Rory watched the clock very carefully. It was nearly the end of eighth period and she had not seen Sheena all day. Rory began to think of thousands of reasons why Sheena wasn't at school that day. She dreaded the bus ride home because she knew she would be sitting alone, staring out the window, and detaching herself from her surroundings. Lane gently poked Rory in the back with her pencil.

In a low voice Lane whispered in Rory's ear. "We're going to get a pizza today after school. Do you want to come with?"

Rory eased around in her seat. "I can't. I have homework."

"It'll only be for an hour or so." Lane replied.

Rory frowned. "It's a lot of homework."

"Fine." Lane said as she folded her arms.

"Sorry." Rory retorted. Her tone proved she wasn't sincere.

"It's cool." Lane shrugged. "You have homework."

Rory turned back around in her seat and gazed at the clock. Only five minutes left.

When Rory walked through the door that evening, she immediately picked up the phone. She began to dial the numbers, but quickly hung the phone up. Rory took a deep breath, and picked up the phone again. SLAM she threw it back onto the hook.

"What is my problem?" Rory asked herself. "Just call and ask how she is."

Once more Rory picked up the phone. She dialed all the numbers, and listened as the phone rang.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar voice answered.

"Is Sheena there?" Rory asked in a nervous voice.

"She's not." The voice replied. "May I take a message?"

Rory paused. "Can you just tell her that Rory called?"

"Yes, I will."

"Thanks." Rory replied and hung up the phone.

Rory lay on her bed for a moment and thought about the voice. It must have been her aunt. She sounded very sophisticated and classy. Rory imagined that she wore nice dress clothes and had an important job. As Rory continued with her day dreaming, Lorelai entered the bedroom.

"Hey, kiddo." Lorelai greeted with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Fine." Rory replied as she rolled over on her side.

"Aw, don't worry, sweetie. Just make it through one more day and then you'll be at Chilton." Lorelai comforted.

Chilton? Rory had forgotten all about Chilton! Suddenly, it occurred to her she wouldn't get to see Sheena anymore. Rory quickly turned over and faced her mother.

"Do I have to start next Monday?" Rory asked.

Lorelai smiled. "If it was up to me you would have started years ago, but trust me tomorrow will go by fast. The Friday night dinner after it however, will drag on for all eternity."

Rory sighed. "Actually, I was wondering if I could wait another week."

Lorelai was taken aback by Rory's response. "Not a funny joke, Ror." Lorelai replied. "You've done much better."

"I'm not joking." Rory stated.

"Why would you even think about waiting another week?"

"I just don't know if I'm ready yet. I'm still finishing up some work at Stars Hollow High." Rory said, trying to stay as far away as possible from the real reason.

"You're ready." Lorelai assured. "You were born ready. Besides, if we wait another week, we may lose your spot."

"I guess you're right."

Lorelai placed her hand on her daughter's face. "You're ready."

Later than evening Rory was studying for the last test she would ever take at Stars Hollow High School. The phone rang and Lorelai answered it.

"Just a sec." Lorelai replied into the phone. "Rory, you have a phone call."

Rory took the phone from her mother's hand. "Hello? Hey!" Rory exclaimed. "Just studying for a test. Where were you today?" Lorelai sat down on the couch and observed her daughter. "What kind of a meeting? No way! Really? Oh my God, that's so awesome. Did you get in? No way! Of course I'm still going. Yeah, I called you earlier, I guess I talked to your aunt."

Lorelai was stunned by her daughter's rapid mood change and odd reaction to the phone call. Rory glanced over at her mother and realized she was watching her, and listening to her conversation. Rory slowly stood up from the chair and walked into her bedroom, leaving a confused Lorelai sitting alone in the living room.

A few minutes later, Rory came strolling out of her bedroom. She walked over and grabbed her book.

"Hey, who was that?" Lorelai asked.

"On the phone?" Rory asked.

"Yeah." Lorelai quickly answered.

"Oh, that was Sheena." Rory replied. She turned and started back to her bedroom.

"Sheena who?" Lorelai's words halted Rory.

"Clark." Rory answered.

"Is she from Stars Hollow?" Lorelai asked.

"She just moved here." Rory replied, becoming more annoyed with every question.

"Really?" Lorelai continued. "That's odd. I haven't heard any gossip around town about a new family moving in."

"Mom, can we just drop it? I really need to study." Rory snapped.

"Okay." Lorelai answered softly. "Go study."