AN: Thanks for the many reviews again. Love them.
But I will say that there's nothing gross about the present day Seth or Rory enjoying herself. She's a grown woman and it'd be a little pathetic to just pine after her recently divorced ex-boyfriend who has showed no interest in starting anything serious, even if there is chemistry. They still have things to figure out, talks to be had and more mending to be done. They have also changed a lot - they need to get to know each other again. There's no point in rushing two broken people together - that'd just be yet another mess.
This one is a bit of a shorter chapter to get things started towards a new direction, however, putting a short pause on Seth.
Chapter 21
October 13th, 2021
Rory had just gotten out of her car to walk across the parking lot at Chilton, her coffee thermos in hand and laptop over her shoulder, seeing people hurrying inside with more urgency than they normally did in the mornings. She wasn't late, was she? She checked - no she wasn't.
The student crowd, but not just, were filled with a certain excitement,'come on'-s and laughter.
"What's going on?" Rory asked when she entered the building through its main entrance, asking no-one in particular, but got the reply soon enough without Max having to explain things.
The entire first floor hallway, as far as the eye could see, was filled with white plastic cups, spaced out evenly by about one foot, each cup filled with water. Further ahead there were a few red cups as well - spelling out something, but Rory couldn't quite say what.
"I guess I was due one of these," Max exhaled as he stepped up to Rory, having brought the cleaning crew with buckets with him, and continued to urge other students to help.
"Who did this?" Rory asked, looking around. "It's not very environmentally friendly," she added, calling out over the student body in a slightly reprimanding manner.
"The Puffs, that's what it says with the red cups at least," Max added.
"Well you've got to admit it's a bit more interesting than ringing the principal's bell at night in one's pajamas," Rory commented casually, getting an intrigued look from Max, and took a sip of her coffee.
"You were a Puff, weren't you?" Max inquired, speaking quietly. He didn't sound at all surprised.
"I sat down at a wrong tabel, I got dragged out of my bed in the middle of the night and we got caught. Then I threw a fit in the principal's office about the guidance counselor and Hanlin insisting I be more sociable as that was and that was what got me into that mess. So I guess I pledged, unknowingly, but I tramped down their whole veil of mystery right there so I was never a Puff, no," Rory explained, recalling the humorous event, looking back.
Max chuckled.
"I hope this is just a once a year kind of thing though," Max sighed, and began to help the janitors clean up.
"Unless this starts a competition with the other groups," Rory added and began to help out with her one hand, struggling to bend down properly in with her laptop over her shoulder and thermos in hand, but she felt she needed to show a good example here.
"What? Other..?" Max asked, sounding oblivious. He was new at his job, having been away from Chilton several years in between while Rory was much more in the loop. And Rory also tended to overhear things. She still often ate her lunch with her earphones on and nose in her book, but that didn't mean her earphones were the fancy kind that cancelled out all the noise.
This was one of the things she loved about working at a high school. It made her feel young, like anything could happen. High school was like a sped up version of life in a way - friendships and relationships were formed and torn apart, there was a huge learning curve from when kids came there compared to when they left - and not just on a selected few but all of them. Some became part of secret societies which no doubt livened up their lives, even if it involved something insignificant such as sneaking out at night. But Rory knew how at certain points in life that kind of mystery and excitement was what one needed.
The classes were a little late that day, but nobody seemed to mind. That too was a small change of pace, the students not even complaining if they had to finish a couple of more exercises at home because of it. It had livened up the day for way more people than the Puffs themselves.
After she was done with her day, as if on cue, her phone rang, while she continued to pack up her things for the day.
"Hey Finn, what's up?" she answered.
"Rory, hi!" Finn greeted. "How are you?" he asked politely.
"I'm good, just finished work," Rory replied.
"Listen I am about to suggest something, but feel free to say 'no' if it's too weird," Finn began, hesitating a little.
Rory was already worrying this might have something to do with the weekend she spent in New York and she'd had that unfortunate confusion with Finn when she'd ended up kissing him, thinking he was interested in her. She still wanted to sink to the ground because of that.
"I spoke to Logan, and he told me you two cleared the air a bit, which I think is good… And maybe if it wouldn't be too odd for you, you'd like to join us for a little soirée this weekend. We were thinking Boston, Robert is flying over too," Finn suggested.
After all Finn had heard her when she'd said she was lonely - it might not have been quite what she meant but it felt wrong to him to exclude her of this if it was up to him. She had been a part of the group.
"That sounds like fun, Finn, thanks for thinking of me," Rory replied, feeling surprised of his suggestion.
"But it's too weird?" Finn asked worriedly.
"No, it's not that," Rory began, having not even gotten that far as to think about the weirdness aspect of it. "I just have Em this weekend," she added.
"But if I'd found a way to include her, would that make a difference? I mean Logan's saying how he's not that into getting wasted anyways, so I might just as well try something different," Finn offered, taking Rory by surprise.
Rory gave it a moment of thought. But truthfully, she did miss all the guys - just their dynamic. This time wasn't about her and Logan getting their goodbye or anything dramatic like that - it was simple innocent fun. And she would get to involve Em, which sounded kind of cool to be honest. And thinking of Boston - she really hadn't been there in a while, and wouldn't mind seeing Gigi and her dad either. Neither would Em.
"So Saturday? Or is it a whole weekend kind of thing?" she asked, giving her response.
Bringing Em actually felt a little like bringing a shield against getting led too much back down memory lane at the same time. Em knew Finn already and Em adored him, Finn being surprisingly good with kids, so she was pretty sure it might end up being a fun adventure for her.
While she missed a quiet weekend with Em too, she knew there'd be plenty of quiet evenings at their house with her. This could be something fun, and probably not at all bad for them this time. She was offering Em new experiences, and taking herself out of her comfort zone as well. Maybe it really wouldn't be the worst thing in the world?
Seth had let her know the day before that his classes were taking all of his night this week with midterms coming up, so she wasn't going to see him before the following week anyways. At least it was easying her guilt a little for being a little difficult to reach. So time with friends and her kid sounded just what she needed.
Rory made her way downstairs, the hallway all cleaned up by now, but a line of five girls being led into Max's office for a talk caught her attention. The girls looked guilty enough alright, and Rory gave Max a friendly, supportive, smile, as she passed, as if telling him not to be too hard on them.
As she got in her car, she let the phone connect to the hands free system and called her dad.
"Hey, kiddo!" Christopher answered.
"Hey," she said, and pulled out of the parking lot.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, not being too used to getting frequent calls from her. They usually just saw each other for holidays and birthdays, or Rory might call when she needed financial advice with something.
"I was thinking about coming to Boston this weekend with Em. You know - catch up with a few friends. I was wondering if we could crash? Maybe do brunch on Sunday or something?" Rory asked.
"Sure, of course. I'd love to see both of you. Lana is at her parents' this weekend, but Gigi's home, I think. You two coming might actually persuade her to hang out with me," Christopher admitted, laughing bitter-sweetly.
They exchanged a few more words about some arrangements and their general arrival time, while Rory drove to Em's school, feeling like she was holding a good kind of secret.
"Guess what?" Rory asked Em, as she crouched down in front of her to help her with one of her shoes that had gotten sand under its sole. "We're going on an adventure this weekend," Rory said, excitedly. She felt like she was sharing one of the greatest things that had ever happened to her with her child, and despite her probably being too young to understand - it felt like she was bringing a bit of that magic into hers as well.
