Thanks for the feedback! A little Charlotte chapter

Charlotte drops a pile of papers on the desk.

"Done!"

Rory looks around from the computer screen with a smile. "Already?"

"Yup. Last year is over with."

"Good job, Girl Friday," Rory says approvingly. "You'll be thrilled to hear I have the backlog of January for you to check next."

"Fantastic."

"I think so. But how about we take a coffee break? I know I could use one."

Charlotte nods. Coffee is always a good idea and she says so, making her mother laugh.

"That's right. And I might have some double chocolate chip cookies snagged from Luke's to go with it."

Mother and daughter make the coffee in the minute office before heading back to the desk, Rory lifting her cup to Charlotte's.

"To my brand new high school student!"

"Mom, I'm not in high school yet," Charlotte corrects. "It's still summer!"

"Well, you practically are!"

Charlotte nods, feeling a little awkward. Hastily, she drinks from her cup and shrugs as Rory asks, "Are you excited?"

"Kind of."

"Are you nervous?" Rory asks knowingly and defensively Charlotte replies, "What's there to be nervous about?"

"Big change – new kids, new school…"

"It's the same kids and it's just a school," Charlotte says firmly. "It's fine."

Feeling her mother's eyes on her, Charlotte takes a large bite of cookie so as not to answer further. Rory drinks some coffee too before saying, "It's okay to be a little nervous."

"I'm fine!"

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying that if there was the tiniest chance you were a little scared it would totally make sense. There's older kids there and it's a bigger school, even if it's just a school, and sweets, any kind of change can be scary. I understand."

Charlotte takes a small sip of coffee before admitting, "Maybe I'm a tiny bit freaked out…just a tiny bit."

Charlotte doesn't elaborate but thinks back to what's been keeping her awake the past few nights. What if she can't find her classroom? What if everyone ignores her? What if something utterly humiliating happens, like getting her period? Charlotte would die. She knows she would die. She stares down into her murky cup and gently, her mother remarks, "I was a little nervous starting high school too."

"You were?" Charlotte looks up as Rory goes on, "A little. Just first day nerves."

"And was it scary?"

"The first day was a little, but it wasn't so bad either. I had Lane. The other kids teased me for actually studying but that was nothing new. Your nana teased me for asking if it would be like Saved By the Bell."

"What's that?"

"Some old show," Rory says with an embarrassed cough and shakes her head as Charlotte asks, "Was it?"

"It definitely wasn't."

"But…it was okay?"

"Mostly. The first day is always the worst. You'll be fine."

Charlotte nods, finishing her cookie, and is surprised as Rory adds, "I felt more nervous starting Chilton."

"But I thought you liked it there?"

"I did," Rory clarifies, "but it was still a big change and I didn't know how it was going to go. Let's just say the first day was a lot. The headmaster told me there was a good chance I'd fail, this guy kept calling me Mary and one girl hated me from the second she saw me."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Want to know the crazy part? The girl who hated me is your aunt Paris. I never imagined one day we'd be friends, let alone aunts to our kids."

Charlotte frowns, a little bemused, and asks, "So Chilton sucked?"

"No! Just the first day – the first few weeks, actually."

"Great." Charlotte's cup sags in her hands, the liquid threatening to spill, but Rory says encouragingly, "It got so much better after that though, I swear. I pulled through the scary start and then I loved it."

"So…you think I'll love it?"

"I don't know," Rory says honestly. "But I do know you'll be fine."

Charlotte isn't so sure about that but instead asks, "What does Mary mean?"

"Huh?"

"You said the guys called you Mary."

"Oh – they thought I looked innocent," Rory says, sounding embarrassed. "Like the Virgin Mary."

Charlotte isn't sure how to reply to that. She and Rory focus on drinking their rest of their coffee and Charlotte gratefully holds out her cup for a refill after her mother asks.

"Can I ask what's making you a tiny bit scared?" Rory asks softly. "Or is it just the whole thing?"

Charlotte looks at her coffee for a moment. Part of her wants to shrug it off, but it's kind of nice talking to Rory without her siblings, even if it does involve ultra boring inventory work for the day. Looking up, she says hesitantly, "I'm scared I won't be able to figure it out – find my classes, do the work. And Ivy is starting the week after me, and I don't want to go in by myself on the first day. It's stupid."

"Not stupid," Rory says, looking into her daughter's eyes. "Those are totally normal things to get freaked out about. But it's nothing we can't handle."

"It's not?"

"Hey, we're Gilmore girls. All we need is coffee and a can-do attitude."

Charlotte smiles at that. Her mother reminds her that they're looking around the school before classes start, to find the rooms, and even if Charlotte can't find them it's no big deal. And that she and Jess will help her with the work.

"I can't help with Ivy not being there," Rory finishes honestly. "I'm sorry, angel. I remember wishing Lane could be there at Chilton. But I got to see her after class or on weekends and after the first, sucky week Ivy will be back. It's okay."

Charlotte nods, hesitates, and says, "Mom…I don't want to get my period at school. I couldn't deal with that too."

Charlotte expects her mother to smile, but instead Rory puts an arm around her and says, "I get that. But you can bring some stuff with you, if you need it, and I swear it will be fine."

"Really?"

"I promise."

Charlotte exhales, feeling more relieved than she expected from telling her mother. They sit quietly for a second and finally Rory says, "Angel, your first year of high school might not be the best time. The first day will probably be kind of scary, but you'll get through it. And we're going to stay with Nana Lorelai the weekend after!"

"Yeah!" Charlotte smiles in spite of herself and Rory tucks some hair behind her ear.

"I can't believe my girl's going to high school."

"Mom…"

"My big girl's going to high school, my little girl's going into first grade and my son is starting middle school. You're growing up too fast – stop it!"

"I don't know if I feel grown up enough for high school," Charlotte admits and Rory kisses the top of her head.

"You are, I swear."

"Thanks," Charlotte says quietly. Rory finds her hand, giving it a squeeze, and Charlotte squeezes it back and leans onto her mother's shoulder for a moment. They sit in an easy silence, broken suddenly by the door opening and Jess coming in, Annie racing ahead.

"Mommy!"

"Girl Friday Junior!" Rory exclaims, opening her arms. "Hi, angel!"

Charlotte moves away from her mother and sister, a little stung. She was enjoying their conversation and shoves the new set of newspapers across the desk in frustration.

"Richie still at that birthday party?"

"Yup. Just the daughters today," Jess says, giving Rory a quick kiss before turning around. "Hi Charlotte. How's the journalism gig treating you?"

"Hi," Charlotte says in a small voice. "Fine."

She resists turning around, knowing that her parents will be giving each other that look when they think something's going on.

"Glad to hear it," Jess says. "How about a coffee break?"

Charlotte doesn't comment that she just had one and Rory nods at the suggestion.

"Fine with the boss. Go hang out with your dad."

Charlotte follows Jess outside, lagging slightly in the heat. She shrugs at his suggestion of where to go, and they meander towards the marina.

"Good morning?"

"It was okay," Charlotte says simply. She doesn't want to talk about what she shared with Rory, but all the same her father says, "Big week, huh? High school soon and all that."

Are the glances he and her mother have telepathic? Suspiciously, Charlotte says, "I guess." Her father smiles, pointing out an empty bench by the water, which Charlotte takes as her father buys the drinks. Bringing the coffee over, he asks, "You feeling okay about the new school?"

"Kind of…"

Jess nods, sipping his drink and remarking, "I hated high school. I hated it in New York and I hated it in Stars Hollow."

Charlotte waits for a moment and then asks, "Did it ever become okay?"

"No," Jess says honestly. Charlotte sinks against the bench, feeling a little freaked out, and her father must notice because he quickly adds, "It just wasn't the right place for me."

"What if it's like that for me?"

"Then we'll figure out something else. I figured things out after school."

"I don't want to hate it," Charlotte says, her lip starting to tremble. "But what if it's the worst?"

"Hey," Jess says gently, "That was me. You're you, and so far, you've had a blast with school. Your mom loved school too."

"But it's a new school."

"I get that. But you're you, and I think you'll find a place there. It might be kind of scary at first, that stuff always is, but it'll be okay. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"You just said you hated high school!"

"I know," Jess sighs. "Listen – I think you'll find your way with it, I do. I really do. But if it's too much and you really hate it, you've got me and your mom, and we're here, Charlotte. You know that, right? We're always here."

Charlotte looks across at the bright blue water before saying, "I'm scared I can't do it."

"Now that," Jess says seriously, "is something I know will be okay. You can do anything. I mean it."

Charlotte feels a little better. She and her father finish their coffee, looking out at the water, before walking slowly back. The rest of the afternoon passes steadily, Charlotte and Rory working their way through the backlog, until finally Rory says they should head back. Charlotte watches her mother lock up before saying, "Dad said I can do anything."

Rory turns around, a proud smile on her face, and says, "He's right." Her smile fades as she sees the uncertainty in Charlotte's eyes and asks, "What is it, sweets?"

"What if Dad's wrong?" Charlotte blurts out. "What if I'm not smart enough or it's too scary and I mess up?"

"Charlotte."

Hot tears spill down Charlotte's cheeks as she sobs out, "I don't want to mess up."

"Come here."

Charlotte lets Rory hold her for a few moments. Kissing her cheek, her mother steps back and says, "I've messed up. It's okay."

"You think I will?" Charlotte asks, panicked, and Rory quickly shakes her head.

"No. What I mean is, it's okay if you don't figure it out at first. You can do anything but you don't have to do it perfectly. I used to beat myself up so much if I didn't do so well on a test or a report and then when I actually did drop out of college for a while, I think it's because I couldn't handle feeling unsure. Maybe if I'd cut myself more of a break before it wouldn't have got to that point."

"Really?"

"Maybe," Rory says slowly. "There was a lot going on."

Charlotte wants to ask more but instead her mother looks into her eyes and says, "You can do this, Charlotte. And if you can't, and I'm not saying you will, you'll figure it out. Your dad and I will get you there, and your nana too."

Charlotte sniffles, feeling a little lighter as she asks, "Nana Lorelai too, huh?"

"You know she will. You're her namesake but mostly, she loves you more than anything. We all love you, and you've got it. You're going to do fine."

"Because I'm a Gilmore?"

"That, but because you're you. You can do this, Charlotte."

Charlotte nods, hugging her mother tightly and laughs as her mother adds, "There might be a deer hitting you along the way, but that might just be me."

"What?"

"I'll tell you. Come on."

Charlotte feels herself relax as they walk back, hearing the tale of the crazy deer, her mother losing it in class but eventually finding her way. She'll find hers, she knows. She'll make it her own.