23AN: So, I wanted to apologize for such a short chapter last time! I hope you like this one. Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy with work and school lately. -Leanza
Rachel returned to an empty house. Her fathers had been away on a business trip for the last few days and weren't due to return for another week. She contemplated calling Noah to come over but decided against it. She didn't want to ruin his night by crying about her mother and her trip to Carmel the whole time. Instead she walked silently to her bedroom and sat down without a clue as to what was supposed to happen next. For once in her life, Rachel Berry didn't have a plan.
Without another thought, Rachel went through her nightly routine. The shower worked through the knots in her back from being crumpled on the ground outside the high school. She applied anti wrinkle/blemish cream to her face and dried her hair into soft curls for tomorrow. In a tank top and shorts she laid out on her bed and turn on her lap top with her web cam. She couldn't deprive her fans just because of her own tumultuous problems. She stood in front of the camera and took a breath before streaming her live video.
"This song is for my mom who I have recently found out, loves me a lot more than I ever knew."
I dreamed a dream in times gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine un-tasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
And still I dream she'll come to me
That we'll live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So much different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.
Rachel turned off the camera and posted the video before laying back in bed to think about things. Her mother was only one town away, teaching English (Rachel's best subject), and coaching her glee club. What if Rachel attended Carmel? Would she have found out about Shelby sooner? Most likely. The teen pulled the covers over her and tried to erase her mind of the mountain of thoughts piling in. For the first time in a while, Rachel really prayed with meaning, and she asked that her mother would still love her the way she claimed in the letter.
Waking the next morning, Rachel had decided she wouldn't be going to school today and she would probably miss glee as well if things went according to plan. So she sent a quick text to Kurt Hummel, her best friend to everyone's surprise, even her own. "Won't be in Glee today; I have to go out of town." She dressed carefully in a black skirt with a dark red blouse. It was something a little toned down from her usual dress, but she didn't want to overwhelm her mother. Even the brunette wasn't oblivious of the effect her clothing had on people. Once her hair and make up were fixed through slightly obsessive compulsive mannerisms, Rachel walked to her car in anticipation.
The car ride was nerve racking; the sixteen year old was breathing shallowly and shaking slightly by the time she pulled into the parking lot. The night before it had been very empty and now it was full of parked cars and an occasional student walking through the lot. No one would know she didn't belong, this was a huge school and there was no way someone could know ALL the students. The woman who strolled past her did seem to detect something and she paused for a moment in front of Rachel's car. She never looked over though, and Rachel disregarded her from her thoughts. She had more things to worry about than some teacher pausing in front of her car.
After singing "Funny Girl" to boost her confidence, the teen emerged from the drivers seat and walked slowly to the front of the school. There was most definitely someone there now to point her Shelby Corcoran's way. Rachel took a deep breath and stepped through the glass doors, trying to keep herself from reconsidering. The elderly woman at the front desk spotted her before she could change her mind.
"May I help you dear?"
Rachel paused. They wouldn't just allow her to walk freely through the school to talk to the woman who may or may not be her mother. "I'm new here and I am looking for Ms. Corcoran's classroom." She listened closely as the woman gave her directions around the campus excitedly.
"…It will be great to have you here, dear. And my, my I wonder if Ms. Corcoran will recognize the resemblance between to two of you. It really is quite remarkable." Rachel thanked her politely and excused herself to find the classroom she would find her mother in.
Down the hallway Rachel allowed her thoughts to overcome her. Was the woman correct in saying they bare a remarkable resemblance? Rachel never really thought about her looking like the woman who gave birth to her. For some reason she never really could think of what her mother would look like. Finally, she made it to the door and opened it silently. The teacher at the front of the room didn't bother to look up but Rachel recognized her as the woman who paused in front of her car that morning. And once again, she stopped what she was doing and remained still for a moment before returning to her reading.
The other students were sitting quietly as she read aloud Shakespeare's "Othello" dramatically. Rachel was captivated by her mother's emotion just reading the novel. She couldn't imagine singing with the woman if she had a beautiful voice just speaking. The class passed in this way and it seemed Shelby was so engrossed in her reading that she never looked up to see Rachel in the back row. The teen admired her passion for reading, fore Rachel put that kind of passion into anything and everything she attempted to do. After all, what kind of star would she be if she didn't shine all the time?
As the bell rang, Shelby slipped a marker in between the pages of her book and announced it was homework for everyone to read the next three chapters. Then she looked at her students, all of which she knew instinctively. Instead of seeing all of the usual faces, Shelby spotted Rachel still sitting in the back desk among the crowd, staring with a racing heart. Their eyes met and this was the moment they had both been waiting for.