A/N – I got my first ignorant review on Chapter 8…surprise, surprise, it was from an anonymous reviewer. (No offense to anonymous reviewers, I just think it's ironic that whoever submitted the review didn't even have the courage to sign a name.)
Here's the deal, whoever you are…Yes, Rory may have overreacted, but that's part of the ultimate scheme of things…I didn't want her friendship with Tristan to be all sunshine and light, because to my mind, that's boring. Also, you have to keep in mind that a) Rory is still fairly suspicious of Tristan's change, b) what he did indicates that he's still after her, c) Rory thinks that he's only after her as a conquest, and d) Rory has always been protective of her friends and her life; in her mind, Tristan basically told Lane that he used her to get to Rory, which is not calculated to make Rory happy, as it implies an utter lack of respect for her best friend, and by extension, her. She may not be completely angry with him anymore, which is indicated by the fact that she gave in to Paris so easily, but she's not willing to let her guard down again. She did that once, at the party, and was immediately burned. Now, I realize that you have a right to your opinion, and I do thank you for taking your time in sharing it with me, but I do NOT appreciate your language while doing so. In my opinion, if you can't say something without cussing, it shows a poor vocabulary, which is indicative of a lack of intelligence. If you can't give me CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, but only cuss, don't bother reviewing; I don't want to read it.
Now, if anyone else feels that Rory acted out of character, let me know nicely (without certain 4 or 5 letter words that you can't say in school and wouldn't say in front of your 5 year old brother or sister), and give me some suggestions on how to revise it, and I will do so. I have already stated multiple times that I don't like Chapters 7 or 8, and that I would like suggestions on how to improve them. Suggestions, not "what the hell is rory's problem??"
Whew! Got that out of my system…sorry, I know I may have overreacted (I tend to do that, as you guys may or may not have noticed), but that just really ticked me off. I'm NOT going to delete the review; instead, I'm going to leave it there for the world to laugh at that person's lack of vocabulary. Geez. Some people. Okay, so maybe it wasn't really out of my system all the way, but it is now, I promise.
On a good note – I hear that, LadyPolly…the Wings must die. Hehehe (And I'm NOT going to apologize to people from Detroit…it's not my fault where you live! ;-) ) Also, firegoddess…think the WB would listen if we staged a protest? Hehehe…They could at least show Gilmore Girls some other day…like Wednesday; there's nothing good on Wednesday. Or, instead of Gilmore Girl Beginnings on Sunday, have Tuesday's episode.
Here's Chapter 9.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own or have any affiliation with Gilmore Girls, Yale, Harvard, the Juilliard Institute, New York University or City, AOL, MSN, Lord of the Rings, Charlotte's Web, Breyer's Ice Cream, or any other place, institution, corporation or organization I make reference to in this chapter. (I think that if I had the choice of which one to own, I'd pick NYU, cuz then I could afford to go to school there!)
RECAP: Skipping Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In Chapter 7, Rory and Lorelai went to dinner in Hartford. Richard announced that Rory had been accepted to Yale, and would be receiving her official acceptance packet soon, which sparked a fight wherein Emily and Richard pressured Rory to go to Yale because she hasn't been accepted to Harvard yet. The evening ended with Lorelai and Rory storming out. In Chapter 8, Rory told Tristan why she's angry with him, so Tristan enlisted Paris's help in getting Rory to forgive him. Paris gave Rory a ride home from school, and talked her into giving Tristan another chance.
This chapter begins right after Paris dropped Rory off at Luke's. Also, I get the feeling it's going to be a longer chapter than those previously posted; in fact, all of the future chapters may be longer, due to what I want to include in them. But, more on that after the chapter.
CHIN UP
Rory walked into the diner. She saw her mother sitting at the counter, and sat down next to her, dropping her backpack with a dramatic sigh."Long day?" Lorelai asked, trying, and failing, to hide excitement.
"ugggh. Coffee." Rory groaned.
Luke handed her a cup without argument, also failing to hide a rather large grin.
After inhaling the coffee, Rory finally noticed the strange expressions on Lorelai and Luke's faces. "What's going on? Did you two finally kiss?"
"What? No!" Luke protested, simultaneously with Lorelai's "ewwww!"
"Then what is it?"Lorelai proudly handed her two large envelopes, her hand shaking. "These came in the mail today. We already know what one of them is, but since the other one's practically identical, I think it's safe to say we know what it is, too!"
"What are you talking…" Rory's voice trailed off as she took in the Yale and Harvard emblems. "Oh my god."
"I know! Honey, you got into Harvard!" Lorelai squealed.
"We don't know that. Harvard's rejection letters could look the same as Yale's acceptance letters. What if it's a rejection letter? What if I didn't get in?" Rory began panicking.
"Just open it." Jess remarked from behind the Gilmore Girls.
Rory turned to look at him, but when she made no move to open either envelope, Jess reached out and grabbed them both. He ripped the Harvard envelope open, and began to read: "Dear Lorelai Gilmore: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Harvard University's School of Journalism."
Rory screamed before he could finish the rest of the letter. "OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! I GOT IN!!!!!" She and Lorelai both jumped up, and began bouncing, holding each other's hands, squealing.
"Hey, if you're finished celebrating, there's more." Jess interjected in an annoyed tone. "It says that you got a full scholarship, Ror."
"A full scholarship? That's great!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Hey, wow, I need to call my mother and tell her the good news." She pulled out her cell phone.
"LORELAI! NO CELL PHONES!" Luke hollered.
"Aw, c'mon – this is a special occasion. My baby's going to Harvard!"
Luke wavered momentarily, before stating firmly, "No cell phones."
Rory grinned at her mother, then took the Yale envelope back from Jess, and opened it. "Hey, wow, I got a full scholarship to Yale, too."
"Aw, who cares about Yale? You were accepted to Harvard!" Lorelai pouted, still toying with her phone.
"I know, but it's still exciting that the top two Ivy League schools in the country BOTH gave me full scholarships."
"You're right…that is exciting. C'mon, let's go celebrate!"
"Movie night?"
"Eventually, but first, SHOPPING! Since all the money I've saved for your college education can now be spent…" Lorelai responded with a grin. "C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed Rory's arm, and began pulling her to the door. At that moment, Lane burst in.
"Rory! Lorelai! I need your help!"
"We need yours, too, talk while we walk, let's go!" Lorelai responded, grabbing a hold of Lane's arm with her free hand.
"The Juilliard Institute in New York called me. I got an audition!"
"Really? That's great, Lane!" Rory responded, as excited for her friend as she was for herself.
"I know! It's one of the best performing arts school in the country! Only…" Lane trailed off.
"Only how are you going to a) get to New York for the audition, b) pay for it if you're accepted, and c) convince your mother to let you go, if we solve the problems of a and b?" Lorelai completed Lane's sentence.
"Yeah." Lane sighed bleakly. "I guess it's pretty impossible, isn't it?"
"Not at all. Chin up, Lane, you could completely wow them at the audition, and be awarded a scholarship. If you get enough scholarships and grants, plus there's always student loans, you'll be 18 by then, and won't need your mom's permission."
"Chin up? Have you been watching Charlotte's Web again? Without me?" Lorelai asked, horrified.
"Sorry, mom – I couldn't sleep last night, so I sneaked a fix."
"Ah! My daughter! My child! My own flesh-and-blood, watching Charlotte's Web without me!" Lorelai huffed.
"Mom…you don't even like it."
"I know." Lorelai replied smugly. "I just wanted to make you feel guilty."
All three laughed.
"But, seriously. How're we gonna get Lane to New York for a day?" Rory asked.
Lorelai shrugged. "We'll figure it out. For now, we shop and celebrate!"
"What are we celebrating?" Lane asked, slightly confused.
"Rory got a full scholarship to Harvard," Lorelai responded, proud of her daughter's achievement.
"Yale, too." Rory added, just as proud.
"Cool! Congratulations!" Lane squealed, hugging Rory.
By this time, they were at the Gilmore house. All three climbed into Lorelai's jeep, and sped off, eager for an evening of shopping.
Later that night, back at the diner, Jess slowly climbed the stairs to the apartment, deep in thought. Rory's going to Harvard…Harvard's in Cambridge. Cambridge is in Massachusetts. I'm in Stars Hollow. Stars Hollow is in Connecticut. Wait a minute. So what? Lorelai will make Rory come home constantly! At least every weekend. So I'll still get to see her, plus I can call her. Then there's the wonderful thing of the Internet. I can always invest in an AOL account, or maybe MSN. Yeah…I'll have to look into dial-up services. I wonder if Luke would consider getting DSL? If I pay for it? Nah…I don't need DSL, if all I want to do is talk to Rory.
As he mused, he began going through the mail on the table. Most of it was junk mail, but there was something addressed to him. When he saw the return address, he took a deep breath, and opened the envelope. 'Dear Jess Mariano: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to New York University. An informational packet regarding housing, tuition, and financial aid is being forwarded to you under separate cover.' Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. I got in! I got in. To New York University. I have to call Rory! Wait…she's out with Lorelai, celebrating. She's going to Harvard. I'm going to New York University. Massachusetts is even further from New York than it is from Connecticut. But…she's ridden a bus to New York before. And I can always go to Cambridge. At least, back in New York, I won't be bumming around, working in my uncle's diner, counting the minutes until she comes home. I'll be busy, too. With school. College. I can't believe I'm going to college. No one's going to believe it. Except Rory. But…wait. I haven't even thought about how I'm going to pay for it yet. I know my mom can't afford the tuition; I doubt Luke can, either. What if I can't afford to go? She'd be so disappointed for me…I know. I won't tell her. Not until I absolutely know I can afford to go. I won't tell anyone. With a sigh, he folded the letter, and reinserted it into the envelope.
He ran a hand through his hair, and then sniffed the hand. He grimaced at the greasy diner smell emanating from it, and in fact, his entire body. Ugh – I need a shower.
When he got out of the shower, the phone was ringing. He made a dash to answer it. "Hello?"
"Hey. It's me."
"Hey, Rory – did you have fun?"
"Loads. I got a bunch of new books; you'll have to come check them out."
"Okay. Now?"
"Well, actually, I was thinking we could meet on the bridge, and just hang out for a while."
"Sure. 20 minutes? I just got out of the shower."
"K. I'll be there."
"See you."
They both hung up, and Jess went to his room, to get dressed.
Exactly 22 minutes later, Jess arrived at the bridge.
"You're late." Rory grinned at him.
"A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." Jess replied with a smirk.
"Been watching Fellowship of the Rings again?"
Jess shrugged. "It's a good movie, even though it's not true to the book at all."
Rory grinned again. "Even if it's not true to the book, they did a good job telling the story – the extended version DVD has all of the important parts the original left out. And it's a LOT better than the cartoon version."
Jess sneered at the mention of the cartoon. "Those were a joke! You'd have thought they could at least read the books first! I mean, Tolkien is the father of modern science fiction and fantasy as we know it!"
The two continued to discuss the books, movies, and animated movies for about half an hour, before both finally fell silent.
Jess finally broke the silence. "So, Harvard, huh?"
"Yeah. I can't believe I actually got in. I mean, it's been my dream my entire life. I was really worried for a while, that I'd get turned down. I knew that I would get into Yale, which would make my grandpa happy, and so I've kind've gotten used to the idea of going to Yale, but…Harvard's always been what I really wanted. And now I can go. Mom was so excited about the scholarship, too…she wasn't looking forward to having to ask my grandparents for more money."
"Huh." Jess replied, knowing that Rory just needed to speak her thoughts out loud, with no comments from the peanut gallery. It was something she rarely got to do with Lorelai.
"I don't know, though. It got to a point where I really thought that I'd be going to Yale. I know that's what my grandparents want, and it is closer to home. I had almost hoped that I'd either be turned down at one of them, or not get a scholarship, because that would make my decision a lot easier. But, now, it's no easier than it was before."
"Yeah."
"If I go to Harvard, my grandparents will be really hurt. But, on the other hand, if I go to Yale, my mom'll get mad at my grandparents again, and blame them for it."
"Huh."
"What do you think?" She turned and looked at him.
"I think…you should go to whichever school you want. Forget about both Lorelai and your grandparents, and just make yourself happy. You're the one who'll be stuck there for four years, not them."
Rory nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess you're right…so now I just have to figure out what I want."
Jess smiled, and wrapped his arm around her. "Hopefully, figuring out which school you want to go to won't take as long as figuring out which guy you liked did."
She laughed. "Oh yeah! Guess what!"
"What's that?"
"The Juilliard Institute wants Lane to audition! Only like a third of their applicants even get that far!"
"That's cool."
"Yeah…only problem is, how do we get her to New York?"
"Huh."
Both fell silent again, pondering this new issue.
After a few minutes, Jess spoke up again. "Why don't you and Lorelai invite her to go shopping with the two of you, for school clothes and supplies for you?"
Rory shook her head. "Mrs. Kim would never go for that. She thinks shopping is a sin, she hates my mom, and, to top it all off, she would raise the issue of why we needed to go all the way to New York, when Hartford and Boston are both so much closer?"
"Huh."
They sat there, tossing out ideas and rejecting the same, for nearly an hour, before Rory stood, and stretched. "I should get going. I have school in the morning."
"Yeah."
Jess and Rory turned as one, linked hands, and walked back towards the town.
After kissing Jess goodnight, Rory went into her house.
"Hey, mini-me. Have fun?" Lorelai asked from her position on the couch.
"Yep." Rory responded briefly, on her way to her bedroom.
"Have any new hickies?"
"MoooOOOM! We just talked." Rory called over her shoulder.
"Ha! By the way, while you were 'just talking,' Paris called about 20 times…she sounded upset about something." Lorelai replied, using finger quotes, despite the fact that Rory had closed her door.
Rory came out of her room, having changed into pajamas. "Did she say what was wrong?"
"Nope, but she was very emphatic that I have you call her immediately upon your return."
"Emphatic? Big word, I'm impressed. Is the last a direct quote?"
"Verbatim." Lorelai said smugly.
"Verbatim? Mom, have you been reading my dictionary again?"
"Dammit. You caught me!" Lorelai laughed. "Anyway, call Paris back. She threatened me with gross bodily harm if I didn't give you the message."
"Fine, fine, I'll call her back. Where's the phone?"
The search took about fifteen minutes, before Rory finally found it in the freezer, next to the now empty container of Breyer's coffee flavored ice cream.
Paris answered the phone before the first ring had finished.
"Rory? It's about time you called me back!"
"Hi to you too, Paris."
"Did you get it? You got it, didn't you! I know you did. And you're just waiting to rub it in my face. After all, wouldn't it be poetic justice, that you got into Harvard, and I didn't."
"What are you talking about? You didn't get into Harvard?" Rory finally interjected into Paris's tirade.
"No, I didn't get into Harvard. I was rejected. 'Dear Paris Gellar: We regret to inform you.' REGRET TO INFORM ME? I've worked my entire life to go to Harvard. My mother went to Harvard; my father went to Harvard. There's been a Gellar at Harvard every generation since the school opened! But what do I get? A 'we regret to inform you' letter! And you were accepted, weren't you? Don't lie to me; I know you got in. Of course the great Rory Gilmore was accepted to Harvard."
"Paris, calm down. I got turned down, too." Rory spoke quickly, without thinking.
"You did?"
"Yeah."
"Why aren't you upset, then?"
"Because I got into Yale, instead."
"Oh. So did I."
"So, don't worry about it. You'll start a new tradition, of Gellars at Yale."
"Yeah, I will, won't I? But you won't be…The Gilmores have always gone to Yale. Except for your mother."
"Yeah. But…I think that she would come with me, if she could."
Paris chuckled. "It would be nice for my mom to be as obsessively involved in my life as your mom is involved in yours."
Rory grinned, even though Paris couldn't see her. "I don't know…as independent as you are, my mom would drive you crazy. Heck, she drives me crazy half the time."
"That's true. So are you going to live at home, or in the dorms?"
"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. You?"
"Obviously the dorms. It's bad enough that I have to live here now."
"Oh."
"Of course, living in the dorms could be worse. You never know what kind of roommate you'll get. Knowing my luck, I'll get stuck with some party animal who slept with every member of the admissions panel, and then paid off the dean to be accepted."
"This is true." Rory said, not really paying attention now that Paris had calmed down.
"Hey, here's an idea. You're not a party animal, and I know you work just as hard as I do. We could be roommates."
"Yeah, sure."
"Really?"
"What?" Rory suddenly realized that she had agreed to something that, judging by the level of Paris's surprise, she wouldn't ordinarily agree to.
"You want to be roommates with me?"
"What? I mean, yeah, if I decide to live in the dorms." Rory inwardly sighed. She couldn't really go back on it, could she? And Paris was right…they could at least tolerate each other.
"Great! Well…thanks for talking, Rory, but I have to go now."
"Yeah, me too."
"Bye."
"Bye." With a sigh, Rory hung up the phone, and climbed into bed. Thank god this day is finally over. Wait a minute. I just decided that I'm going to Yale. I mean…I can't exactly go to Harvard now that I've told Paris I was turned down. My mom's gonna kill me! Worse, she's gonna kill my grandparents. I don't think I'm going to tell her just yet…I'll think of a way that she won't get upset with them.
~End Chapter 9~
A/N – Well, that's it for this chapter. What'd you guys think? I actually left out a fairly important sub-plot, but it'll show up eventually, so that's okay. This chapter was just getting really long.
Also, regarding the future of my story… Inspiration struck, and I have Chapters 10 through 18 outlined, though not actually written, and I'm fairly sure what's going to happen in Chapters 19 through 28. I'm going to aim for my original guesstimate of 30 chapters, if you guys can handle that long of a story. In answer to a review I got a while back, yes, the breakup between Jess and Rory will be amicable (I've already got that part mostly written.), and shocker…Jess breaks up with Rory, but it has nothing directly to do with Tristan or anyone else. It's strictly between Rory and Jess. Beyond that, you all will just have to wait for Chapter 17. Hehehe (I know, I'm evil, but I love every minute of it.) After all, I can't post it til I've actually written Chapters 10 through 16, because they all lead up to the break up. (The reasoning will be explained in Chapter 16; the actual break up is the entirety of Chapter 17.) But, there's been a big hint regarding the breakup in this chapter. If you can guess what's going to cause the break up, I'll give you a cookie. Also, fair warning…Chapters 10 through 18 skip over the events of about a year. So, don't be surprised that one chapter takes place months after the preceding chapter. Oh yeah! Another thing – I just re-read my ending, Chapters 29 and 30, and I realized that they leave the story WIDE open for a genuine Trory sequel, so if you guys want it, I will write it. (I did already mention that this story is NOT a Trory, didn't I?) Oh yeah – I also said in my very first author's note, at the beginning of Chapter 1, that I wasn't going to be introducing made-up characters, but instead was going to use only those from the show; well, that changes around Chapter 14, because it's either invent characters, or wait until next fall, which I'm not going to do, because chances are, the actual show won't follow my storyline. So, I'm sorry that I'm going back on my word. However, most of my made-up characters will not play a major role in the story; they're just there because they have to be. There is one new character that will become a semi-major character, but he/she will not be a Mary Sue, or Mary Jane, or whatever you want to call the new character that everyone loves and who sleeps with an existing main character and then dies a tragic horrible death, leaving said existing main character to mourn him/her. (No sex, no death, and not everyone will like said new character.) Also, chapters 14 through 18 kinda skip back and forth between story lines, obviously, since this chapter revealed that Jess (yes, he does figure out how to pay for NYU) and possibly Lane are going to be in New York, while Paris and Rory are in New Haven, and where's Tristan going to be? (That was the sub-plot I left out – almost spilled the beans here! Hehehe), but I'm going to do my best to tie up the loose strings as quickly as possible. Did I mention before that this story takes place over the course of about 4 years? Well, it does…it begins in the middle of first semester of senior year, and ends right after junior year in college.