my disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire or any other LM characters. I don't own any of the schools, websites, books, etc. that may be mentioned in this story. I don't even really own the idea for this story…got that from a paragraph in a Madeleine L'Engle book…I only own Brenna and Dr. Hensen.
Another big thanks to my roommate, who explained the ridiculous scoring methods of the MCAT exam…and a small note to say I won't be able to update until the week of Thanksgiving because I've got three very big exams in the next two weeks. So all writing and reviewing will be delayed until then. So wish me luck and I'll see y'all in two weeks!
Loupylou1 and Amanda Lupin – thanks so much for the reviews, I'm glad you like the story.
Kiamn – hmmm…sneaking around isn't a bad idea, except my roommates love lives are possible worse than mine…could make for an interesting story though! And as for Gordo sticking around…well, we'll see…we've still got a bit to go in the story!
Gabby – I'm so glad it was worth it. I've been having some terrible writer's block and was relieved to get the last chapter up; I'm thrilled you like it.
As always, I would love to hear what y'all think so far, good or bad, so click the review button for me! Thanks!
Without further adieu…on to Chapter Eight…
Dinner than night put everyone in happier mood than any of the McGuire's had been in for a while. Lizzie's mother had regained a bit of energy and the addition of Gordo made Lizzie feel as though everything was like it used to be. She had even forgotten about stressing over her med school applications for the moment.
Most of the conversation centered around Gordo's internship on the film set. Lizzie had heard all his stories at least once, but didn't mind hearing them again; Gordo always told stories better in person. Starting in on her second helping of salad, Lizzie laughed at Gordo's stories about the lead actor in the film, interrupted every minute or so by Matt, who was full of questions.
It wasn't until after they had all finished eating and Lizzie and Matt were clearing the table that Lizzie's dad asked her, "So, Lizzie, how'd your MCAT scores turn out?"
Lizzie stared at him for a second, setting the dishes back down on the table. She'd been so excited when Gordo had surprised her that she didn't even remember that he was supposed to be bringing her the mail. She glanced at Gordo, who said, "I put them on your dresser when I came in." Lizzie nodded and raced for the stairs. She took them three at a time and burst into her room. Her eyes landed on a legal sized envelope sitting on her dresser, right by the door. She picked it up and taking a deep breath, ripped open the envelope.
She stared at the piece of paper inside for a moment, unable to think. When her thoughts finally registered again, she could hear Gordo and Matt hollering at her from the kitchen. Lizzie slowly walked downstairs, adding and re-adding the numbers up in her head.
"So, what'd you get?" Matt demanded when Lizzie reappeared in the kitchen, holding the envelope, her expression unreadable.
"I got a 37." Lizzie said, breaking into a huge smile. She did the math one last time to make sure. "I got a 37!"
Looking up, Lizzie could tell that meant nothing to anyone else. "There's four parts to the MCAT. Three of them, physical sciences, verbal reasoning and biological sciences are worth up to 15 points each. So the total you can get is 45. And the average is…" She checked the back of the piece of paper. "28. So I did well. And the fourth part, the writing section, is scored by letter. An 'R' means…" She looked at the back of the paper again, "I'm in the 95th percentile. That's not too bad." She said, grinning.
"Lizzie, that's great!" Her mother was the first to react, getting up to give her a big hug. Lizzie's father joined them and soon it was a McGuire family hug.
"Aww…what a Kodak moment!" Gordo joked from the table. After Lizzie detached herself from her family, Gordo stood up and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I knew you could do it." He whispered to her.
"Speaking of Kodak moments…" Matt started, but after a look from his mom, that was as far as he got.
"To celebrate, I'm giving you both tonight off of dish duty." Lizzie's dad informed them, as he finished clearing the table. Matt's eyes lit up at the thought. "Thanks Dad. I'll see you guys later. Congrats Lizzie." He said, tossing a napkin at Lizzie and nearly sprinting toward the front door.
"Thanks Dad.' Lizzie added, giving him another hug and nearly jumping when the phone rang. She was still a bit on edge despite the anxiety of waiting being over. She reached for the phone, knocked it off the base and onto the floor and scrambled across the floor after it.
"'lo?" she grunted, righting herself on the floor, rubbing her now bruised knee.
"So?" Lizzie recognized Brenna's voice instantly.
"So what?" She asked, grinning.
"So, how'd you do?!" Brenna pleaded over the phone.
"How'd you know my scores came today?" Lizzie asked/
"I'm psychic." Brenna answered and Lizzie could almost see her straight face to match the answer. "Plus, I know that it takes three days for a piece of mail to get from Denver to L.A. and I also know I mailed your scores to you four days ago. So spill!"
"I got a 37." Lizzie told her and yanked the phone away from her ear as Brenna sqealed.
"That's awesome! I told you you'd do well! And you did better than I did; I only got a 36! But look at us, we're going to med school!" Brenna celebrated over the phone.
Lizzie talked with Brenna a few more minutes, mostly celebrating their MCAT scores and discussing the last parts of their applications. When she hung up, Gordo pulled her up from the floor and nearly dragged her to the door. "We need to celebrate." He told her.
A few hours later, Gordo and Lizzie were seated on the front steps of the McGuire house, finishing off cups of ice cream. They had walked the half a mile to the ice cream place next to the Digital Bean and back, talking constantly the entire way. Lizzie was ecstatic to have Gordo back; she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed him.
"When do you have to go back to work?" she asked him, as they both stared up at the darkening sky.
"Monday." He replied, putting an arm around her and drawing her closer. "I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to be doing since there's a lot going on now. There's film editing, sound editing, sound effects, digital and computerized effects, and I don't know what else. I think whatever I'm going to be working on will be short, since I have to be back at NYU in August."
"You're going back in August?" Lizzie asked.
"Looks like it, yeah. The school gave me the two years off and they said they'd guarantee me a spot in August. But after that, I'd have to reapply. Plus I'm anxious to get back and put the cool stuff I learned to use."
Lizzie tried to smile, glad that he couldn't see her face. That was classic Gordo, always ready to take on something new. But at the same time, Lizzie wished that he didn't have to go all the way back to New York. It had taken the two of them twenty years to figure out their feelings for one another, and when they finally did, Gordo was leaving for Australia and up until today, Lizzie hadn't seen him since. It didn't seem fair that they were hardly ever in the same time zone, and that trend was continuing. Lizzie was set to head back to Colorado on Sunday; she had been home for two weeks, and while she wanted to be with her mom and her family, she needed to get back to Denver for work and a summer class that would be starting soon.
Lizzie sighed inwardly and reminded herself that Gordo was here now and that's what counted. She only wished she believed that.
"What's wrong?" Gordo asked, perceptive as ever.
"I'm flying back to Denver in two days. It just doesn't seem fair…" Lizzie's voice caught and she stopped. Gordo pulled her closer to him and leaned his head against hers.
"I know it sucks." Gordo's voice was low. "But it's not for much longer. Then we'll have our whole lives to be with each other."
"What?" Lizzie pulled away from Gordo and stared at him. Did he really say what she thought he said?
"What?" Gordo asked back, confused.
"What did you just say?" Lizzie asked. "It sounded like…"
Gordo smiled. "Lizzie, I told you years ago I'd marry you."
Lizzie thought about that for a moment. "But Gordo, we were in second grade!"
"And I meant it." Gordo told her seriously and the look in his eyes told Lizzie everything.