Immortals

Chapter Thirteen: Drag Me Down

Laurence and the students of 7DOD sat in a circle, grouped in his house. The atmosphere was too dark for a wedding, but too happy for a funeral, whatever that means. Laurence took a deep breath. 

"So... are you guys excited for Sectionals? It's coming up this week!" Laurence tried to cheer, but judging by the unenthused looks on their faces, they were less than excited. 

"Did you hear about the news?" Harriet asked. 

"What news?" Laurence asked, surprised. 

"Darius is judging... alongside Donald Trump and Kanye West..." sighed Ashlynn Irwin. "I can't believe my family actually liked that toupee'd motherfucker." 

"I mean, I'd take Darius over Donald any day..." Michaela sighed. 

"Don't you see what this means, Mr Spender?" Randy cried. "We have no chance." 

Laurence thought of possible solutions, but none of them were logical.

"Surely the other two judges will love us, right?" Laurence stayed optimistic. 

"Have you seen Oprahaus and Game of Tones? We'll be crushed like the kids in Jurassic Park!" Liam squealed. 

"The kids don't die, Liam..." Niall corrected, "If you're gonna reference something, reference it right!" 

"This is so fucking stupid." Caitlin rolled her eyes. 

"You would know all about stupid..." Lucy mumbled under her breath. 

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your opinion?" 

"You did before you made your move!" 

"Burn!" Randy joked. 

"Shut the fuck up, Ronald!" Caitlin snapped. 

"Randy." 

"It's not like you're relevant enough for me to care!" 

"Promise you won't punch the other team if we lose, Liam?" Zayn joked. He quickly turned to give Shahid a high-five. 

"Fuck off!" 

"GUYS! SERIOUSLY!" Laurence raised his voice, shouting. They all turned to him like stunned deer. 

"Sorry, Mr Spender..." Randy sighed as he looked at his feet. 

"It doesn't matter if we have Darius as a judge. It's not about winning. It's about being apart of something special." Laurence sweetly reminded them. They all lit up like the giant Christmas tree in Victoria Square in Adelaide. 

"It's about the journey, not the destination..." Ashlynn reaffirmed. 

"It's about the learning, not the grade..." Caitlin added. 

"Even when we lose, we still win!" Michaela agreed. 

"Now, I want everyone to go around the room and share one good thing that has come out of glee club." Laurence instructed. 

"Before I joined glee club, I had body image issues. After joining glee club, I still have body image issues. The difference is that glee gave me someone to talk to." Michaela admitted, cutely winking at Niall. 

"Glee club made me tolerant of those that were different, and I didn't have to hide my true colours." Ashlynn confessed.

"Glee club gave me a voice, and made me be heard!" Randy cheered. Lucy raised her eyebrows. 

"Good for you, Ryan..." she mumbled. Randy facepalmed, giving up. 

"Glee club made me proud of who I was, and I didn't have to live in fear." Louis smiled, turning to Ashley.