A/N – I said in the final author's note of the new Chapter 10 that I would be writing a new Chapter 11, regarding the encounter between Mrs. Kim and Lane in New York, so here it is. As previously noted, the former Chapter 11 has become Chapter 12, and the former Chapter 12 has become Chapter 13…nothing else has changed. Chapter 14 will be the continuation of the story. Also, please give feedback on the revisions of Chapter 10…Princess Heather wrote those, and as it's her very first attempt at fan fiction, I know she will love it as much as I did when I was posting this solo!
I only have 2 reviews to respond to, firegoddess, who was kind enough to review the re-posted Chapter 1, as well as the new Chapter 10 (Thank you!), and John, to whom I responded via email.
Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, I certainly wouldn't be posting my scripts on the Internet – I'd be showing them weekly on the Dub – Dub – Dubba Ya BEEE! (Actually, I would be cool enough to post the scripts online, and I'd probably post the shows, too, so y'all could download them, after the original airing, of course! And they'd be available on VHS and DVD.)
(By the way – this chapter is being written entirely by Just Jamie!)
RECAP: Skips Chapters 1-9. Deals only with Chapter 10, and the fact that Lane went to New York for her audition. Mrs. Kim saw her there, and is refusing to let Lane go to the Juilliard. She called Rory during the Friday night dinner in tears, causing Lorelai and Rory to leave early, in order to comfort the distraught girl, who is currently hiding in Rory's bedroom.
This chapter takes place immediately after Chapter 10, at about 8:30 p.m. (Lane called Rory at about 7:45 – Lorelai and Rory left Hartford around 8, and got back to Stars Hollow at 8:30. I don't ordinarily go into exact times, but I think I need to with this chapter, for it to be plausible.)
A COFFEE POT CRISIS
Lane lay on Rory's bed, listening to the mellow sounds of Pearl Jam. She had long since stopped crying, and was now in the throes of despair. I can't believe it…this time, she's gone too far. This is my dream. To be a musician…I've always loved music; it's my life, my escape from HER. How can she do this to me? I don't want to go to some all-girl Christian college and then marry some Korean doctor with a thousand cousins! That's HER dream! I don't want any of that! I have to convince her to let me go to the Juilliard! This is the chance of a lifetime…how can I let her ruin it for me? But…how can I stop her? I should've stood up to her years ago…The sound of a car in the driveway interrupted Lane's wallowing. She stood, and walked to the front door, just as Rory was opening it.
"Lane! Are you okay?" Rory asked, as she rushed to embrace the other girl.
As soon as Lane felt Rory's arms around her, she burst into tears again.
Lorelai looked on, a worried expression on her face. "I'm gonna get some coffee, then you can tell us everything that happened, okay, Lane?"
Lane nodded, attempting to smile at Lorelai, and failing utterly.
Lorelai turned, and began the walk to Luke's. When she arrived, she was surprisingly grateful to find Jess at the counter, with Luke nowhere to be seen. This is no time to have to argue for coffee. I wonder how Mrs. Kim found out about the audition?"
"Aren't you supposed to be in Hartford?" Jess asked curiously.
"There was an emergency with Lane, so we came home early – speaking of which, I need three pots of coffee, to go." Lorelai replied.
"Three POTS? Are you gonna be able to carry all that?" Jess responded incredulously.
"I'll manage – it's definitely a coffee pot crisis, and Fred's still broken."
"Hang on." Jess disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, then returned, followed closely by Ceasar. "Ceasar's gonna watch the diner; I'll help you carry the coffee, and see if I can't fix Fred for you while I'm there."
"Um, thanks." Lorelai was shocked by Jess's offer.
As soon as the coffee was done, poured into cups, and set into boxes, Lorelai and Jess were on their way to the Gilmore house.
When they arrived, they found Lane and Rory sitting at the kitchen table, Lane looking as though she had calmed down considerably. Lorelai and Jess set the boxes of coffee cups on the counter. Jess took out four cups, handing one to each of the three females, and retaining the fourth for himself. Lorelai sat down, and turned to Lane.
"Okay, what happened?"
Lane took a swallow of coffee, and began. "Well…my audition was at 3:30…so at 3:15, I offered to go get everyone hot chocolate from the cafeteria in the Juilliard. The audition took about an hour…I played for a while, and then they talked to me about the different instruments I play, and what my major musical influences are, and what I want to study. Then, they asked me to wait a few minutes, while they discussed my audition. So I did. The judges were gone for maybe twenty, thirty minutes, and when they came back, they said that I was in. Anyway, after that, I went to the cafeteria, to get the hot chocolate – Sara, one of the chaperones from the ministry team, was looking for me. She said that my mother had stopped by while I was gone, and was waiting for me to get back. While I was talking to Sara, one of the judges for my audition came by, and congratulated me on my acceptance. So that kinda spilled the beans on where I really was."
"Ouch." Rory murmured.
"It gets better." Lane continued. "My mother was right behind him, and heard everything. She started yelling at me right there, in the middle of the cafeteria, in front of the judge and everyone. Even worse, she was yelling in Korean."
At that moment, the phone began to ring. Lorelai rose, and began the search, squeezing Lane's shoulder comfortingly as she passed the teenager.
After several minutes of searching, she finally located the phone in the washing machine, amid unwashed laundry.
"Hello?"
"Is Lane there?"
"Well, Hi, Mrs. Kim, it's wonderful to hear from you. I'm doing fine, thanks!" Lorelai greeted the caller in a loud, sarcastic tone. Upon hearing this, Lane began shaking her head frantically.
"Lane. Is she there?"
"Let me check with Rory." Lorelai stalled, motioning for Lane to leave. The slender Asian jumped up from her chair, and dashed out the back door.
"No, Mrs. Kim, Lane isn't here." Lorelai finally told the caller, who promptly hung up.
Lorelai glared at the phone. "Rory, tell Lane to come back inside."
"Okay." Rory rose to comply with her mother's request.
"Lane, look. I completely sympathize with you that your mother is being unreasonable, but I practically lied to her just now, and I really hate doing that. You need to go home. We'll figure something out in the morning, okay?"
Lane nodded guiltily. "Sorry …"
Lorelai hugged her daughter's friend. "Don't be sorry, hon. I know that there were extenu…extunu…"
"Extenuating?" Rory offered.
"Right – extenuating circumstances. But, go home…your mom's worried."
"I will…thanks, Lorelai." Lane hugged the older woman slightly tighter, before turning, and reluctantly walking to the door. "I'll try to call you guys tomorrow."
Lorelai and Rory both nodded as Lane left.
"Gotcha!" Jess exclaimed suddenly, as the gurgling sounds of a brewing pot of coffee filled the room.
"Fred! Baby! You're fixed!" Lorelai cooed to the coffee maker, while Rory hugged Jess.
"You are my new favorite person." She whispered in his ear. "First you bring us coffee, and then you fix Fred!"
Jess grinned at her. "All in a day's work!" He kissed her forehead, then stepped away from her. "I should probably get back to the diner, though. See you later."
"See ya." Rory replied, watching him leave. "So, Mom…we never did eat at Grandma's."
"Mmmm…coffee…" Lorelai vaguely responded.
"Mom…focus…your only daughter is starving, and if you, as the parental unit, don't suggest sustenance, I'm gonna order Indian food."
"Ewwww! That'll stink up the house all weekend!" Lorelai promptly came out of her reverie.
"So…suggest something else."
"Pizza?"
"Pizza is an acceptable alternative."
"Great – here's the phone."
A/N – Okay, so the whole Mrs. Kim/Lane encounter didn't exactly…evolve the way I wanted it to, but oh well. Perhaps inspiration will strike, and I'll revise this chapter. Or I'll give it to Princess Heather, and make HER revise it, since she was brilliant enough to get Lane to New York in the first place! (With a little help from MaryATroryFan – though, in all honesty, Princess Heather came up with the same idea on her own. Sniff, sniff, why am I surrounded by brilliance, and have none of my own?)
Also, there've been only 3 reviews on the re-posting; I understand that since most of you guys review on the other version of the story, you don't want to review the same stuff twice, but there were only 2 reviews on the revised Chapter 10…could ya maybe review this new Chapter 11? I'll forgive no reviews on the next two chapters…(except, I've decided to revise the former Chapter 12, which is actually Chapter 13 now, because I've decided that I don't want Rory to tell Jess she loves him just yet.) - Jamie