hey is anyone doing Glee prompts anymore? I was hoping for one where Becky is bullied for her disability & Finn helps out/comforts
set at the end of 4x07 // 654 words
Becky Jackson likes saying bad words. But there is one she doesn’t ever say. Other people say it. They say it a lot. Like in the locker room after gym class when they think Coach Beiste can’t hear. Becky doesn’t show how much it hurts.
She breaks a xylophone instead. It’s called anger management.
What she needs is hurt management.
Becky’s mom used to say “sticks and stones” to her when she came home from school crying. That’s supposed to mean that only getting hurt on your body counts. But Becky knows. Words hurt, too.
She storms down the hall, carrying her books like weapons. She has a spork on her just in case. And she can turn into Queen Bee, too, if she wants. She just..doesn’t feel like it right now.
Becky isn’t even looking where she’s going. But the music stops her from inside the auditorium. She’s always wished she could join glee club. But Mr. Schuester said no, even though he said everybody can get in.
He really meant everybody but her.
Kids come out wearing red shirts and jeans. Kitty makes a face and whispers to Trouty Mouth about the girl with the hats. Kitty hates hats like Becky hates xylophones.
Becky ignores all of them. She doesn’t say hi to Artie.
She waits until Finn is the only one left inside. Until she knows Mr. Schuester isn’t there.
“Does anybody make fun of you for being freakishly tall?” she asks, tossing her hair like it doesn’t matter.
Finn looks surprised. He must not have seen her come in. Hard to notice short people, she guesses, when you’re as tall as the trees. Or the roof of her house.
He’s kind of a teacher. And kind of still a student. That makes Becky feel like she can talk to him. Plus, she knows something else about him, too.
“Coach Sue said you said the R word about Robin.”
Finn’s ears get red. “Yeah…”
Her eyes burn. “Why? Do you think we don’t have feelings?”
“No! I mean, yes. I mean…I know you have feelings, and I know Robin has feelings, too, even though she’s just a baby. I said it because… Listen…” he sighs and sits down. “The truth is, I don’t have an excuse. I knew the word was wrong and I said it anyway.”
“Does everybody?” she asks. It feels like her insides are going down a big drain.
“Say it anyway? When they know better?”
“Mostly, I think, yeah…” he answers. His voice is soft. He doesn’t sound like the guy who made fun of her when she was a freshman. And his eyes are nice. Kind. She wonders if he’s sorry.
She sighs. “It sucks…when people make fun of you.”
“Some bitches said that word to me. I don’t think they’re sorry.”
He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
“I am.” He looks her right in the eyes. “I am sorry.”
She can tell he means it in his heart, so she smiles, even though it’s hard, and her heart still hurts a little. “Okay then, Almighty Treble Clef, I believe you. And just for that, I guess Queen Bee won’t sting you.” She gives him a wink so he will know she’s just kidding.
He stands up and she does, too. By now, everyone is going home. They walk out together, the tallest and shortest in the whole school. No one laughs.
“Is that a spork in your pocket?” Finn asks, glancing down at her.
“Maybe…and hey, why are you looking in my pocket?” she asks, and laughs.
Her heart feels almost better, because Finn apologized. But those girls won’t, and they might never.
So Becky decides to forget about them.
She imagines she is Queen Bee walking with The Almighty Treble Clef, to save the world from all the words that hurt.
