands still on the stage, only moving her head and hands with the songs. "Have you decided it's safer in cages, singing when you're told?"
"If I cannot fly, let me sing." She finishes strong with a decrescendo, the impressive high note being well supported. Sam is up on his feet clapping and Meg hears a 'whoop' from Atticus backstage. She smiles, taking a quick bow before briskly walking off stage.

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Calvin McKay was shocked when he learned that there was a glee club at McKinley. I mean he hadn't heard of any musical arts being present at the school until he heard two cheerleaders and one of the guys already on the basketball team talk about it at the basketball team tryouts.

"It's so sad how little names are written down for that glee club. There has to be some kids at this school that like singing." One of the girls said, her lips in a pout.
"Melody, people don't want to join the club because it's lame. You are basically guaranteeing yourself an empty table at lunch." The other girl said, cuddled into the boy's side. "Besides, Cheerios practice is basically everyday of the week." Melody just sighed, signaling the end of the conversation.

After the tryouts, Calvin couldn't stop himself from searching for the bulletin board with the glee club sign up sheet on it. He found it rather quickly as it was the one closest to the front door. He stood, nonchalantly on his phone, waiting for the hallway to clear out of the athletes that just finished practices. Once the coast was clear, he hurried to write his name down on the paper, the fifth name.

It was a scramble to make it to auditions. Calvin had successfully made it onto the basketball team so he had practice that night and it ended up running late. Calvin didn't even have time to change as he grabbed his guitar case and ran down the hallway to the auditorium.
"Last call for auditions?" Sam said into the microphone just as Calvin runs backstage. He pushes past the four other people there to get on stage.
"I'm here!" He yells, keeling over as he attempts to catch his breath. He holds up his finger, taking a few deep breaths before straightening up again. "I'm here to audition."
Sam gives him the go ahead. Calvin looks around, spotting a stool he can use to sit on. He grabs it, gets his acoustic guitar out, and positions the microphone lower. "I'm Calvin McKay, and I'll be perform and acoustic version of 'Can't Stop the Feeling' by Justin Timberlake."
"I got this feelin' inside my bones. It goes electric, wavy when I turn it on." He strums his guitar, bobbing his head to the beat. "And under the lights when everything goes. Nowhere to hide when I'm gettin' you close."
He takes a breath, trying to calm his heart down before he flips into his falsetto. "I can't stop the feelin'. So just dance, dance, dance." He slightly tilts his head down, focusing on playing the guitar. "When we move, well, you already know. So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine."
For the last few lines, he ditches his falsetto and belt the notes out. "I can't stop the feelin'. So just dance, dance, dance." He holds out the final word, met with applause afterward. Calvin stands up with a large smile and, with much more confidence than he had when he arrived, left the stage carrying his guitar and its case.

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Sam sat in his office with a satisfied smile. He was ecstatic about the talent that auditioned today, it sent him into a new bout of energy for the year. He had immediately started researching songs that would be perfect for sectionals.
"Knock, knock!" A melodic voice called out, knocking on the outside of Sam's office door.
"Come in." Sam said, still engrossed in the sheet music littered on his desk. At least he was until he realized that it was Ryan Manon who walked in and took a seat on a chair that was across from him. He immediately straightened up, setting down the song he was holding.
"How was auditions today? Any promising kids?" She smiled, already knowing the answer based on Sam's face.
"It was - It was great. Lots of talented voices." He swallowed, reaching to take a sip of his water. "How was Academic Super Bowl?"
"The turnout was amazing! So many fresh faces ready to learn. I think there's a shot at winning state this year." Sam couldn't stop looking at her smile, snapping out of it only when he realized that she asked him a question and was waiting for an answer.
"Uh- Yeah! Of course." He quickly said, slightly wincing at himself.
"Really?" Her surprise wasn't a good sign. "That's great! Well, I'll see you tomorrow night at six at the bowling alley!" She waved goodbye and left. He sat there for a moment, trying to comprehend what just happened. Was he just asked on a date? He shook his head, trying to rattle his brain back into place.

This is going to be a pretty good year, he could sense it.

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author's note

ITS FINALLY OUT! This is probably the most I've ever written for an applyfic.
I'm so sorry it took so long to get out, my adhd brain doesn't enjoy focusing on one thing for too long.

Inspired by my favorite writer, I'm going to be putting questions at the end of each chapter for your to answer about your character.

question: What is your character's favorite music artist and their favorite song by that artist?

* ANSWER *

Thank you sm! <3