Chapter 11

While we were watching the Brady Brunch Varity hour, Rory's Harvard application came. The next day she was telling me how she was going to do her essay on Hilary Clinton.

"I don't think you should do it on Hilary, everyone and their sister is going to be doing it on Clinton you should do it on Mom, on Christiane Amanpour, or something original…."

"What do you know you're 12!" she shouted at me. I went to school, and made friend with another 7th grade art major, Gemma Whitman, she was kind of scattered brained. I thought I was a little off, but she was all kinds of crazy, but she was nice. She seemed familiar but I didn't recognize who played her, She was tiny, inches shorter than me, and just tiny she had auburn hair and hazel-green eyes. Her Mom was a Lawyer, and her dad was a doctor, but they supported her being an artist. She was an only child born after a lot of trying, her parents were older, in their 50s, and she was pretty spoiled but not the typical Hartford Rich spoiled, more like spoiled on love. She was nice. At Grandma's Grandma freaked out over Rory getting into Harvard, and then Rory freaked out into getting into Harvard when we got home. So we went to an alumnus house for Dinner. Meanwhile Taylor's campaigning for an Ice Cream shop. Luke and Jess stayed home it was just the three of us. they seemed like nice people, a little obsessed with the Ivy league though, but they were helping Rory so I forgave them that. They let me see their art, and I enjoyed that thoroughly, and then we went home We went to a town Meeting and Taylor had Luke over a barrel about the Ice Cream shop. The next day, Rory worked on their essays for their college applications.

"Jess you're going to college?" I asked

"Shh, don't tell anyone, my grades are good enough."

"You're not flunking out?"

"No, I've been working really hard since Rory tutored me. Not sure why I guess I just wanted to be good enough for her. I know you wanted us to be together."

"I never told you that."

"You weren't exactly subtle Quinn, I think the fact that you wanted me over Dean meant a lot."

"He has problems."

"No Kidding." Jess said. Dean had tried starting fights with Jess on two more occasions. He and the town were just used to it. He still had his job at Doose's, but his reputation in town as the good guy was pretty much gone. He hadn't started dating Lindsay yet, or anyone else. most girls at Stars Hollow High didn't want to risk it.

"I'm proud of you Jess." I said

Mom and Luke are talking at Stars Hollow High this week, and I'm working on a New Project photo college, with paint, and glass crystals all around it. It will be quite a sight when I'm done with it. But at the moment, JR and I were out and about with our cameras taking photos of townspeople, and of the town. We ran into Taylor.

"Hi, Taylor, can we take your picture?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm making a giant college of Stars Hollow, I'm trying to get good cross section of Townspeople in and it wouldn't be Stars Hallow with one of you…." I said honestly and It wouldn't.

He smiled at me. "All right…."

I took a picture of him in his Doose's Market Apron in front of his store. took pictures of Jackson, and Gypsy, and Miss Patty, and Andrew, and Kirk, and JR's Mom and Grandma at their restaurant and Sookie in her kitchen, and Babette and Morey, and reverend Skinner, and the Rabbi Barans, and Fran Westin, the cupcake Lady and several others. Then We took from establishing shots of the town. Then we Luke's and chili cheese fries.

After a few days, Rory admitted that Hilary Chilton was not the best choice, and decided to do it on Mom instead. How she raised us basically by herself, and filled our lives with books and music and became executive manager of the inn, and wanted her kids to have every opportunity the ones she did have as a kid, and the ones she didn't. Mom told me her talk went awkwardly how it was two minutes about her career and ten minutes about her life as a teen Mom. Weird.

Since Luke's been living with us, we have breakfast at the house, he makes us breakfast. And packs me, Rory, and Jess lunches, and we eat dinner at the diner, or have dinner all together at the house. He either has Caesar open or he opens and comes back, to make us all breakfast. Of course he made breakfast earlier than we used to eat but we all adjusted. It weird having food in the house that wasn't junk food, and not always eating at the diner, and at home he made the same things for everybody instead of three or four different things. Like Waffles and eggs, or pancakes and eggs, or just eggs, or French toast. Today we were having Waffles topped with berries and whipped cream. I enjoyed it, Rory enjoyed it Mom, complained. But it was good. I went to school. Our crazy neighbor convinced Mom to take care of his African Violets and his lawn. Luke told her he wouldn't help, because she's a sucker for doing it. But the truth is anyone in Stars Hallow would do stuff like that, it's a small weird town. Although I think Dwight's a jerk for taking advantage when he first moves in. You get to know people before you ask them for things like that. it's not like Mom wouldn't have done that for Babette for Miss Patty, or Sookie, but she knows them, and Dwight just assumed and none of them have an unnatural attachment to their lawns. I went to school, and it was the longest day known to man. I was actually surprised when it ended. I also seemed to have met my school's Bully, well the art section's 7th grade bully, because all despite having core classes the cliques just don't mingle. We're practically invisible to each other, well that's not true, the music, the dance, and drama kids mingle when they're not busy competing against each other, the art kids are pretty segregated from the rest. There's some mingling for the kids that are forced to take dance classes, or have some musical or acting ability but those are rare. Then there are kids like Gemma who do all the sets for the drama kids and have managed to make some friends in the drama department. The Bully's name was Rosalie Parker. She's mean and full of herself as if she's had art featured in the Whitney Biennial or something. And she criticizes everything everyone else does, and her stuff isn't even that good. She's not a teacher's pet as much as she tries to be and she's really obnoxious. No one likes her much. But there isn't much I can do.

At the town meeting, Taylor was obsessed with the town loaner who wanted to protest, the town turned on him saying that protesting was an American right, but he still said no. the church leaders, Reverend Skinner and Rabbi Barans agreed to let the town loaner protest at the church which is except from the town statutes, Taylor almost had a coronary it was funny. Not that I want Taylor to die or get hurt or anything it's just Taylor is such a pain in the butt to everyone all the time and when people needle him it's nice to see.

Today is Sherry's Baby shower. I don't really want to go. I didn't really like Sherry like at all, and I barely tolerated dad. I didn't see why I had to go. In addition to whatever My Mom and Rory got her, I did some small paintings, and a GiGi's room sign, they weren't hard. And they came out really cute. The party was horrible, I hated Sherry's drunken friends, and the stupid party games, and I really don't like Sherry all that much. I asked where dad was since coed showers were all the rage. That stopped the party cold for a whole two minutes I was proud. We were stuck at the party an extra hour, something to do with traffic. They sent us home with Devil eggs. We ended up Devil egging the Market, I'm not sure what justification my Mom and sister came up with but I enjoyed myself. The next day, the protest happened and then Jess teased us about egging the market. We then went on with our day, I met up with JR, she wrote, while I worked on a sculpture in our garage. On Monday School was the same as always I had Gemma to pal around with, the Drama and Dance kids ignored us, and Rosalie was making my life a living hell.

The Dance Marathon is going on. I don't stay up the whole time, take several naps, in the high school gym, and take photos throughout. JR takes pictures when I don't, and when I do. So the pictures are covered. My Mom and Rory looked Amazing, Andrew and his date got into a fight, Jackson was mad at Mom, because she thinks (so do I) that he wants four kids in four years. Luke is serving coffee for 75 cents a cup, Jess is watching in between naps, Miss Patty and Taylor are Emceeing and he's getting awfully punchy as the night wears on. Kirk ended up winning I have no idea why My Mom took it so seriously but then I had no idea why she took half the things she took so seriously. The next day Mom and Rory were moving all kinds of slow, and I was moving like I usually do. Luke made us all waffles, and then we all went to school. At school Rosalie is still her annoying self. I swear one day I'm going to put her down. You know the longer I'm here the farther away Q gets from me. It's weird I hardly ever think about her anymore, and I know I don't think like an adult anymore. I mean I still have the show's episodes in my head, and I'm still smarter than the average 7th grader but Ramona "Q' Quinn is almost completely gone. And I'm kind of glad. I like Quinn Gilmore better. It wasn't like I was suffering from low self-esteem as Q, at the time I liked myself but looking back I don't much like who I was then, It wasn't like I was a know it all or a bitch or something, I just I didn't have very many connections with people, I was very lonely, even if I didn't realize it at the time. And my art was really far too important to me, it was really the only thing in my life, I did have some friends, but they were more like business connections and acquaintances not like the connections and friends I've made here. And my family even though they did love me, didn't have the kind of devotion my family has here. On Friday Night dinner, Rory was tricked into going to Yale. I objected because I wanted to go to.

"Grandpa what about me, I want to see their Art department!" I said

He laughed "I would be delighted to show to you, Quinn." He said handing me a cholate. Later I told Rory about having preparing for an interview with the Dean when we go. She said is this one of your feelings. I nodded. Grandpa is bring sneaky. She nodded. And prepared herself. We went together. I also prepared my portfolio. We drove to Yale and Grandpa showed us around, we first went to the art department. I met with an art professor. Professor Samantha Wesson, she was around 10 years older than Mom. She liked my Portfolio and told me I'd be an exciting addition to Yale's art program when the time came. Then we saw Grandma and Grandpa's Bench, then Grandma's Button broke and Mom fixed it, then Rory had her visit with the dean which when much better than the first time because of her advice from me. Mom was furious but Rory was prepared.

"Grandpa why didn't you tell me, I would have done just because you asked me." She said and then we left, got tacos, and instead of a cab called Luke to come get us. He met us at the Taco stand, and drove us home.