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Beth doesn’t think of moving from Liberty to McKinley as a huge change. Most of her classmates are still there, and she recognizes some of the older students from their years at Liberty. Her classes aren’t really any harder and if anything, she has less homework in history than she had in social studies the year before. She doesn’t have Mr. Schuester; between her mom and Kurt, she’d been convinced early in life to study French formally, and not Spanish.
When the notice that auditions for New Directions will be held on Thursday after school goes up, Beth smiles to herself and then goes home to tell her mom that she’ll need a ride home on Thursday. Beth is well-prepared for the audition, and she giggles to herself intermittently throughout the week as auditions approach.
There are six freshmen there to audition, including one guy and his twin sister, who argue over who gets to go first. One of the upperclassmen in glee club gets frustrated and tells them they have to go fourth and fifth, which makes Beth suppress a laugh. That’s exactly what her mom would have done. Beth lingers in the back of the group, wanting to go last but not wanting to speak up with that intent unless absolutely necessary. She doesn’t have to; the two guys and three girls that are also there all finish, singing various pop songs that have been popular in the last five years, with the exception of the twin boy, who does a song from Revival. Finally, it’s Beth’s turn, and she pulls out her phone, handing it to Brad with an apologetic smile.
“I have my own backing tracks for this one,” Beth says to him. “There were some people with an investment in my audition, I suppose you could say.” Brad nods and hooks her phone up, finger poised over it as Beth walks to the microphone.
“Welcome,” Mr. Schuester says. “I’m Mr. Schuester, though most of them call me Mr. Schue. Please don’t be intimidated by the rest of the club. They’re mostly harmless.” Two of the guys laugh, one of the girls rolls her eyes, and Beth just nods. She’s heard the same speech five times already, after all. “Now, your name?”
Beth grins. “You know, I think I’ll wait until after I’ve sung to tell you that.” Despite living in Lima for almost her entire life, Beth has never officially met Mr. Schuester, not that she or her mom can remember. Her dad—Papa, she mentally corrects herself—says that they met once, when she was three and a half, but Beth doesn’t remember it, and anyway, the chance of Mr. Schuester recognizing her based on that seems slim. “I hope it’s okay, but I have my own backing tracks. There’s some orchestration and a few backing vocals. It was important to them.”
“Okay, sure,” Mr. Schuester says, sounding surprised.
“Thanks.” Beth smiles at Mr. Schuester and then at Brad, who starts the music. Beth lets herself listen, then launches into the song, her eyes on Mr. Schuester, who at least in theory should know exactly who she is.
Beth, I hear you callin'
But I can't come home right now
Me and the boys are playin'
And we just can't find the sound
She sees Mr. Schuester’s eyes widen, and grins as she sings the chorus, listening to the recorded voices joining her. Beth knows, vaguely, the story of when the song was first sung, and she’s impressed that her Papa did manage to get four of them to sing along for the recording.
It’s true that Kurt’s much more a ‘Daddy’ and her dad is much more of a ‘Papa’, but it’s still been a little strange to modify what she calls them. It’s not that they asked her to, but she’d already shifted from ‘Daddy’ to ‘Dad’ a few years earlier, and it makes sense to call her dad the same thing as her sibling. Changing what she calls them isn’t really strange at all, though, compared to having a sibling of sorts who is a full thirteen years younger than she is. Kurt scoffs and smiles before saying that’s nothing compared to nineteen years, and he’s probably right.
Beth smiles as she goes into the last repeat of the chorus, her dad’s voice standing out a little more than the others, but still mixed well with the instrumentation.
Just a few more hours
And I'll be right home to you
I think I hear them callin'
Oh, Beth what can I do
Beth what can I do
She sings the last lines alone, the music fading away, and the current members of New Directions clap, one of them making some notes like he has for each performance, but she doesn’t study them for long, instead looking at Mr. Schuester.
“You’re Beth,” he says softly. “Beth Corcoran.”
“I am,” she admits. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”
“And that was… that was Noah, right? And Kurt and Finn?”
“And Mike Chang, too,” Beth confirms with a nod. “They said to tell you hello.”
Mr. Schuester laughs. “It’s probably inappropriate, but I’d really like to give you a hug. I can’t believe you’re here – auditioning for glee club!”
Beth laughs. “I don’t think anyone else quite believed it either.” She climbs down off the stage, though, and Mr. Schuester does give her a brief hug. “But I admit McKinley has felt quite familiar.”
Mr. Schuester laughs. “Well, in theory, these guys have the ultimate decision power over who joins.” He gestures to the students watching them interestedly. “But unofficially, guys?” He raises his voice to carry to them, though he’s clearly kidding with them as well. “If you don’t let my first second-generation member in, I’m kicking all of you out and starting from scratch.”