While Blaine was in the studio making his phone call, Heidi was notifying the other judges of recent events. "Sandy, would you get me Tim, please?"

When Sandy indicated Tim was on the line, Heidi picked up her phone.

"We had a little problem with one of the contestants. April posted some hints about being selected on her Facebook page. We've replaced her with Kurt Hummel."

"I'm so glad. He was one of my top three. I thought he had an interesting personality and some real talent."

"He was one of your top three?"

"Yes. I know the rest of you didn't like him as much, but I did."

"That's just it, Tim. He was one of my top three, also. Number two, in fact."

There were several seconds of silence.

"Do you remember his actual score?"

"90, 91. Around there."

"I had about that, too. Let's say we each gave him a 90. His average was what 72?" Tim paused while he made some mental calculations. "So either Nina and Michael both scored him around 50, or there was a mistake in the tabulation."

"I don't think Michael would have scored him that low, and if he had, I think he would have been much less enthusiastic about Kurt in the meeting. He wasn't pushing for him too hard, but he wasn't against him."

"Does it really matter though, Heidi? He's in now, so it all worked out."

"It matters if we made a mistake, because he thinks he was at the bottom of the list, that he just barely made it. If that isn't the case, he should know it, and if we made a mistake, we should admit it and apologize."

"I guess you need to check with Michael and Nina, then. Let me know what you find out."

It only took Heidi a few minutes to learn that Michael was also glad Kurt would be a contestant and that he had given Kurt an 89. Instead of calling Nina, she went straight to Jon. She knew there was no way Nina could have given Kurt a 20. It just wasn't possible.

"Jon, we have a problem. I think at least one of the scores was calculated incorrectly."

"What makes you say that, Heidi?"

"We had to eliminate a contestant for rule violations, which meant that Kurt Hummel is now in. When I called Tim to tell him, he told me Kurt was in his top three. Since Kurt was in my top three, and Michael scored him quite high as well, there just isn't any way he could have gotten a 72. Nina would have to have given him a 20."

Jon was in an uncomfortable position. He didn't want to betray Nina's confidence, but Heidi deserved an explanation. He decided to compromise. "Nina didn't give him a 20. She gave him a 16."

"She did what? There's no way she could have done that. First of all, he was on time and appropriately dressed. That's 10 points right there. He even quoted the rule about what he could wear, so that one's not open to question. He didn't look at the camera; he stayed near his mark; he spoke clearly and audibly; he was comfortable; he responded to questions appropriately. She should have given him the full 10 points for that item, but even if she didn't, she had to have given him at least 5. The outfit he showed had multiple pieces; the fabric was appropriate to the style. Neither of those is debatable and that's 4 more points. I could keep going, but there's no need."

"We've never asked a judge to justify his score."

"We expect the judges to use the rubric. It's there to make sure everyone is on the same page, the judging is consistent for each contestant, and that personalities don't enter into the decisions. This looks like she was either deliberately trying to keep him out or she was trying to help someone else. Why didn't you ask Nina about this? You were the only one who saw all four scores." Heidi paused. "Oh, you did, didn't you?" she said slowly. "That's what the 'getting coffee' thing was about. Well? What did she say?"

"I can't tell you that. I think you should ask her."

"I've got some news for you, Kurt," Blaine said into the phone. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Sure. I don't have morning classes today. What is it?"

"One of the designers had to drop out."

"Someone dropped out?"

"Yes. So that means …drum roll, please … you're in!"

"What? I'm in? What do you mean 'I'm in'?"

"You're coming to New York. You're on Project Runway!"

"I don't believe it! I'm in? I'm in! I'm really in? I'm really going to New York?"

Wow, I didn't think his voice could get that high. "Yes, you're really, really in."

"Wait, Blaine, it wasn't Ernesto, was it?"

What? "No, Kurt. Why would you think it was Ernesto?"

"Just something he … Never mind; it's not important. I'm so excited! I'm in!"

"Congratulations, Kurt!" Blaine paused to give Kurt time to catch his breath. I wish I could see his face. It sounds like he's jumping up and down."We'll be sending you all the information. You should get an e-mail soon. You remember the guidelines, right? You can't tell anyone except your dad."

"Yes, I remember and I'll remind Dad. No one else knows why we were in New York. I'm in, I'm in, I'm in, I'm in, I'm in! Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Gee, Kurt, you're so calm. I thought you'd be excited."

"Sarcasm does not become you, Blaine. Bye. And thank you."

"I'll see you soon. Call me if you don't have the e-mail by tomorrow, okay?" Well, that was fun.

Heidi put down her fork. "That was delicious. I'm glad we came here."

"Yes, it was," Nina agreed. "We should do this more often."

"Oh, did I tell you about April? She posted some very broad hints on Facebook. We had to drop her."

Nina suddenly looked worried. "So who did you add?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Kurt Hummel, of course. He was the next in line." She watched the play of emotions across Nina's face. "Is there something you need to tell me?" she asked softly.

Gradually, under Heidi's gentle questioning, the whole story came out. The two women sat in silence for a while before Heidi said, "It isn't right, you know. We can't play God. I know you had the best of motives, but this isn't our decision to make."

"I know," said Nina miserably. "But by the time I realized that, it was too late to do anything about it."

"If you had it to do again, how do you think he would have scored?"

Nina thought it over, running through the rubric in her mind, remembering where she would have deducted points. "At least a 92."

"So he would been one of the top three. The lowest score he had was an 89 from Michael. And while the other designers don't know how they ranked, Kurt does, or at least he thinks he does. He thinks he wasn't good enough and that he only got in by default because someone else had to step down."

"And all the other designers will think so, too. That's not right. Heidi, how can I fix this?"

"I think that when he gets here, you need to talk to him. Maybe the two of you can figure out what to do. Would you be willing to do that, Nina?"

When Burt got home shortly after 5:00, he could hear Kurt in the kitchen, singing happily while he cooked. Something smelled wonderful. He went into the kitchen to investigate.

"Kurt, is that lasagna?" Burt hardly dared hope. Kurt hadn't let him eat lasagna in over a year. Between the meat, the cheese and the eggs, there was just too much cholesterol. Burt sometimes thought Kurt went overboard on the diet business, but he knew Kurt needed to feel some control over the situation, so he put up with it.

"Yes. I added some zucchini and used low-fat cheese, so it isn't as bad as it might be."

"You seem chipper today. Something I should know about?"

Kurt spread the last of the shredded cheese over the pasta and sauce. "Let me put this in the oven and I'll tell you about it." He set the timer, handed Burt a glass of iced tea, and took one for himself. "Let's go in the living room."

Kurt was trying hard to control his face, but he couldn't stop his lips from forming a smile. "I got a phone call today."

"Okay," Burt said patiently. He was happy that Kurt seemed to have gotten past his depression, and was willing to let him tell the story however he chose. "Who was it?"

"Remember Blaine?" Kurt was bouncing slightly in his seat.

"Blaine called? Just to visit, or did he want something?" Burt was pretty sure Blaine had gotten the message at the airport, but after a few days had passed and Blaine hadn't contacted Kurt, Burt had begun to wonder.

"He said -- this is so cool, Dad -- he said that one of the contestants had to drop out. He said I was in. I'm going to be on Project Runway!"

"That's great, Kurt! I'm so proud of you. Your mother would be proud of you, too."

"Remember, Dad, we can't tell anyone."

"I remember, Kiddo. Hey, we need to start a list. There are a million things to do before you leave. I'll get some paper."

Kurt pulled out his phone. "Already started, Dad."

The week passed quickly. Kurt read the e-mail carefully. It was pretty much as he expected. There was a long list of things he was not allowed to bring: no design books, no magazines, no reference books of any kind. There was a list of tools he could bring, primarily his scissors and rulers for drafting patterns. He had most of them, but decided to order the S-curve he was missing. There was also a list of what would be provided for the contestants -- things like pattern-drafting paper, basic sewing supplies, tape for the mannequins, and the mannequins themselves. He requested a mannequin with legs; since he was doing menswear, he would have to make some form of pants every time.

He had finals coming up, so a good part of his time was spent studying, but he found time to review his skills. He didn't make any complete garments because there were many things he didn't need to practice; instead he worked on individual things such as fly fronts, drafting a sleeve head so it would fit into the armscye, creating bound buttonholes, and inserting welting. He knew the details would make or break a garment, and he would have to be able to execute them quickly and professionally.

The night of the show, he and Burt sat on the couch. They watched as Heidi described the new series and told how it would be different from the ones they had done in the past. Then they showed brief clips from some of the audition videos submitted online first one or two from people who hadn't advanced to the second round, then several from designers who had. Seconds after Kurt's face appeared on the screen, his phone lit up with texts from his friends from both high school and college.

Kurt, ur on TV. Brit

Why didn't you tell me? Rachel

Project Runway? M

Way 2 go! Lisa

When they showed clips of the interviews, Kurt was on again, prompting another round of texts.

Didn't know you designed -- Allie

U killed it! Tina

Cute guys there Hummel ~ Satan

At the show's conclusion, when his name was announced as one of the successful contenders, the phone calls started. Rachel called first, but they couldn't really talk because other calls kept coming in. Eventually, though, he was able to have a conversation with each of them, spending most of the time with Brittany explaining how he could be in New York and Ohio at the same time.

Blaine spent a ridiculous amount of time imagining what it would be like to be around Kurt again for twelve weeks. He was looking forward to it, but he was also dreading it. Being around Kurt without being able to have the kind of relationship he wanted or show the way he felt was going to be pure torture. He realized, however, that he didn't really know Kurt very well, and he was happy for the opportunity to learn more about him.

Maybe I should limit our contact, not see him quite so much. He loved being Kurt's assistant, but twelve weeks of close proximity would be hard to take. He picked up the phone.

"Jon, this is Blaine. When the designers get back, I'd like to work with the girls, if that's okay with you."

"Who had them before?"

"Sandy had Jen and Annie, but they went on an excursion with me and I got to know them. Marisol was one of Lori's, but she went to Mood with me. Sandy will be helping the judges and Lori will be working with the models."

"Blaine, you know the designers are off limits, right?"

Blaine laughed. "I can honestly say that it never crossed my mind to get involved with any of the girls."

Jon didn't really understand the reason behind Blaine's request, but Blaine didn't often ask for things, so Jon was happy to accommodate him. "Okay, it's fine with me." He entered the information into the computer.

Nina spent some time thinking about what she wanted to say to Kurt. She expected him to be angry and she was prepared to deal with that. Even though her intentions had been good, he had every right to be furious because she had nearly cost him this opportunity. She was planning to tell all the designers what she had done. She didn't want them to think Kurt wasn't very good when he would have scored higher than most of them if she hadn't prevented it. It would be embarrassing, but Nina had never been one to run away from her mistakes. The thing that was worrying her was that he might feel that she wouldn't judge him fairly. She decided that the best thing to do would be to offer to resign.