“Alright boys! When you get off the bus, grab your luggage and wait in the lobby. Try to keep it down.”

As soon as Mr. Phillips was out of the bus, the Dalton Academy Warblers came to life. The flight from Ohio to New York had exhausted them all of excitement until they found themselves in front of the hotel. They had made it to Nationals in New York. It had been four years since the Warblers had gone to Nationals. Only Wes and David had been around to go to Nationals that year. Slowly but surely, sixteen boys in matching sweatshirts made their way off the coach bus and onto the streets of New York. Well, a street, anyway. Each boy grabbed their uniform Dalton Academy suitcase embellished with each’s own personal style. From far away the only similarity appeared to be the Dalton Crest in the center of each one.

Blaine Anderson pulled his sweater close to his ears. The sun was glistening off of every surface but the wind was brisk and sharp. He was standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, surrounded by his friends. The Warblers meant everything to him. After the Sadie Hawkins dance, Blaine had been in the hospital for almost two weeks. Three weeks after the dance, Blaine was walking through the doors of Dalton for the first time. Trent was the first friend he’d made and the one who introduced him to the Warblers. Those fifteen boys, though some had graduated and new members had been inducted, gave Blaine his voice back. After everything,  he was in New York City at the National Show Choir competition. He was with his best friends and on top of all that, they had, for some reason, chosen him to be the soloist. 

“Hey Blaine!” Nick yelled at him from the door of the hotel.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Blaine replied. A huge grin took the place of the expression of wonder and awe that had been there since they got off the plane. Blaine and the few remaining Warblers shuffled through the revolving door. From what Blaine could tell there were at least two other groups that had just arrived. The hotel displayed a small sign welcoming all of the show choirs to Nationals. There were various groups in the lobby. Some had just arrived and others were checking out the competition.

“Gather round boys!” Mr. Phillips beckoned the Warblers into the only corner of the lobby that was unoccupied. “When you get your room assignment, go put your stuff away and meet back here in fifteen minutes. I’m in room 205 if you need me.”

They were paired off rather quickly given the activity in the lobby. Several members had to choke down laughs when Nick and Jeff were paired. There were only two elevators and the line was long. Blaine considered telling Thad they could just walk up to the second floor when one of the other groups had the same idea. 

Stepping out of the elevators, the Warblers dispersed to their various rooms. There was music coming from nearly every room they passed. They arrived shortly before the group that had decided to take the stairs. Blaine and Thad disappeared into room 209.

“I think you can breath, now, Blaine,” Thad said as he jumped onto the bed nearest the window.

“We are in New York! I feel like this shouldn’t be happening! How did this happen?” Blaine hoisted himself onto the table across from Thad’s bed.

“Well, it couldn’t have been your voice, that would be to easy. I guess it was...hmm...the blazers?”

The flight to New York was exhausting for all members of New Directions except Rachel and Kurt. Puck didn’t think he could have let them live through take-off if it hadn’t been for one of the stewardess. She had shut down Kurt and Rachel’s rendition of Defying Gravity before the plane even taxied to the runway. Unfortunately, not binging able to sing only reduced them to a mess of giggles. It was pure luck that they were too overcome by the city to sing on the bus. Two other buses were unloading when they pulled up to the hotel. 

“Alright everybody. Grab your bags and meet in the lobby. We did it guys!” After a moment of whoops and cheers, Mr. Shue got off the bus and started unloading their bags. 

“Don’t even think about singing as soon as we get off this thing!”

“You know, Puckerman, maybe if you would watch a broadway show instead of those awful movies about death and violence, you might understand the way Kurt and I feel.” Rachel grabbed her purse and marched off the bus.

“At least you don’t have to share a room with them. No offense, Kurt, but the two of you are kind of insane right now.” Quinn shuffled past Finn and out onto the sidewalk.

Kurt weaved through the crowd outside the hotel. The two other groups that had arrived with them were the Warblers and White Noise. It was obvious that the Warblers were from a private school. They had matching bags for crying out loud. He pushed his way through the door, with Rachel on his arm. 

If the sidewalk outside of the hotel was crowded, the lobby was like the waiting hall for American Idol. There were at least eight complete groups gathered in various corners, not including New Directions, the Warblers, and White Noise. Kurt quickly learned that White Nose was from Maine. They had a very loud and obnoxious director. The Warblers had disappeared into a far corner. Kurt and the rest of New Directions were left standing in the middle of the lobby. Mr. Shue returned from the check-in with their room keys.

“We got four rooms on the second floor. The girls and Kurt have adjoining rooms 206 and 208. The rest of the guys and I are in adjoining rooms 202 and 204.” Mr. Shue handed out room keys. The New Directions headed to the elevators. The Warblers had gotten there first, adding to the already long line.

“I guess we’re taking the stairs,” Mike said placing a firm hand on Sam’s shoulder. A groan escaped Finn’s throat.

“After the plane and the bus, we could all use a little exercise,” Kurt sighed, pushing his step-brother toward the stairs.

When they got to the second floor, from what Kurt could tell, the last of the Warblers were disappearing into their rooms. Two of them were right across from the room that Kurt had the key to. Kurt was sharing a room with Mercedes and Rachel. He had begged Mr. Shue to let him room with the girls. It wasn’t that the other guys had a problem with him. Kurt had learned a lot since Finn and Carole had moved in to his house. Particularly that Finn was a slob. Frankly, Kurt was frightened to walk up the stairs in his own home let alone share a room with Finn. Kurt’s face distorted as he pictured the hotel room once the boys had gotten in there. 

“Boy! We have got to find out where those boys across the hall are from!” Mercedes wrapped her arms around her best friend.

“Oh please, Mercedes. Did you see the amount of gel in that one boy’s hair? It is an assault to hair products.” Kurt dropped his suitcase next to the bed and sat down on the edge. The door connecting the two rooms opened and Tina, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany came in.

“I bet,” Santana started, “that you’ll be all over one of those boys by the end of breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“And don’t even try to say that you have to focus on your career,” Quinn added. Kurt rolled his eyes at both of them.

Rachel sat down next to Kurt. “Don’t feel obligated to listen to them. Clearly they don’t understand how important it is to stay completely focused.”

“Of course we do Rachel, but we deserve to have fun, too.” Tina moved over to sit on the other bed with Brittany.

“Oh come on, Berry! If anyone deserves a little action while we’re here, it’s Kurt.”