It had been three days since Rory had received her acceptance
letters, and she was already regretting not telling her grandparents and
Jess. Because she hadn't told Jess yet, she couldn't tell Luke, and she
also couldn't tell anyone else in Stars Hollow, because of how fast gossip
traveled.
She wanted to wait until she had decided for sure what school she was going to before she told her grandparents. This was really hard on her. She had NO clue what to do. In the past days, she had received the letters from all of the other schools she had applied to. She hadn't gotten into Princeton, which was fine by her, and she had been waitlisted at Stanford, but she hadn't really wanted to go to the west coast anyways. It had all come down to Harvard and Yale, which was why, at 7 in the morning on a Sunday, she was lying face down on her bed with a Yale pamphlet in one hand, and one from Harvard in the other. She put them both down and picked up, instead, the pro and con lists she had been making for the schools. After carefully examining both of them, she replaced them and picked up the pamphlets again.
She sighed and put them back on her bed and slowly got up. She creeped up the stairs, still in her pajamas, and got in bed with Lorelai.
"Mom?"
"Mmph. Early. Coffee."
"Mom, we'll go to Luke's. Just listen to me a sec."
"Mmph. What."
"I'm going to Yale."
Lorelai opened her eyes and turned over to face her daughter. "What?"
"Yale," Rory said, this time more insistant. "I've made up my mind, and I'm going to Yale."
"Wow. Yale."
"I know you wanted Harvard, but-"
"No! No. Yale is good. Yale is very good. Who am I kidding? Yale is great! You can come home on the weekends, and I can visit you whenever I want. . . Wow. Yale." Lorelai threw back the covers. "Let's tell the world!"
"I'm sure the world can wait until a decent hour to find out," Rory said, suddenly realizing how early it was, and snuggling under the covers in her mother's bed.
"Are you kidding? I'm up! I'm pumped! Let's go and tell everyone!"
"OK. . . let me get some clothes on. . ." Rory walked downstairs and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and went back up to her mother's room.
Lorelai had her head in the closet and was mumbling to herself. "I know I kept it. . . PLEASE say I kept it. . . AHA!" She came out of the closet with a Yale sweatshirt in her hand.
"I knew I still had it!" She held it up to herself to show to Rory. "Dad gave it to me after some reunion or something. Here!" She handed it to Rory. "You wear it."
"Mom?" Rory said.
"Yes?"
"It smells funky." Rory handed the sweatshirt to her mother. Lorelai sniffed it, and then held it away. "Gross! Mothbally and. . . something else. I'll wash it and you can wear it until you get one of your own."
"All right," Rory answered.
Lorelai went over to Rory and hooked her arm with her own. "Let's go! Who should we tell first?"
"Luke. I need some coffee," Rory answered.
"All righty then! Come on!"
The pair walked to Luke's together. The town was much emptier than it was usually, probably because it was so early. They didn't run into anyone they knew, or anyone worth talking to. They reached Luke's in record time.
"Thank GOD Luke opens at such an ungodly hour!" Lorelai said, as she opened the door to the diner. Luke was the only person in the building, and he was behind the counter, wiping the surface down with a rag. When he saw the girls, he dropped his rag and ran over to them.
"What's wrong? What happened? Was there a fire?"
"No silly. We have news!" Lorelai answered, walking past him with Rory in tow. Luke stood in stupor for a moment, before following them to the counter, where they had both found seats.
"Well?" Luke said, after the girls had sat down, "What's the news?"
"Are you kidding?" Lorelai asked, "There is no way you are learning this news until we both have some coffee in our systems."
Luke heaved an overdramatic sigh as he grabbed two mugs and placed them in front of the girls. He reached behind him and grabbed the coffee pot and poured them each a cup of coffee. Rory and Lorelai each took a long sip from their mug while Luke stood impatiently behind the counter.
"Well," Lorelai began, "We received some interesting mail. This mail has actually been arriving for a few days now."
"College acceptances," Rory clarified.
"So, there were quite a few actually, and after some consideration. . . "
"I'm going to Yale."
"Wow!" Luke said, "That's great! Yale is so close! And Ivy League. Wow Rory, that's just. . ." He came around the counter and gave her a big hug. "Wow. Pancakes on the house! Tell you what, I'll make them myself."
Luke went back to the kitchen and began preparing pancakes.
"I'm gonna go see if Jess is up," Rory said, standing up from her seat at the counter and making her way over to the staircase.
"OK, babycakes, but I can't promise that your pancakes will be completely in tact when you get back!"
"Lay off my pancakes!" Rory called, walking up the stairs.
She approached the apartment door and knocked gently. "Jess?" There was no answer. She eased the door opened and entered the room. She looked into Jess' room and saw that he was still asleep. She walked over to his bed. He had scrunched himself into one corner of the bed. He was lying on his side, and she could see his face. It was relaxed. His eyes were gently closed, and his mouth was curved into a slight smile.
Rory walked over to the bed and sat down so that she was looking at his back. "Jess?" she said, quietly, reaching out to stroke his back. She felt him tense into a slight stretch, and then his head slowly moved to look at her. "Rory?" he said in a croaky, morning voice.
"Hey."
Jess turned around and then slowly sat up. He scooted back to put his back up against the headboard of his bed. "What are you doing up here?" He glanced at his watch. "It's early," he said, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"We got up early and decided to come get coffee."
"Hmmph," Jess grunted. Rory didn't blame him. It was early.
"Do you want to talk?" she asked.
"About?"
"Anything. Us. School. Your mom?"
"Well, I think we're OK now, school is still good, I'm still passing everything, and my mom is still alive. Why, did you have something specific you wanted to talk about?" He asked, looking straight at her, and waiting for her to reply.
"No. . ." she answered, stalling, "Not really. . ."
"Mmm hmm. I believe you," he answered, sarcastically. He stood up and walked over to his closet. She remained on his bed. He walked into the bathroom but left the door opened. She stood up and walked into the room adjacent to the bathroom and watched as he splashed his face with water. He walked over to the closet and grabbed what he touched: a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. He pulled off the white shirt he had been sleeping in and pulled on the red one. He pulled the jeans on over his boxers.
He looked back at Rory. She was fidgeting. He knew that she had something to say, but he was just going to wait for her to say it. He knew that she would tell him eventually, so he was just going to wait it out. He went back into the bathroom and took out his toothbrush and some toothpaste and began brushing his teeth.
Rory watched as he finished brushing his teeth, and she suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. She felt as if he didn't know that he was here. Like she was just watching his private life without him knowing.
"I'm going to Yale," she blurted, staring at the floorboards.
He looked right at her and slowly walked over to her. He stood directly in front of her and stared at her face.
"Yale," she repeated.
"Why Yale?"
"What?"
"Well, I thought it was always going to be Harvard."
"I got in there too. I just. . . Yale is closer, you know? And I could come home every weekend. . . and you could come and visit me. . ." she looked at him hopefully.
He walked over to his desk and pulled out some letters. She saw the headers of the letters: Simmons College, Albertus Magnus College, and then some others.
He plucked the one from Albertus Magnus out of the pile and dropped the others in the wastebasket.
"Then I guess it'll be Albertus Magnus."
"What?"
"I applied to college in New Haven, Boston, New York, Princeton, basically all the places where there are Ivies. You chose Yale, I choose Albertus Magnus."
"It's in New Haven?"
Jess just smiled. Rory clasped her hands in his and leaned in to kiss him. It was a sweet kiss. They were both smiling when they pulled back out of the kiss. "I think you have some breakfast waiting for you," Jess said, smiling. They kissed once more and walked down into the diner together.
She wanted to wait until she had decided for sure what school she was going to before she told her grandparents. This was really hard on her. She had NO clue what to do. In the past days, she had received the letters from all of the other schools she had applied to. She hadn't gotten into Princeton, which was fine by her, and she had been waitlisted at Stanford, but she hadn't really wanted to go to the west coast anyways. It had all come down to Harvard and Yale, which was why, at 7 in the morning on a Sunday, she was lying face down on her bed with a Yale pamphlet in one hand, and one from Harvard in the other. She put them both down and picked up, instead, the pro and con lists she had been making for the schools. After carefully examining both of them, she replaced them and picked up the pamphlets again.
She sighed and put them back on her bed and slowly got up. She creeped up the stairs, still in her pajamas, and got in bed with Lorelai.
"Mom?"
"Mmph. Early. Coffee."
"Mom, we'll go to Luke's. Just listen to me a sec."
"Mmph. What."
"I'm going to Yale."
Lorelai opened her eyes and turned over to face her daughter. "What?"
"Yale," Rory said, this time more insistant. "I've made up my mind, and I'm going to Yale."
"Wow. Yale."
"I know you wanted Harvard, but-"
"No! No. Yale is good. Yale is very good. Who am I kidding? Yale is great! You can come home on the weekends, and I can visit you whenever I want. . . Wow. Yale." Lorelai threw back the covers. "Let's tell the world!"
"I'm sure the world can wait until a decent hour to find out," Rory said, suddenly realizing how early it was, and snuggling under the covers in her mother's bed.
"Are you kidding? I'm up! I'm pumped! Let's go and tell everyone!"
"OK. . . let me get some clothes on. . ." Rory walked downstairs and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and went back up to her mother's room.
Lorelai had her head in the closet and was mumbling to herself. "I know I kept it. . . PLEASE say I kept it. . . AHA!" She came out of the closet with a Yale sweatshirt in her hand.
"I knew I still had it!" She held it up to herself to show to Rory. "Dad gave it to me after some reunion or something. Here!" She handed it to Rory. "You wear it."
"Mom?" Rory said.
"Yes?"
"It smells funky." Rory handed the sweatshirt to her mother. Lorelai sniffed it, and then held it away. "Gross! Mothbally and. . . something else. I'll wash it and you can wear it until you get one of your own."
"All right," Rory answered.
Lorelai went over to Rory and hooked her arm with her own. "Let's go! Who should we tell first?"
"Luke. I need some coffee," Rory answered.
"All righty then! Come on!"
The pair walked to Luke's together. The town was much emptier than it was usually, probably because it was so early. They didn't run into anyone they knew, or anyone worth talking to. They reached Luke's in record time.
"Thank GOD Luke opens at such an ungodly hour!" Lorelai said, as she opened the door to the diner. Luke was the only person in the building, and he was behind the counter, wiping the surface down with a rag. When he saw the girls, he dropped his rag and ran over to them.
"What's wrong? What happened? Was there a fire?"
"No silly. We have news!" Lorelai answered, walking past him with Rory in tow. Luke stood in stupor for a moment, before following them to the counter, where they had both found seats.
"Well?" Luke said, after the girls had sat down, "What's the news?"
"Are you kidding?" Lorelai asked, "There is no way you are learning this news until we both have some coffee in our systems."
Luke heaved an overdramatic sigh as he grabbed two mugs and placed them in front of the girls. He reached behind him and grabbed the coffee pot and poured them each a cup of coffee. Rory and Lorelai each took a long sip from their mug while Luke stood impatiently behind the counter.
"Well," Lorelai began, "We received some interesting mail. This mail has actually been arriving for a few days now."
"College acceptances," Rory clarified.
"So, there were quite a few actually, and after some consideration. . . "
"I'm going to Yale."
"Wow!" Luke said, "That's great! Yale is so close! And Ivy League. Wow Rory, that's just. . ." He came around the counter and gave her a big hug. "Wow. Pancakes on the house! Tell you what, I'll make them myself."
Luke went back to the kitchen and began preparing pancakes.
"I'm gonna go see if Jess is up," Rory said, standing up from her seat at the counter and making her way over to the staircase.
"OK, babycakes, but I can't promise that your pancakes will be completely in tact when you get back!"
"Lay off my pancakes!" Rory called, walking up the stairs.
She approached the apartment door and knocked gently. "Jess?" There was no answer. She eased the door opened and entered the room. She looked into Jess' room and saw that he was still asleep. She walked over to his bed. He had scrunched himself into one corner of the bed. He was lying on his side, and she could see his face. It was relaxed. His eyes were gently closed, and his mouth was curved into a slight smile.
Rory walked over to the bed and sat down so that she was looking at his back. "Jess?" she said, quietly, reaching out to stroke his back. She felt him tense into a slight stretch, and then his head slowly moved to look at her. "Rory?" he said in a croaky, morning voice.
"Hey."
Jess turned around and then slowly sat up. He scooted back to put his back up against the headboard of his bed. "What are you doing up here?" He glanced at his watch. "It's early," he said, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"We got up early and decided to come get coffee."
"Hmmph," Jess grunted. Rory didn't blame him. It was early.
"Do you want to talk?" she asked.
"About?"
"Anything. Us. School. Your mom?"
"Well, I think we're OK now, school is still good, I'm still passing everything, and my mom is still alive. Why, did you have something specific you wanted to talk about?" He asked, looking straight at her, and waiting for her to reply.
"No. . ." she answered, stalling, "Not really. . ."
"Mmm hmm. I believe you," he answered, sarcastically. He stood up and walked over to his closet. She remained on his bed. He walked into the bathroom but left the door opened. She stood up and walked into the room adjacent to the bathroom and watched as he splashed his face with water. He walked over to the closet and grabbed what he touched: a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. He pulled off the white shirt he had been sleeping in and pulled on the red one. He pulled the jeans on over his boxers.
He looked back at Rory. She was fidgeting. He knew that she had something to say, but he was just going to wait for her to say it. He knew that she would tell him eventually, so he was just going to wait it out. He went back into the bathroom and took out his toothbrush and some toothpaste and began brushing his teeth.
Rory watched as he finished brushing his teeth, and she suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. She felt as if he didn't know that he was here. Like she was just watching his private life without him knowing.
"I'm going to Yale," she blurted, staring at the floorboards.
He looked right at her and slowly walked over to her. He stood directly in front of her and stared at her face.
"Yale," she repeated.
"Why Yale?"
"What?"
"Well, I thought it was always going to be Harvard."
"I got in there too. I just. . . Yale is closer, you know? And I could come home every weekend. . . and you could come and visit me. . ." she looked at him hopefully.
He walked over to his desk and pulled out some letters. She saw the headers of the letters: Simmons College, Albertus Magnus College, and then some others.
He plucked the one from Albertus Magnus out of the pile and dropped the others in the wastebasket.
"Then I guess it'll be Albertus Magnus."
"What?"
"I applied to college in New Haven, Boston, New York, Princeton, basically all the places where there are Ivies. You chose Yale, I choose Albertus Magnus."
"It's in New Haven?"
Jess just smiled. Rory clasped her hands in his and leaned in to kiss him. It was a sweet kiss. They were both smiling when they pulled back out of the kiss. "I think you have some breakfast waiting for you," Jess said, smiling. They kissed once more and walked down into the diner together.