CHAPTER 2: Prom is WHEN?

CHILTON

"You done with that yet?" Paris asked, pointing to the article Rory was writing.

"Oh I don't know, does it look like I'm done?" As Paris huffed and puffed as she walked away Grace came up and sat next to Rory.

"I was wondering if you could help me out...I'm trying to align the columns on the computer and I'm having trouble."

"Sure," Rory said answering.

"You know, I think if we team up, we can take Paris down." Grace laughed as she talked.

"Yeah, and we can take over her job as editor, that will get her even more pissed." As both girls laughed they turned to watch as Paris, very violently, paged through the newspaper.

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet. Last year I went to this dance and she came up to me with her date and introduced him to us. Then later on he came over and asked me for my number. Turns out he was her cousin. And when she came over to confront me about it, she wound up yelling at me about how she couldn't get a date, and when she was finished the whole room was looking at her. I felt kind of bad, but it was great." Grace laughed hysterical and Rory continued to do "angry" impressions of Paris.

"You know, I think the dance that you're talking about is the same dance that my brother told me about...he told me how he asked this girl...Mary I think her name was...but anyway he told me about how he asked her and she turned him down. I told him I wanted to meet her and thank her personally for finally knocking him off his pedestal." As Grace laughed at her own story, Rory looked straight ahead.

"You okay?" she asked, growing concerned.

"Me, oh yeah, I'm fine... I just remembered something." Rory replied.

"Oh.. well I should go work on my article, but I'll meet up with you at the end, okay?"

"Sure." As Grace walked away Rory wondered what would've happened if she had told her that she was his Mary. The Mary in all the stories he tells, just happens to be her.

CHILTON LUNCHROOM

"So, you got a date to prom yet?" Louise asked as Rory sat down to lunch.

"I think Paris is trying to get her mom to call her cousin again," Madeline joked, as they all cracked up laughing.

"Wait, prom?"

"Yes Rory. Prom. Girls usually dress up in some type of formal attire, and boys wear tuxes-

"No, I know what prom is...when is it?"

"Two weeks." Rory nearly spat out her water.

"WHEN?"

"Two weeks," Madeline said.

"Oh my god! I don't even have a dress. No forget the dress, I don't even have a date."

"Well you better hurry! I got asked a month ago. And I got my dress like forever ago." Louise said as she picked through her salad.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I hear Brad is still looking for a date."

"Very funny. I don't know what I'm going to do." Rory said. "I'm gonna get going...I need to go do something...anything to keep from fretting about this."

"Okay, but remember...stay away from Brad, because I'm sure that'll be the first thing he says if he sees you." Louise shouted as Rory raced out of the lunchroom.

Rory found herself in the library. Whenever her own world gets to crazy she can leave it all behind at the drop of a hat and just focus on a book, any book. As she looked through the shelves, she came to a stop at the Shakespeare section. Her hand reached up and touched the spine of Romeo and Juliet. "He was supposed to be Romeo..." As Rory's mind drifted she suddenly heard a loud crash. She looked beside her to find Grace with a pile of books around her.

"Hey," she said as she walked over and helped to pick the books up. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just, hanging out." Grace said with a giggle. When the books were all in their proper place Grace noticed what was in Rory's hand. "What're you reading?"

"Oh, it's just- Romeo and Juliet." she sighed. "I'm not reading it...I was just looking through the shelves and-"

"Sureee..." Grace said as a wide grin made its way to her face. "So who are you pining for?"

"What?"

"Oh come on, anyone can see. Whenever anyone mentions the least bit romantic thing you get a far-away dazed look in your eyes. So come on...out with it."

"Wha-"

"Is it Brad? cause I've noticed him getting all flustered when you enter a room. I mean god..that kid needs to get a stick of deodorant or something. You walk into a room and that kid breaks into a freaking sweat."

"stopp" Rory said as she laughed hysterically.

"Okay, fine, you don't want to tell me... but I'll have you know, I'll find out eventually." Before Rory could even look up and ask her what she meant, Grace was gone, no where to be seen.