Back-Up Plan - Book 3 - S.E.

A Katy or a Gaga

"All right, big week, guys." Mr. Schue said, as he walked into the choir room. "Come on. Gather round. I have here in my hand... Drumroll, please... A secret list of the show choirs that we will be in competition with at Nationals in six weeks. Okay, let's see what we've got. We got the Rust-Belters from Pittsburgh, the Thunder Showcats from Gainesville and finally, from Fort Wayne, Throat Explosion."

"No!" Tina yelled suddenly, causing Winnie to jump a little in surprise. "Why, God?!"

"Hum, what?" Jake interrupted, with a frown. "Throat Explosion? That's a joke, right?"

"Anything but." Blaine shook his head, sounding almost defeated. "They're the new supergroup the Show Choir Underground's been buzzing about. Their budgets for costume, makeup, hair alone are astronomical. You guys have read that Malcolm Gladwell book. Outliers, right?"

When no one reacted, Blaine sighed. He should have known no one in that room would have cared enough to read through any of the show choir blogs and books.

"So, Gladwell says you can't possibly master anything unless you've spent 10,000 hours practicing it." Blaine explained as everyone turned to look at him. "So students can't even join Throat Explosion without proving they've logged in 10,000 hours of show choir rehearsal. They don't even go to class. They just perform, every minute of every day. They live their art. They know no boundaries. They're constantly pushing the envelope, living and performing on the edge.nThey're like mini Lady Gagas."

"We're so screwed..." Tina shook her head then. "They're not like Vocal Adrenaline, who were unfeeling Borg robots. They're total outsiders and misfits, which used to be our niche. We can't compete with Throat Explosion anymore at that level because we lost our biggest Gaga when Kurt graduated last year. Look around, we're a room full of, like, Katy Perrys now."

"Oh, you best check your spectrum, Queen T, because orange is the new black, and Unique is the new Gaga." Unique protested, as Winnie nodded her head, actually thinking she'd make a pretty good Gaga if she had to.

"Well, not Marley..." Tina shrugged. "She's a Katy Perry. So is Sam, so is Blaine."

"I'm a Katy Perry and I'm proud of it." Blaine said.

"Hum, the truth is, Tina, we're a potent mix of Katy Perrys and Lady Gagas in here." Mr. Schue said. "But it's not a liability... It's the way we're gonna beat Throat Explosion. Some of us in here are, you know, ambi-edge."

"Ambi-edge?" Winnie made a face at the way Mr. Schue had chosen to describe Unique. "You just made that up."

"Hum, some of us are more, you know, wholesome, innocent, romantic, all-American girl-and boy-next-door types." Mr. Schue continued. "Hum, who in here would describe

themselves as a Gaga?"

At his question, Tina, Kitty, Unique, Jake and Winnie lifted their hands and Mr. Schue nodded.

"Okay, great." The teacher said. "And the rest of you are Katys?"

"Is there a third option?" Ryder asked, a little unsure about the assignment.

"We're gonna mix it up a little bit." Mr. Schue said. "We're turning our weaknesses into our strengths. This week, the Katys will get their Gaga on and the Gagas will bring the Katy. Throat Explosion does their one thing very, very well, but we need to be able to do both, impeccably, or else we're not gonna have a chance in hell of winning Nationals this year."

***

"Hey." Marley smiled a little, coming up to Winnie as the girl studied in the library. "Are you busy?"

"Not really, why?" Winnie asked, closing her book and pulling out the chair beside hers so Marley could sit.

"I... I just wanted to ask you something."