A/N: Seems like I am making a lot of these again, lol. Anyway, I'm sorry that my updates have been slow these past few days. I've actually had a new chapter ready for several days, but has not been allowing me to submit new documents. It's been driving me crazy! Also, I am currently training for a new job and it is taking up a lot of my free time. My fastest and greatest updates will probably be during the weekends for the next couple of weeks. I'll keep trying to update as much as possible. Thanks for your patience and all the wonderful reviews. And now, chapter 29.

"So I walked into the office and told them I had no experience but that I was great with people, a quick learner, and in desperate need of the job. They pretty much hired me on the spot. I couldn't believe how nice they were." Joan realized Lorelai wasn't even paying attention. "Lorelai, you seem distracted tonight." Joan replied as she took a bite of pizza.

"I'm sorry." Lorelai replied as she tossed her pizza down inside the box.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Lorelai let out a sigh. "Have you ever been really confused but you kind of do something without thinking?" Joan gave Lorelai a look that clearly replied she didn't understand. "I mean, have you ever been in mulling over something and then right out of the blue just make a decision? But you can't understand why you did it."

"Lorelai, why don't you tell me what's actually going on." Joan suggested. "I could probably help more."

"Well, I've been thinking about a lot of stuff. Friends, you, school, and my old life. I'm trying to figure out how I want to tell people about myself and what kind of impression I want to make."

"That's a lot for a fourteen year old girl to worry about."

"Today, I got lunch detention for being late."

"You were late for school?"

"Not the point." Lorelai added. "In lunch detention, I saw that guy that I told you about, Chris. We were talking, and he's from Hartford. He even went to private school there. He really doesn't seem like the private school type, so I was kind of intrigued by him. He invited me to have lunch with him, and I did."

Joan was starting to wonder where this conversation was heading.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "During lunch, he mentioned that his mom made the best spaghetti. For some reason, I felt the need to compete so, I told him that my mom made the best spaghetti." Lorelai paused, but when she didn't receive a reply she decided to keep going. "He said he'd have to come over sometime and try it out for himself. Without thinking, I invited him over for tomorrow after school." Lorelai shut her mouth tightly and awaited a response.

A secret sigh of relief came over Joan. She was glad to see that Lorelai's problem was minor and easily solved. "Well, we'll just have to fix spaghetti tomorrow. It can be our one night a week that we don't order out."

"You're not mad?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course not, why would I be?"

"I invited over a random guy that you've never even met, for dinner that you didn't even know you had to make." Lorelai replied.

"Sweetheart, that was my job description for fourteen years." Joan smiled.

"I guess I just thought it seemed like I was taking advantage of you. Treating you like a maid instead of a mother." Lorelai's voice seemed gloomy. "That's why I keep trying to figure out how our new life should be, and how we should act. It's really hard to figure this stuff out."

"Maybe you shouldn't try to figure it out." Was Joan's retort. "Just let it be for a while. Let life run its own course and see where it takes you."

"But I don't want to screw it up…"

Joan took Lorelai's hand. "You're not going to." Joan stared Lorelai in the eyes. "Mistakes are how we learn. Don't be afraid to make one. There's going to be hundreds of bad days in your life, but thousands of good. There'll be tears and laughs, rights and wrongs and you'll grow with each one. It's not how much you can do or how much you can control, it's how much you enjoy it."

"I don't think I've been enjoying it lately." Lorelai replied as she leaned her head on Joan's shoulder.

"I don't think you have either." Joan agreed. "But tomorrow would be a good day to start over." She smiled.

"I've been so afraid that I'm going to screw things up, I didn't realize that I already had." Lorelai replied.

"You've not screwed up anything." Joan corrected. "When tomorrow comes, don't worry about anything but being yourself. If you just be who you are, then everything else will fall into place as well."

Lorelai let a tiny smile cross her face. "What if my true self is a pessimistic worry wart?"

"Don't worry, it's not." Joan laughed.

The next day at school, Lorelai felt a huge relief. Everyone had finally stopped the constant staring. It seemed as if no one was concerned over her and Luke anymore. In fact she hadn't seen Luke since the "incident". She assumed he was avoiding her, and apparently skipping Spanish every afternoon. It didn't matter, she was functioning quite well without seeing him. As Lorelai was heading out to Lunch she spotted Chris.

"Hey." Chris replied. "I was wondering if I was going to see you before lunch."

"Hey." Lorelai repeated.

"I just wanted to make sure we're still on for this evening?"

"Yeah." Lorelai smiled. "That is if you've not already realized that my mom's is the best."

"Oh, it's still a bet." Chris remarked. "You want to have lunch again?"

"Actually, I planned on eating with Sookie and the others today." Lorelai replied. "But you should join us."

"Ah, I don't think so." Chris said as he looked away.

"Come on." Lorelai insisted. "They'll love you. You're funny."

"They'll love me cause I'm funny?"

"Yep. That's really all they look for in a person." Lorelai answered. "Crack a couple of good jokes and you're in."

"Alright." Chris finally replied. "I guess I could give it a shot."

Whispers began to flood the norm table as they spotted Lorelai walking over with Chris.

"Who's that?" Savannah asked.

"Chris Hayden." Bridgette replied.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "He's a little cutie."

"Gosh, Lorelai is a total guy magnet." Savannah replied. "She sure moved on from Luke fast enough."

"Do you think she knows about what happened?" Matt asked.

"I bet she doesn't." Nick answered.

Jackson leaned over to the group of teens. "One of us should tell her."

"I'm not saying anything." Matt quickly replied.

"Me either." Came four more voices simultaneously.

"Fine." Jackson replied. "I'll make Sookie do it when she gets here."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, Sookie would be the best to tell Lorelai.

"Hey, everyone." Lorelai greeted as she reached the table. "This is Chris."

"Hi, Chris." Jackson replied. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good, Jackson." Chris answered as he pulled up a chair. "How's things been with you?"

"Same old same old." Jackson smiled.

Chris looked around the table. Everyone continued to stare at him. He smiled and focused back on Lorelai.

"So, Lorelai, are you and Chris together?" Miranda bluntly asked.

A look of sudden shock crossed Chris' face, as Lorelai nearly strangled on her soda.

"Wow, Miranda, you really waste no time beating around the bush do you?" Nick asked.

"Well, we're all friends here. No sense in keeping secrets." Miranda smiled. "So, are you?" She directed back to Lorelai.

"No." Lorelai replied as she cleared her throat. "We're just friends."

"For the moment." Bridgette added.

"I don't think I've seen you around before, Chris." Miranda replied.

"I've been here all year." Chris replied shortly but politely.

"I just don't see how I could have missed someone as handsome as you."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

"And the whore train pulls into Hooker Station." Matt said loudly.

Miranda glared at the two boys. "I'm not a whore."

"Of course not." Nick replied sarcastically. "Lady of the evening is much more suitable."

"I'm a virgin." Miranda forcefully countered.

Matt let out a quick laugh. "Yeah, and Elton John is straight."

Sookie made her way over to the table. She had just heard the news about Luke, and was feeling very somber. She couldn't force herself to smile and be cheery as usual. One thing about Sookie was that she had always had a gigantic heart. She could feel sorrow for anyone even if she didn't know them perosnally.

"Hey, everyone." Sookie said as she took a seat.

"Hey, Sook." Jackson replied. "You okay?"

"I just heard the news."

Suddenly, it feel very quite at the table. Everyone held their breath, knowing that Sookie would be the one to break it to Lorelai.

"What news?" Lorelai asked casually, yet at the same time setting herself up.

Sookie faced Lorelai. "Luke's father passed away. That's why he's not been at school these past couple of days."

A rush of guilt and remorse flew through Lorelai's body. Her first reaction was an instant flashback to what she had said to him only days before. She must have zoned out for several seconds, because once she focused back on reality, Chris was no longer sitting at the table.