Chapter 4
Imperfection
Rory marched into the kitchen, eager to get a cup of coffee. She was happy today had come so quickly; it was her last final at Chilton. Today was her last day at that school, and she couldn't be more proud of herself. She had faced so many challenges when she first got there; it was a blessing to be graduating. She would be starting a new life soon, whether it be Yale, or a path she chose solely on her own.
"Rory, is that you?" A voice called from the living room.
"Mom?" She questioned, placing the pot on the counter. "You're actually up?"
"I've got that meeting at the Inn today," Lorelai groaned. "I thought that since I was the manager and all, I would be able to change the time. Apparently Michel's appointment at the Gym was more important."
"The concierge held power over the manager? Mom, your losing your touch," Rory giggled, handing her a coffee mug.
"I was at the mercy of Celine Dion," Lorelai scoffed.
Rory patted her hand. "I feel your pain. Lane went through a 98 degrees phase," Rory grimaced at the memory. "She played their only two songs at least a thousand times."
"This is so much different," Lorelai disagreed, throwing some pop tarts into the toaster.
"Yes, well, we can't all be fans," Rory mumbled into her coffee. "I'm going to get dressed," She announced, disappearing into her room.
"So, I was thinking maybe we hit Luke's for an afternoon snack," Lorelai suggested. "Then maybe we could come home and celebrate your last final."
Rory came out in her uniform, backpack slung over her shoulder. "I'll be there," She kissed her mother on the cheek. "Behave, or you might just be penalized with Jessica Simpson."
"The horror," Lorelai cried as Rory left the house.
--
Rory walked into her English class. Her last final had arrived. She had reviewed her notes more times than countable; she was positive she was going to ace the test, no doubt.
Mr. Medina walked up and down the aisles, handing out the test booklets to each student. "I expect after a week of finals, you know the rules backwards and forwards," He began. He walked back to his spot at the front of the room. "You're all highschool seniors, I am assuming you won't be cheating. Use only the pencil I give you, and be sure to fill in every answer; they all count, believe it or not."
The class laughed quietly, averting their attention to their test booklet. Everyone was eager to finish of the test; it was last period.
Rory worked through the test, filling in every bubble and writing out every answer. She finished about an hour later, handing her paper in to Mr. Medina. She was grinning from ear to ear, happy she was finally done.
"Finished, Miss Gilmore?" He asked quietly.
Rory nodded. "I knew my notes backwards and forwards," She reiterated.
He nodded. "I'm sure you did," He looked at her paper uneasily. "It's a bit early to turn it in, don't you want to look it over?"
Rory shook her head. "I feel very safe with what I have down on paper."
He shrugged. "If you feel that way, then I'm sure its fine."
Rory furrowed her brows. "What is that supposed to mean?" Was he accusing her of being careless?
Mr. Medina gestured towards the rest of the room. "Most students don't finish so early into the class," He answered. "Paris isn't even finished yet."
"Well, she tends to be a nitpick with mistakes," Rory snapped.
"I'm just telling you that a few more minutes checking it over would go a long way."
Rory grabbed her paper angrily. "I'm sure it will," She whispered before going back to her seat.
--
Rory walked up to the teacher's desk. He had told her a few minutes before the period ended that he wanted to talk to her about something. She was hoping it had nothing to do with her mom and him; she wanted nothing to do with the two. She was always getting caught up in that mess. She was made the messenger from school to home, almost like a carrier pigeon.
"You wanted to see me?" She stopped abruptly in front of the desk.
He nodded. "Rory, I've noticed something recently."
She just stared out the window. She didn't want to be here, especially after their conversation earlier.
He continued, despite her averted attention. "You don't seem to handle failure to well," He stated bluntly.
Rory snapped her head towards her teacher. "Excuse me?"
"You seemed pretty confident with your paper when you brought it to me," He explained. "But when I hinted there might be even the slightest mistake, you took it back angrily. It seemed like you refused to fail."
"You just made me nervous, that's all," Rory mumbled. "It's perfectly normal; finals are very stressful."
"I understand," Max sighed. "I'm just suggesting that you lighten up. Maybe have a 'day of imperfection'."
Rory's eyes widened. "A day of imperfection? What is that supposed to mean?" She scoffed, folding her arms crossly.
"I'm just suggesting you take day during the summer and not worry about any mistakes you make," He elaborated. "It will help round you for when it comes time for college. You'll be making a lot of mistakes your first year."
Rory shook her head and left the classroom. She walked right up to her locker, fiddling with the combination. "Unbelievable..." She muttered to herself, grabbing everything in her locker and dumping it into her bag. She had to have her locker cleaned, she wasn't allowed to leave anything behind since she was graduating.
"Bad day, huh?" A voice asked from behind her.
Rory turned around. "Paris? What are you doing here?"
"I saw you from across the hall," She explained. "You seemed pretty mad."
"Well, I'm not," Rory denied, closing up her backpack.
"You find me stupid, don't you Gilmore?" Paris questioned, blocking her from leaving.
Rory furrowed her brows. "You obviously can't be stupid to attend this school."
"The school knows I'm smart," Paris smirked. "You must think I'm naϊve or something, trying to hide the fact that your mad."
"Paris, I'm not hiding anything!" Rory cried, slamming her locker closed.
"Anger can lead to blood problems later in life, Rory," Paris shrugged. "I would advise you to just let this out; it could save your life."
"Oh my god, Paris! Yes, I'm mad," Rory admitted. "Are you happy?"
"So I was right?" Paris smirked. "I could tell by the way you stormed out of the classroom that something was wrong."
"Obviously," Rory muttered. "Is that all you wanted? To hold your superior knowledge over my head?"
"No, I was actually wondering what was wrong," She answered. "You seemed very frustrated, I thought maybe you wanted to talk about it."
"Well, I don't. You wasted your time."
Paris sighed angrily. "I'm going to find out sooner or later, Rory. I think it's better if I find out from you and not from your mother."
"My mother?" Rory asked shockingly. "How would you find out from my mother?"
Paris looked down at her feet. "I needed someone to talk to one day, and she offered. Don't take it personally."
"And she didn't tell me..." Rory mumbled angrily.
"I asked her not to, I didn't want you getting mad," Paris assured her. "Speaking of mad..."
"God, Paris!" Rory cried. "Mr. Medina told me that I obviously don't like the idea of failure. He suggested a 'day of imperfection," Rory stressed with air quotes.
"Day of imperfection?" Paris reiterated, eyes wide. "Why would anybody need to take a day and make a thousand mistakes? I find that completely pointless; especially if its in your nature to be obsessive over your mistakes."
"I'm not obsessive," Rory mumbled.
"Of course you aren't! I'm saying this in general," Paris sighed. "I wonder why he didn't mention this to me?"
Rory shrugged. "He suggested it to me because I was one of the first to hand in my test booklet. He kept hinting at the fact that there might be mistakes, so I got angry and took it back."
"He let you take it back?" Paris cried.
"Thats what he basically wanted," Rory scoffed. "There has to be something behind this, he had never confronted me before. I used to be more obsessive when I first got here, I don't know what the problem is now."
"There is no problem," Paris patted her shoulder. "Keep your chin up, soldier. You only have a few more days to spend in this place, then you're out of here."
Rory sighed. "I guess your right..." She snapped her head up in realization. "Maybe my mom asked him to keep an eye on me!"
"What?"
"My mom met up with Max at the Booster Club meeting, and they talked. Maybe my mom asked him to keep an eye on me during finals!"
Paris shook her head. "Rory, I would have somehow found out about it. Your mother is very chatty when she's with company," She laughed. "You're being completely delusional."
"Am not," She mumbled.
"Your just looking for someone to blame," She replied. "Look, Rory, just go home. Mr. Medina has nothing better to do than to terrorize high school students. You got into Yale already, you just finished your last final; you have nothing to worry about."
Rory nodded. "Thanks, Paris."
"Anytime."
--
Rory marched into her bedroom, throwing her backpack into her closet. "Goodbye bag," She stated as if thumped into the closet. "I won't be needing you anymore."
She slipped off her Chilton jacket and jumped onto her bed. That day of imperfection was getting to her. How could a teacher suggest that to a student? Teachers are put into their position to help students, not to point out their faults. That imperfection suggestion wasn't going to help her, it just made her mad. So she was scared of failure; at least she wasn't some random hobo living on the street. Maybe that random hobo was asked to have a day of imperfection and went bankrupt.
Rory thought back to the airport and everything that had happened. That certainly was a day of imperfection. She had ditched school and went to an airport to say goodbye to her boyfriend! Maybe that's what she needed, a vacation. She certainly had felt happier that day than any other day that week. Maybe Mr. Medina was right; she did need to realize her faults.
Rory shot up in her bed, getting up quickly. She scurried around her room, gathering random clothes and some important items. She plucked a few books off of their shelf and placed them on her bed. She went to her closet and took out her yellow backpack. "So much for goodbye," She muttered, stuffing the pile of items into the bag.
She looked around the room, giving it a good search before heading out through her door. She walked into the kitchen and took a post it off of the fridge. She grabbed a pen and scribbled a message to her mom.
I'm realizing my faults. It's all Max's fault. I'll keep in touch -Rory
She looked over her note proudly, placing it onto the coffee pot. She walked to the front door, happy with her decision. She gave the house one last look, taking a mental picture before she left.
Surely nobody should be disappointed; it was her day of imperfection, and she just made her first mistake.
--
Rory looked around curiously at the bustling terminal. Everyone was in a rush to catch their flight. Rory, on the otherhand, was looking for a payphone. She needed a way to get to a motel or something, and renting a car would be too expensive. She spotted a payphone near the exit, and hauled her suitcase over to the phone. She took a few coins out of her pocket and inserted them into the phone, dialing quickly.
It rang, a few times. A pregnant pause silenced the terminal as the phone was picked up on the other line.
Before the person could even acknowledge her calling, she cut him off.
"Um, Jess. It's me, Rory. I was wondering if you could come get me, I'm at the airport..."
A/N: Review!