Glee: World of Chances (the fourth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 69: This Isn't Normal

Two years ago, I would've laughed at the chapter number. But today, I am a mature adult who can handle the seriousness of this chapter, which deals with the death of a minor character (so you can calm down) and NOT laugh... Not even a little.
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One week later...

"I still don't see them getting any better..." Finn muttered as he sat across the desk from Jesse in their small, shared office. "How did this happen?"

Jesse looked down at the cluttered desk and responded, "A drunk driver, that's how... If that man was still alive-"

"He's not," Finn stopped him. "He's not, so let's not speak ill. Right now, we just need to think about how we're going to handle the kids."

"Is there anything we can do?" Jesse shrugged. "Maybe we shouldn't say anything anymore. It's been a week and most of them won't talk about it."

Finn shook his head. "We have to do something. One of their own is gone. That can't just be ignored. We went to the funeral and we had a service here at school, but we need to do something with glee club."

"Ok," Jesse nodded. "They'll be here any minute now. What do we do?"

With a heavy heart, Finn stood and said, "We walk into that choir room and we start talking about him. Eventually one of them will join in and soon we'll have all of them talking. It's the least we could do."

***

"Can you imagine?" Amity asked Alex as they had lunch in the board room. "If we lost someone when we... No, I can't picture it. It's too terrible."

Alex looked up and said, "I've pictured it a lot, actually. Remember the shooting? After that day, I couldn't help but think what would happen if one of us died. Sometimes it was me, sometimes it was one of the others. And sometimes it was you."

Amity shuttered. Goosebumps on her arms, she shook her head and said, "I wasn't really close to Stewart but I heard great things. Albany says he was going to Harvard. He was student president and really mature and optimistic and... I wish I had been able to spend more time with him."

"Yeah..." he nodded. "Me, too..."

As he prepared himself to change the subject, a brand new subject came in for him. Dani rushed into the room carrying a large basket with treats and video games, her smile as wide as ever as she set it in front of Alex.

"What's this?" he asked her.

"For you!" she exclaimed. "It just got dropped off. Looks like someone's trying to impress you." She wiggled her eyebrows and then made her way out. From the doorway, she added, "Tiger!" and then disappeared.

As Alex examined the contents of the basket, Amity curiously asked, "Who's it from?"

Alex wanted to know the same thing, so he searched for a card but only found a note. You still haven't called me, so I figured it'd be up to me to act first. Would love to work with you, xxTracyxx

He put the card down and sighed. This girl had not stopped trying to contact him ever since the concert. Amity read the card and said, "Tracy? Tracy Moore?"

"I guess so..." he responded in discomfort.

"Wow..." she told him. "Must be a dream come true. She's like a more country Taylor Swift." Alex nodded, unsure what else to say. Amity stood up and said, "Well, have fun. I'm going to go see if Dan is ready to work yet. See ya."

"See ya..." he mumbled back, staring at the card. It was obvious that this country star wanted to do more than collaborate on music, but Stefan had a huge crush on her and he certainly wasn't up for any romances at the moment. Still, she was like a more attainable Taylor Swift who was reaching out to him, on a silver, boot-wearing, sparkly-dressed platter. So what exactly did he want?