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Finn Hudson had summer school.
It was a combination of the amount of school he missed...and much of it for the months of January and February was due to skipping out to head off with Burt somewhere, with his mother's encouragement, the amount of tardiness Finn managed, and Finn's grades...which were lacking, to say the least.
Kurt Hummel didn't. He didn't skip school very often, and the few times he did...well those were somehow missed by the school as his skipping. Probably because he went to school for much of the day before he left and was there for the last hour as well. Kurt got good grades. His mother set up an expectation that he was to meet, passed it on to his dad, and Kurt got into trouble when it wasn't met...even when he knew his dad's grades had been mediocre at best.
And no one ever marked Kurt tardy. Kurt is 100% certain that that is because they would then have to explain that they knew why he was tardy but chose not to stop the actions that made him tardy. Many of which Kurt suspected were possibly criminal.
This fact...that Finn had summer school and Kurt did not... was not going over well.
Carole had already tried to get Finn out of it. And had the state board of education not stepped in due to McKinley's dismal record, she might have managed. And had Burt not put his foot down about how if she was going to his lady, she needed to not use 'old tried and true methods' and petition the school board committee like a woman in a committed relationship not like a floozy.
Finn had school for four hours Monday through Friday...8am to Noon. If he did not go, he would not be passed on to the next grade and possibly he would end up doing time in a military school to teach him discipline...or in juvie.
Kurt considered rubbing it in...that Finn's was in trouble...for all of 24 hours.
He heard about it in school. Rachel was hot and cold, fawning over him and promising to help him with homework every day...and yelling at him for putting the glee club at risk in the next breath. Puck teased him because somehow Puck managed not to have bad enough grades and was in school enough to not get him sent to summer school. (Puck never left class until after roll was called.)
Kurt was going to rub it in at dinner.
He decided not to when he walked into the house after an hour at the garage to screaming and shouting and cussing and full blown hysterics. Carole was acting a whole lot like Santana when she was mad.
It was very...enlightening.
Burt had everyone calm enough to eat by the time Kurt had finished making dinner.
That lasted until Kurt was almost done with what was on his plate and Finn was finished with plate two and onto plate three...when Finn asked him mom if she could just get him out of it like she had the year before and the year before that.
And Kurt's dad asked if he could help her fill out the petition and take it before the school board committee which dealt with getting together summer school.
“Oh Mom doesn't fill out the paper work or anything. She goes and talks to Mr. Waltkins and Mr Howle and Mr Farthing one-on-one. Usually in the evening and she doesn't get back til very late or the next morning.” Finn offered up.
“Really now? Yes, well...since we are together I hope she understands that that is no longer an option.” Burt said coldly.
“Wouldn't you do anything to make life easier for your child? To get him out of trouble? To help him be happy?” Carole wailed.
Kurt snorted.
“If Kurt had done what was needed to be sent to summer school, then Kurt would go to summer school and just deal with the consequences of his behavior.” Burt said.
“Well, Finn should not have to. And I'm sure the poor grades are just because the teachers don't like him because he is too popular.”
“Nah, teachers like me. Mrs. Wheeler said there was just nothing she could do....she didn't have enough to work with to fudge my grades this semester like she did to keep me able to play ball last fall.” Finn said.
“Mrs. Wheeler? I don't think I know her. Kurt do you have her?”
“No. I have Honors English and Literature and the regular speech class. Finn was in the class for those who didn't pass well enough last year and who need extra help.”
“It is not the remedial class. That is the one Becky and people like her are in.” Finn said. “It isn't the class for those...not normal people.”
“Burt, you can't let Kurt pick on Finn like that. It isn't nice...or fair. Finn has more important things to worry about than being smart.”
And then the conversation delved into everything Kurt did to be mean, with Finn gloating over his meal.
Until dinner was over and they all went back to the living room for 'bonding' time...where the conversation turned again into screaming about summer school for Finn and how unfair it was.
Kurt didn't think his dad ever saw who won the game on TV.
The next day Finn dragged Mr. Schuester into Figgins office to try to get Mr. Schue to some how get him out of summer school....which lasted until Mr. Schue saw Finn's grades and was informed Finn couldn't compete or play in anything the next year without fixing the problems. Then Finn tried whining to Miss Pillsbury, but she pointed out that she was the one recommending summer school and it was important he go.
Coach Tanaka informed them all he didn't care because he wasn't going to stick around for the next year so they might need to buck-up.
Finn threw things at people at lunch if they looked at him wrong. Kurt watched a tray off the Art Club Kids' table get tossed at the girl sitting by Lauren Zizies's head, just because she hiccuped as Finn walked by and Finn decided she was laughing at him. Kurt turned and left. Missing lunch wouldn't kill him.
According to others, Finn spent the rest of the day shouting at all his teachers that he wouldn't take any final tests if they dared to send him to summer school. Kurt had Mercedes record him on her phone and send it to his dad.
Needless to say, when Kurt got home and Finn was threatening to steal all his mom's money and run away, all concepts of rubbing it in vanished. Kurt did not have any delusion that adding to the dumpster fire that was burning already would give him any sort of win.
No, Kurt slipped upstairs and silently gloated to himself that Finn was the cause and the only cause and the complete cause of all the hassles over the last few days and even his dad was seeing it.
And after dinner he went to his room and gloated even more, since Finn was informed at dinner that if Burt didn't see a final test for every class then Finn would not be taken to any games, races, camps, amusement parks, water parks, lakes or vacations all summer. Not even after summer school. Which Finn would go to. And in which Finn would earn his summer fun. It was simple. Passing a class earned Finn a trip to the pool or lake, passing with a decent grade earned a trip to a water park or football camp for three days, and passing with a good grade....B+ or above, earned a game,race, or amusement park day. Behaving and attending everyday without a fuss earned vacations. Going to school and sitting through class and doing what needed done earned that afternoon's freedom to watch TV, play Video Games, leave the house to hang with friends, and have his phone. And BURT would be calling every day to find out if Finn had been to school and how he had done.
Even if Kurt didn't get any of the 'summer fun' his dad listed that Finn had to earn, it was still going to be worth seeing Finn work for something. Maybe...if Carole didn't cheat somehow. But still...worth a gloat.