Anna was looking through her things, because it was that time of year again, the annual Star Hollow charity rummage sale. "You better be doing better than mom. We agree to each donate a box of clothes this year." Rory came in to check on her.

"Oh yeah," She nods to the box on her bed.

"There are three pairs of socks in here." She picked up a thermal sock.

"They're terrible. They have small rubber dots on the bottom to stop you from slipping on the floor, but they hurt your feet." Anna explains why they were in the box. Rory drops the sock back in the box with an unimpressed face. "I know it's better than mom. She probably has nothing in her box."

"This box better be overflowing in an hour." She pointed down at the box before going back to check on their mom.

"I haven't worn you a while." She pulled out a black top from her closet that had faded red luscious lips with fangs sticking out of them. The words bite me underneath the lips. "But, that is not fair to you, since I have to wear a uniform five days of the week. We have had a lot of good times." The shirt was faded for a reason. Honestly, it should be thrown away since it had a few holes in it. "Ah, you'll make some punk rocker happy." She folded it up and put it in the box.

Her mom ran into her room. "You better hurry up and fill that box or Rory will do it for you. She just blindly took a big chunk of my closet." She ran out of the room to go back to hers to make sure Rory didn't take anymore.

"Oh my god," Anna started to throw all the things that she wouldn't change into that second into the box.


When Lorelai first told them she was hosting the rummage sale this year, Anna was over the moon. She loved the rummage sale. She always found hidden treasures there, like Miss. Patty's pink dress. She thought she would be able to get first dibs on everything. Now that their house was overflowing with rejected crap that they had to organize she wasn't so thrilled. To shop at the rummage sale and to organize it were two different things.

"Sweater?" Rory pulls the item out of a garbage bag.

"Over here." Lane put her hands up.

Rory throws it to her. "Jeans?" She pulled it out.

"In the back of you," Lane points to the pile behind Rory.

"I hope people wash these clothes before using them." Anna looks at all the clothes that somehow end up on the floor.

"I would hope people know to wash whatever they get at a rummage sale." Lane said.

"A big furry purple thing that could be a hat, a toilet paper cover, or some kind of dirty hand puppet," Rory held a weird fluffy purple object.

"Mystery box over here," Anna put her hands up to catch it and put it in the box.

Luke enters with a garbage bag in one hand and a paper bag in the other. "Hey."

"Hey Luke," They wave to him.

"Where do you want these?" He held the bags up.

"What do you have?" Anna asked.

"Clothes, rags…." He held up the paper bag. "...and some old pots and pans" He held up the garbage bag.

"Kitchenware can go in the kitchen and the clothes can go right over there." Rory points to the pile of bags that they didn't sort through yet.

"Ok." He put the bag of clothes down before heading to the kitchen.

Lorelai came down the stairs and gave Rory a hand full of clothes, "Here Grinch."

"Thank you." She began to sort through it.

"Who wants cheese?" Lorelai asks the room.

"Are there crackers?" Rory asks.

"Somewhere in the state of Connecticut, yes there are crackers." She nods.

"And the Gilmore house?" Anna knew they had crackers last night.

"Who wants cheese?" She looks over at Lane.

"Me, please." Lorelai nodded and went into the kitchen. "Um, kittens in the toilet poster?" Lane held up a framed poster of kittens in a toilet.

"Another one? And this one is framed, why?" Anna was starting to get worried about the people in this town.

"This one is also signed." Lane points at the bottom corner. Anna took it and put it next to the other two posters.

"Ah! There is a man in my kitchen, somebody calls the constable." Lorelai screams from the kitchen.

Luke came back into the living room to tell them, "You're mom's a fruitcake."

"Fruitcakes by the door please," She ran up from behind him.

"Goodbye Rory, Anna. I wish you luck..." He looks at Lorelai. "...with everything."

"I appreciate that." Rory nods. He walks out keeping his glare on the woman that gave him a scare.

"Ok, so rummage sale's Sunday, today is Tuesday. At this rate, we are going to be sleeping in the yard by Thursday." Lorelai looked around her house that was looking more chaotic than usual. "We have got to start getting some of this stuff out of the living room." She threw a few slices of cheese at Lane.

"Hello?" Taylor walked in holding two paper bags.

"Go away." Lorelai whines.

"I have a full set of dishes." He told them.

"Come on in Taylor." Rory waved him in.

"Oh, um, dishes in the kitchen please." Lorelai faced him, not wanting him to mix the dishes up with the other things.

"Ok, but I have to explain something first." He put the two bags down.

"Fine, go ahead." She nods.

"The butter dish has a small chip in it." He explains.

"Safety tip. Got it," She points at him.

"It's fine. I filed down the chip and if you place it strategically on the table, nobody will ever know." He went into more detail.

"Uh, Taylor, would you like to write out some sort of instruction manual to go with the dishes?" She knew the neurotic man wouldn't be at peace and leave her alone unless he felt like his dishes were in good hands.

"Oh, could I?" He sighs in relief.

"Notepad's in the kitchen." She points him in the right direction. He picked up his bags and walked into the kitchen. "Ooh, that's nice." She grabs a jean jacket from the bag that Luke brought in.

"Put that back," Rory demands. Anna went over to sit next to Lane on some boxes to have a cheese break and watch.

"But it has rhinestones on it." She lifts it for Rory to see.

"The point of this is to get crap out of here, not to trade it in for new crap." She reminds her mom.

"Ok, are you seeing this?" She put it in front of Rory's face.

"Yes, I am." She lowered her mom's arms.

"No, I don't think you are, because if you were seeing this, you would see that this has Lorelai written all over it." She put it up against her, so Rory could see how good she would look in it.

"Fine, we'll just get rid of it at next year's sale." Rory sighs.

"Thank you." Lorelai nods.

Sookie came in and took off her coat, "Ok, you guys are going to love me."

"We already love you," Lorelai told her.

"No, I mean you're going to love me." She threw her purse and coat to the side.

"We do." Anna nods.

"Trust me you guys are going to love me so much." She walks up to them.

"Ok, the love is starting to fade now, Sookie." Lorelai teases.

"I have here in my hand, as requested by Ms. Lorelai Gilmore, five fabulous tickets to the Bangles at the Pastorella theater on Saturday!" She waved around the tickets she had in her hand.

"What?" Lorelai shouts.

"No?" Rory was in disbelief.

"Oh my god, I'm finally going to see the woman that I was named after." Susanna cheers.

"Do you love me?" Sookie asks.

"Oh baby, do I!" Lorelai smiled.

"Are these good seats? These look like good seats." Lane grabs the tickets to look them over.

"9th row," Sookie pointed to the spot on the tickets that said so.

"I can't believe you got me my tickets! How did you score these?" Lorelai was joking when she requested these. She never thought that Sookie would actually get them.

"Remember the Birnbaum wedding?" Sookie reminds her of the wedding that they had at the Inn a while back.

"Fiji fantasy?" Lorelai nods.

"Yes. They were so thrilled with the volcano wedding cake that they wanted to do something nice for me and since Mr. Birnbaum runs a ticket agency and I knew you were dying to go, so I asked him if he could…" Sookie points at the tickets that were still in Lane's hands.

"Make five girls very happy." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah and he did!" Sookie was bouncing with excitement.

"Huzzah for the Birnbaums!" Lorelai cheers.

"Hey Sookie, if you got five tickets that means there's you, Lorelai, Rory, and Anna and that means…" Lane had been counting the tickets over and over.

"Hmm, one for you!" Sookie smiled. Lane pulled her into a hug. "Oh, chickadee!" Sookie cheers.

"This is going to be a very special night. And you know what a very, very special night deserves?" Lorelai asks.

"What?" Sookie asks.

"A new outfit!" She picked up a pink mini dress.

"Mom," Rory and Anna shouted.

"Yes." She put it up against herself.

"No." Her daughters shook their heads.

"What could the problem be?" Lorelai sighs.

"This is the tackiest…" Rory started.

"That something a washed-up cougar would wear." Anna took it from her hands and threw it back down.


"As I mentioned yesterday, we will be holding a debate next week. Your subject is did Charles the First receive a fair trial? The pros will represent the parliament who deemed they had sovereignty and the cons will represent the monarch and try to prove that the charge against him was not legal. What is fascinating, Mr. Dugray?" Ms. Caldecott glared at the blonde who was staring at his girlfriend.

"Uh, nothing Ms. Caldecott," He shook his head. He knew he was caught staring, but he couldn't help it. All-day, Anna had this goofy smile on her face and a far off look in her eye like she was daydreaming. A look that she only got when he did something romantic or they had a big date planned. He knew that neither was the reason for the lovesick sigh she was letting out today. It made him a nervous wreck. He kept thinking that some small-town boy who could connect to her more than he could sweep her off her feet.

"Nothing, Mr. Dugray," She would like to think she engagingly taught the subject.

"My notes... my notes are fascinating, Ms. Caldecott." He points down to his paper.

"Yes, they are fascinating, Mr. Dugray. As I was saying, the pro and con teams will each have two minutes and 30 seconds for introductions, six minutes to debate, three minutes for conclusions, and five minutes for questions from the audience. The winner shall be decided by a hand count from the rest of the class. Does that sound like fun, Mr. Dugray?" The teacher singled him out again when he went right back to staring at Anna.

"What?" He looks back at Ms. Caldecott.

"The debate, does it sound like fun?" She repeated her question.

"Yes, it does?" He said it like a question.

"It does, doesn't it Mr. Dugray?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, it absolutely does Ms. Caldecott." He said with more enthusiasm.

"More fun than staring at Miss Gilmore's ear?" Her naming being called and being pointed at pulled Anna out of her daydreams.

"Yes, Ms. Caldecott." Tristan sighs. She looked over to her right where he was seated, but he was staring at his notes.

"Yeah, I think so too. Ok, any questions?" When no one raised their hand, she went on. "Good, I'll assign your teams." She began putting people in groups of three. "You, You, You, pro" She pointed at Rory, Paris, and Madeline. She made another group of cons. "You, you, you, pro." She pointed at Anna, Tristan, and Louise. She thought about switching them around since Tristan was distracted by Anna, but she already had it work out by seating.

"Excuse me, Ms. Caldecott?" Paris stood up.

"Miss Geller?" She turns to address her.

"I wasn't sure who you pointed to just now." She was hoping that she wasn't in a group with Rory.

"Oh, uh, let's see: You, Miss Lynn, and Miss Gilmore." She pointed at them again.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes I am, but thank you for asking. Ok, you, you, and you, pro. You, you and you, con." She went back to assigning groups.

"Sorry, Rory," She pats her sister's shoulder.

Madeline, Rory, Anna, Louise, Paris, and Tristan were standing outside the classroom. They were on different teams, but since they were both pro, they figured they could all work together. "So, I guess we should make a plan," Rory said.

"To do what," Madeline asked. Anna wondered how much money her parents had to bribe admissions to let her into Chilton.

"To work out our debate Madeline," Paris glares at her oblivious friend.

"Oh, yeah right." She nods.

"We need a place to work." Louise turns to Anna and Tristan.

"My house is out." Paris looked down at her feet.

"Why?" Anna asked.

"Because it is," She snapped.

"You need a reason." She pushed.

"My mother is having the entire place redone. She wants all evidence of my father out of there. So unless you want to sit on no furniture, while watching three Harvey Fierstein impersonators rip up the carpet and paint everything a ridiculous shade of white and call it angel's kiss then we're going to have to find somebody else's house to go to." Paris glares at the girl that had her crush's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Alright," Anna smiles at her. She was still bitter about what Paris did to her mother.

"My brother has the measles," Madeline told them.

"My mom's having an affair," Louise said.

"My dad is having his mistress over since my mom is visiting her sister." Tristan took his house out of the equation.

"Well, so is Rory, so we can't go to our house either," Anna said, making Rory throw her pen at her.

"I guess we can go to my house. I mean, we're having a town rummage sale so it's kind of a mess, but it's there." Rory offers.

"Isn't your house kind of far?" Louise asked.

"It's thirty minutes away by bus." Anna knew that would make them not want to come.

"Bus?" Madeline whined.

"I don't ride buses." Louise shook her head.

"Oh such privilege," Anna glares.

"Well, if you have a better suggestion..." Rory didn't see any other option.

"I'll drive." Paris sighs.

"Ok, so tomorrow?" Rory sighs.

"Tomorrow," Madeline nods.

"Fine," Anna sighs.

"Fine," Louise nods.

"Great, come on." Tristan pulled Anna away from the group. "So, you got any plans?"

"No, why do you have some for me? Is that why you were staring at me in class?" She pulled away to give a playful twirl.

"No, I was staring because you had this goofy daydream look on your face. So what's on your mind? Did you have a wet dream about me?" He leaned down to whisper in her ear. He was joking, but he needed to know. He had to get rid of the tightness in his chest.

"That's right, I forgot to tell you. I'm going to see the woman I'm named after." She told him.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"Susanna Hoffs, she sings and plays guitar in The Bangles. Sookie was able to get concert tickets." She let out another lovesick sigh.

"That's great." He pulls her into a tight hug. He was relieved that it was a band and not another guy.


"Tomorrow," Rory told Lane about everyone coming over to their house.

"Wow." Lane gasps.

"Yup," Anna nods.

"All three of them, huh," She wouldn't want her three bullies coming to her house at once or at all.

"Double, double toil and trouble," Anna said as they entered Kim's yard.

"Well, it should make for an interesting afternoon." She tried to look on the bright side for them.

"With the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes." Rory gave another quote.

"You guys are doing very well in the Shakespeare class aren't you?" Lane noticed that a lot of Shakespeare references were coming up lately.

"Not bad," Anna told her.

"Good." She nods.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Rory wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

"We'll go in and ask her if I can go to a play tomorrow night with you guys and Lorelai." Lane gave them the game plan.

"A play?" Rory arch an eyebrow.

"I think that's the safest word. Show or concert would be very bad." Lane told them the no-no words.

"What about saying it's a movie?" Anna asked.

"Too far from the truth, almost a lie," She shook her head.

"But a play is not a lie?" Rory narrows her eyes.

"Well, it's far away from the truth that it might work but close enough to the truth that I think I can negotiate a purgatory stint if forced to," Lane explains to them.

"Play it is." The sisters nodded.

"Ok, we're going in." Lane led them inside her house. They watch as Mrs. Kim negotiated a deal with a man over a chair. "She just made a sale, now is a good time." She whispers to them before walking over to her mom, "Hi mama."

"What's wrong?" She asked when she saw how red her cheeks were.

"Nothing," Lane got nervous that her mom could already tell that something was up.

"You look flushed." She leaned in closer.

"I do?" Lane touches her cheeks.

"You eat candy?" She asked.

"No." She shook her head.

"Doughnut," She went on to the next fatty food she knew Lane liked.

"No." She shook her head.

"Hostess fruit-pie," She asked.

"No, nothing, I'm fine." She needs the interrogation to stop.

"Hello, Mrs. Kim." The Gilmore girls greeted her.

"Rory, Anna." She gave them a look of acknowledgment before turning back to Lane.

"Mama, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lane asked.

"I'm busy." She points to the clipboard she had in her hand.

"I know, I was just wondering if I could go somewhere tomorrow with Rory, Anna, their mom." She had to ask now before she lost her nerve.

"Tomorrow is church." Mrs. Kim began writing a letter to say that the chair was old for the man that was buying it.

"This would be after church." She told her.

"After church, we think about what we heard in church." She continued to write. Anna found yet another impressive thing about the woman. She couldn't talk and write at the same time, especially if it was about two different topics.

"Well, I thought I could think about what I heard in church on the way to the show." The last word made Mrs. Kim look up from her clipboard.

"Show?" She narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"Play," Rory corrected.

"Not show, play, it's a play mama." Lane corrected herself. Anna didn't understand what made a play so much more holy than a show. Has Mrs. Kim never heard about Rent, Phantom of the Opera, or Chicago?

"Tell me about this play. What's it about?" She was suspicious now.

"Ok, well, it's about a group of people who own instruments and stand in front of other people holding them." Lane realized now that she didn't think this through.

"What?" She asked. Rory and Anna shook their head at how bad she was doing.

"I'm not sure what it's about." Lane bought herself more time.

"We could find out." Rory jumped in.

"You find out, and then we talk." Mrs. Kim told her.

"Excuse me. I'd like that letter if you don't mind." The man buying the chair came over to tell her.

"Yes, I'm coming." She walked away with him.

"How's that purgatory negotiation looking?" Anna teased.

"Not good." Lane hangs her head.

"What do we do now?" Rory sighs.

"I'll ask again later." Lane needs some time to think about the made-up play anyways.

"Well, call me if you need anything," Rory told her.

"Thanks, I will." She nods.

The sisters walk out to meet their mom at Luke's. They smiled when they saw the rummage sale sign was up in his window. They walked in and took a seat at the counter. "If you want coffee, you'll have to wait." Luke walks over to take their order.

"Hey Luke, someone put a sign for the rummage sale up in your window over there." Rory points to the door.

"You can have decaf right now if you're in a hurry." He kept his head down while talking to them.

"You should call the cops about this. I mean we all know how you feel about public displays of town affection." Lyn smirks at her boss.

"Your mom asked me to put it there, okay?" He looked up at them with a tired expression.

"And you said yes?" Their eyebrows went up that he would give in that easily.

"She's not real good with no." He could still feel the headache from this morning of her following him around badgering him to put the sign up in the window.

"No, she's not." Rory smiled.

"For every second you laugh at me, that's one second longer you're waiting for coffee," Luke told them.

"Sorry, no laughing." They push their lips together to stop it from coming out.

Lorelai walks in with a brown cowboy that has black cow spots on it. She took a seat next to them on the counter. "Margaret Atworthy just dropped off three boxes of city council pot holders and begged me to take her grandson. People are getting crazy. What?" She asked when she saw their stares.

"What are you wearing?" Rory asked.

"Hey, we have already argued about the sweatshirt." She pointed at the shirt she was wearing.

"Yes, but we have not argued about the hat." Anna looks up at the tacky thing on her head.

"What hat?" She asks like she didn't know what she had on her head.

"The one on your head, Annie Oakley," Rory wanted to snatch it off.

"It's great isn't it?" She smiles.

"Was it a part of some kids Halloween costume?" Anna asked.

"No kid's head is this big." Lorelai playful rolls her eyes.

"As nice as it is that you're single-handedly trying to rebuild the bridge, you have got to stop buying up other people's junk." Rory sighs. At this rate, there would be nothing for the rummage sale.

"The money goes to charity. I look cute. Case closed. Oh finally, the coffee cavalry arrives." She was happy to see Luke holding a pot of coffee.

"What the hell do you think you're wearing?" Luke glares at her.

"A hat," She nods.

"Take that off." He yells.

"What?" Lorelai asks. Anna and Rory's eyes widen, never seeing Luke angry before. He would grumble and get annoyed, but not truly angry like he was now.

"Now that is not yours, take it off." He points a finger at her.

"But I'll have hat hair." She didn't see why he was so mad about the hat. He wore that baseball hat all the time.

"I'm talking about the sweatshirt." He points to the shirt she was wearing.

"Luke calm down." She put her hands up.

"That is not yours." He repeats.

"No, I found it in the bags of stuff for the sale." She explains. It was impressive how she didn't get angry or scared. She kept calm while Luke yelled at her for no reason.

"Oh, so you just find something and then you take it, is that it?" He waved his hand around.

"No, I paid for it." She wanted to point out that paying for it made it hers, but the man was acting crazy and holding a pot of hot coffee.

"Oh, so that makes it alright?" He scoffs.

"It makes it legal. What is the matter with you?" She was done taking abuse from him and not even knowing why.

"Nothing, nothing is the matter." He yells, contradicting what he was saying.

"Luke…" She didn't want him to leave anger.

"Pour your own coffee." He put the coffee pot down on the counter and went into the back.

"Maybe, he didn't mean to give it to the rummage sale." Anna stares at the door he went through.


It is Saturday, the day of their debate meeting and the concert. It was also the last weekend before the rummage sale, so people were dropping off a ton of stuff. The furniture in the living room wasn't visual anymore. It took Anna an hour to uncover the table for them to work on.

Anna came downstairs wearing a pair of gray cotton drawstring shorts and a white tank top. "That's what you're wearing when Paris comes over." Rory would have thought her sister would go over the top with her outfit to prove they weren't better than her. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a jean jacket herself. Not over the top, but presentable.

"Hey, it's Saturday and we are staying at home. They're lucky I put a bra on." She rolls her eyes.

"Lorelai, sweetheart would you come outside, please? I want to know where you want me to put these." Ms. Patty yelled from the front door.

"Coming Patty!" Anna ran out of the door. She saw Ms. Patty standing in front of a pair of big drums. She was disappointed that there weren't any bags of clothes like last year.

Lorelai came out from behind her when Rory demanded she follows Anna out to make sure she didn't take all of Ms. Patty things for herself. "Wow, huh. These are great. They'll come in handy when we finally organize that giant marching band we've been talking about." She looks down at the drums.

"I danced on these drums at the Copacabana in 1969." She told them.

"Wow." Lorelai and Anna smile.

"Yeah, it was a great act. I wore bananas." She smiles.

"Just Bananas?" Anna liked tales of Ms. Patty's exotic shows. She was daring and sexy in a time where women were told to be modest or no man would want them.

"Oh please, tell me you have a picture of that." The next time Lorelai went to the dance studio she would take another look on the wall of all her pictures.

"A lot of memories happened on these drums. But, I guess it's time to move on." She stared down fondly at the drums.

"Yeah, sure, now you'll finally have room for the enormous tuba you've had your eyes on." Lorelai teases. Miss Patty gave her a look that said it was too soon. "Just leave… leave these here." Miss Patty walked back into the house with Anna on her heels. Lorelai walked back inside as well.

Rory put her arm up to stop Anna from following the older woman. "Yeah, you too, bye," She hangs up the phone. "That was Lane." She turned to Anna and her mom who was now standing behind her sister.

"Oh, and what's the verdict?" Lorelai asked.

"She decided to be stupid and tell her mother the truth. That she wanted to go to a rock concert with us tonight in New York." Rory crossed her arms over her chest.

"Stupid." Anna sighs.

"Stupid." Lorelai agrees. "I'm so sorry." She knew how much the girls wanted Lane to be there.

"I'm making coffee." Rory grabs Anna's arm to pull her to the kitchen.

"Why can't you let me get some of Miss. Patty's stuff? I gave half my closet away." She whines.

"Drink your coffee, you'll need it." She hands her a mug. Anna sighs but takes it anyway.

"Girls, I think your friends are here," Lorelai yells. They went over to the living room window that their mom was standing in front of. They saw Paris, Madeline, and Louise getting out of an expensive-looking car. Tristan was getting out of his equally expensive car that was parked next to Paris's. "She must be one great babysitter to earn enough money for that car." She jokes.

"Let's just get this over with." Rory sighs.

"Take heart, my dears. Suffer today, party tonight." Lorelai smiles at them. They walk over to open the door for their Chilton peers. "Hey." She greets them.

"Hi," Louise said like it pained her.

"Hi." Madeline waves with a smile.

"Come one, come all." She waved for her daughter's classmates to come in. Anna and Rory lead them into the living room.

"So did you guys find it okay?" Rory asked.

"There's no sign on this street," Paris told them.

"What does it matter, you were following me," Tristan said, making her shut up instantly.

"Everybody this is my mom." Rory introduced her.

"Lorelai," She smiles at the pity girls despite the hell they put her daughters through.

"This is Louise, Madeline, and Paris. You heard a lot about them." Anna wanted to make it clear to these girls that they weren't welcome. Paris glared at her while Louise and Madeline had the decency to look ashamed.

Lorelai clears her throat, not wanting there to be a hair-pulling fight in her house. "Ah, very good girl-group names…. Okay, so, um sorry about the house of horrors here. Some crazy lady volunteered to lead this charity thing and we're trying to get her some help, so make yourselves comfortable. Rory just yells when you guys want pizza."

"Okay." Rory nods.

"Okay." Lorelai went upstairs.

"So, do you guys want to work here or in the kitchen?" Rory was trying to be polite.

"Whatever." Paris sighs.

"We'll work in the living room, I already cleared the table." Anna led them into the living room. They sat around the table on the floor. Paris and Rory were on one side. Anna and Tristan were on the other. Madeline was at the head of the table while Louise took the foot of it.

"Okay, so here's how it should go. Madeline will do the introductions, I'll handle the debate, Rory will do the conclusion and we'll take turns with the questions." Paris got right down to business. She wanted to get this over with, so she could get out of this hell hole.

"Why do you automatically get to handle the debate?" Rory asks.

"Because, I'm the most experienced at it," Paris pulled out a bunch of books she brought with her on the topic.

"Trust me. You want her to handle the debate. She never gives up." Madeline never saw Paris lose an argument.

"Le pitbull," Louise teased before looking over at her group. "How do you guys want to do this?"

"I will handle the debate," Tristan volunteers.

"I'm fine with either the introduction or the conclusion." Anna left it up to Louise.

"I'll do the introduction." She got up to look at the things for the rummage sale. "So what is all this stuff?" She picked up a purple dress.

"Uh, it's for a big town rummage sale," Anna told her.

"Like a charity thing?" Madeline asks.

"Yeah, there's this old bridge that's completely falling apart and the town's trying to save it," Rory explains.

"Oh, cool hat." Louise picks up a top hat.

"Put that down. It's used." Paris orders.

"Vintage dear," She put it on.

"Filthy darling," She rolls her eyes as she opens up her binder to her notes.

"There's this great store under my therapist's office that has the best vintage clothes. I found an original Pucci top for practically nothing." Madeline brags.

"Oh, Pucci is very big right now." Louise points at her friend for a good find.

"Is this a Pucci?" She held up a pink shirt.

"No, that's a Patty," Rory told her.

"You said that Patty didn't drop off any clothes this year." Anna glares at her sister.

"That's because every year you buy everything you can from her. You can't even use it anywhere. You still haven't worn that cancan dress or the cheer uniform you got last year." Rory points out.

"Oh, she wore the cheer uniform. That was a fun night." Tristan sighs as he stares up at the ceiling. Anna stuck her tongue out at Rory who was pretending to throw up.

"A Patty?" Louise asks.

"Miss Patty. She's a dance teacher here. These are some of her old costumes." Anna got up to look through the box. "Oh Malfoy, you can take me dancing." She picks up a purple sequin dress and puts it up against herself while she twirls around.

"Sure, right when I find a disco." He rolled his eyes.

"You tease, but there is a dance marathon coming up in town and they haven't announced the theme yet." She winks.

"Can we just work please?" Paris glares. She was the only one taking notes.

"Ah, you're lucky, Anna. I would love to have a boyfriend that looked like Tristan." Louise batted her eyelashes at him.

"You hear that you're lucky." He winks at her. Anna rolls her eyes.

"Your boyfriend's no slouch either." Madeline nods to Rory.

"No, he's not." She looks down at her notes.

"Oh yes, 6'2 and feisty. So, how's that going? Are you two still Joanie loves Cha-Chi?" Louise teases.

"God, I hope not." Rory laughs.

"You are still together aren't you?" Madeline wonders.

"Yeah, we're still together." Rory nods.

"How long has it been?" Louise asks.

"I don't know." She shrugs.

"You do too," Madeline smiled.

"About a month," Rory was surprised that Dean was still here when he realized all she likes to do is read and watch movies.

"Oh, lifers," Louise coos.

"Hey!" Paris slams her book shut. She was upset that her friends were getting along with her enemy.

"Jeez." Madeline glares at her.

"We have a debate to organize here and this conversation is quickly veering towards the subject of French kissing and glitter eye shadow, trashy or trendy? And I for one have no intention of being humiliated in front of the whole class because we were forced to study in the middle of a carnival and you two couldn't keep your eye on the prize! I want to win and I'm going to win." Paris lectures them. She opens her textbook back up. Anna moves to sit back down next to Tristan.

"So how good of a kisser is Paul Bunyan anyway?" Louise asks, making all the girls except Paris giggle.


"We'll need the actual quotes so learn them by heart," Paris instructed them.

"What about using note cards?" Madeline asks.

"Note cards look sloppy. We will know our information." She rejects the idea.

"But the other teams will use note cards." She whines.

"And the other team will lose." She reasons.

Louise passed her a note to her group members, saying they were going to use note cards. Tristan and Anna nod yes in agreement.

"Bye girls and Tristan. Rory, Anna, see you tonight!" Sookie came down the stairs and walked out the door.

"Bye Sookie." The girls smiled as they waved.

"What's tonight?" Louise asks, sensing the excitement in the room.

"We've got tickets to see the Bangles at the Pastorella theatre." Rory points to herself and Anna.

"In New York," Madeline leaned in to ask.

"Yeah," She nods.

"Sounds potentially not boring," Louise looks up from her notes.

"It's going to be great actually and the seats are amazing." Rory was excited to go to her first concert.

"Who are you guys going with?" Madeline plays with her highlighter.

"My mom and Sookie," Anna told them.

"You're kidding?" Louise's jaw dropped. Madeline and she share a look of disbelief.

"What?" Anna and Rory shared a confused look.

"You're going to a concert with your mom?" She asks.

"Of course, she introduced us to the Bangles. She named me after a member. I couldn't imagine going without her." Anna shrugs. She always knew that her first concert would be with her mom.

"You're named after a band member." Paris pulled a face. Anna chose to ignore it because she was having a good time with Louise and Madeline.

"I think it's pretty cool." Louise smiles at her. Anna smiles back.

"I cannot imagine doing anything like that with my mom." Madeline shook her head.

"We do stuff like this all the time," Rory told them.

"Really?" Madeline couldn't wrap her head around going to a concert with your mom.

"Yeah, they do." Tristan nods. He found it odd too, but seeing how they interact at movie nights made him realize this is how a parent-child relationship should be.

"Wow." She gasps.

"Hey, how old is your mom anyway?" Louise asks.

"32." Rory answers.

"Young," Madeline was amazed by that.

"So that means she had you when she was…" Louise looked up as she did the math.

"16. She had her when she was 16. We've done the math, can we just ooh and aah about this quickly and get back to work?" Paris snaps.

"16. I'm 16." Louise looks down at her lap.

"So am I." Madeline smiled.

"We're all 16, okay. Everybody in this room is 16." Paris slammed her hand down.

"Paris is right. We should work." Rory looked back at her notes. She hated when the subject of their mom having them at 16 came up. It always made her feel like she ruined her mom's life, even though Lorelai always insisted that she made it better.

"Thank you." Paris nods. Anna raises an eyebrow, thinking that maybe the girl did have a heart in there.

"I can't imagine having a baby at 16." Louise stared down at her lap.

"Well, then keep your knees shut." Paris was annoyed that she brought it back up.

"Very nice," She shot her a dark look.

"Do you think your mom is sorry she got pregnant so young?" Madeline asks. The thought that maybe the girl was only playing stupid popped in Anna's head again.

"Of course she is," Paris said.

"Why, thank you." Anna glares, taking back the nice thought she had in her head about her.

"I didn't mean that. I just meant that…" Paris sighs, not wanting to insult the person's home she was in. Especially, when their mom was so nice to her despite what she did.

"I mean, I don't think she would recommend it but I think she's happy with how things turned out." Rory cut her off.

"I am?" Lorelai came down the stairs.

"Yes, you are," Anna told her.

"Ok, just checking. Hey, I'm starving, is it pizza time yet?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Are you guys' hungry?" Rory asks.

"I am." Madeline nods.

"I can't eat dairy," Paris told her.

"Ok, one with cheese, one without. Cokes?" She looks at her guest.

"Yes please." They nod.

"Me too," Anna raises her hand, along with Tristan.

"We're never going to finish." Paris sighs.

"I find your mother completely fascinating." Louise watches her go.

"Funny, so does she," Rory smiles.

"It's almost more like having a big sister," Louise noted.

"Trust me. She is a mother when she needs to be." Tristan remembered the talk he had with her.

"Oh, you got the third degree?" Louise raises an eyebrow.

"More like a shakedown." He never thought a woman could make him feel that terrified.

"But, you guys like her don't you?" Madeline never knew any teen that got along with their mom so well.

"She's my best friend." Rory nods.

"We'll be fighting over who gets to take her when she is old." Anna held out her highlighter like a sword. Rory and she had a pretend sword fight.

"Truly, completely fascinating," Louise looked at them like they were a science experiment.

"Rory, Anna comes in here a sec!" Lorelai called them.

"I'll be right back." Rory got up and pulled her whining sister with her. She drags her to the kitchen.

"Hey, how's it going in there?" She brought over a plate that had a tower of pop tarts on it.

"Truly, completely fascinating," Rory said the words that Louise said.

"Really?" She asks.

"Well, we've got no work done at all. Paris is having a meltdown, which by the way is always fun." Rory explains.

"Sounds it," She nods.

"And, I don't know, we've just been talking." Anna shrugs.

"Well, I think you're making some friends here." Lorelai rearranged the pop tarts so that they would be less likely to fall over.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. They've just moved off the plan to dump the pig's blood on me at the prom, that's all." As much fun as Rory was having with Madeline and Louise, she didn't want to get her hopes up. She was sure when Monday came, they would be back to being their normal selves.

"Talking, chatting, no work being done, there's friend potential going on." She wanted Rory to have a good time during high school. You need friends to do that.

"Maybe... with Louise and Madeline at least," She shrugs.

"Two out of three formerly psychotic enemies isn't bad. Here some pop-tart appetizers to tide you over until the pizza comes." She put an apple in the middle of the pop tart spread she had. She held it out.

"Thanks." Rory grabs the plate. Anna opens the fridge to grab the sodas. They went to leave but their mom spoke again.

"Hey, I have kind of a crazy idea." She walked over to them.

"Those are never comforting words coming from you." Anna teases.

"Just consider this?" She approached the idea. They nod their heads. "Now, we have five tickets to the show tonight." She told them information that they already knew.

"Yes, we do." She nods.

"What if I give them to you? You take them." Lorelai offers.

"What are you talking about?" Rory asks.

"Well, it just seems like you guys have kind of a bonding thing going on in there, it might be fun." She was hoping that this way she could kill two birds with one stone. Her daughters would make new friends while getting rid of their bullies.

"What about you and Sookie? We have one extra ticket, we'll pick our favorite." Anna shook her head.

"No, no we have already bonded. In fact, if we bond any further, we will be permanently fused together. You can't pick one that would be rude and awkward." Lorelai shook her head back at her.

"Not inviting Tristan would be rude and awkward." She points out.

"Oh, I forgot about him." Lorelai pauses to think. "He'll just have to understand a girl's night out."

"You've been talking about this concert since you heard about it." Between Anna and her mom, Rory heard about the concert 24/7.

"I can still go." She said.

"How?" Rory asks.

"Sookie and I can buy cheap seats when we get there." She shrugs.

"These tickets are 9th row, dream seats." She reminds her.

"Look, you don't have to do this, but I just think you have three years of Chilton ahead of you and it might be nice to have some friendly type people to talk to there. And I don't know, you guys seem to be getting along, it might be good. And I don't mind, I just want to see the show, I don't care what seat." Lorelai explained why she wanted them to take their classmates.

"Are you sure?" Rory gave her mom one last chance to back out.

"Completely sure," She nods.

"Because I…." She was about to counter her mom's argument when Lorelai took the plate from her.

"Oh, ladies!" She walked into the living room. The sisters were uncertain but followed their mom. "Hey, what are you girls doing tonight?" She put the plate down on the table.

"Why?" Louise asked.

"Well, we have these great tickets to see the Bangles at the Pastorella Theater and Rory thought you might like to come along. Sorry, Tristan, it would be a girl's night." She smiles at the girls before turning to her daughter's boyfriend.

"That's fine." He looked over at Anna, who was pouting behind Rory.

"Are you serious?" Madeline didn't know who the Bangles were, but a concert in New York was always a fun night.

"No way," Louise smiles.

"Yeah, I mean if you guys want to." Rory was shocked that they were excited to hang out with her.

"I would love to go." Madeline raises her pen in agreement.

"Count me in." Louise cheers.

"Paris, what about you," Rory turns to the ring leader.

"I can't." She looks down at her book.

Anna didn't like the way that Rory's face dropped when she rejected her. "Yes, you can."

"No, I can't." She glares at the girl. She was shocked that Anna was pushing the issues. She never seemed to mind the hostility between them. Sometimes Paris even suspected that she enjoyed it.

"Why, what will you be doing tonight?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I have homework." She said with no emotion in her voice. That was normally enough to make people back off.

"In the car, you said that you wanted to get the debate plans over with because it was the last of your homework." Madeline tilts her head in confusion.

"Good, then we'll see you tonight." Anna gave Paris a big closed-eyed smile.


Anna was in the back of the group, walking with Paris. In front of her, Rory was showing Louise and Madeline the bracelet that Dean made for her. Lorelai and Sookie were leading the pack into the theater.

"And you wear it all the time, right?" Louise asks.

"Just when she's breathing," Lorelai stops to turn around to give them the tickets.

"It's a love thing." Sookie giggles.

"Thanks for the contributions." Rory gave them a weak glare that made Anna and Paris scoff.

"Okay here." She offers tickets but pulls them back when Rory reaches for them. "Ah! With these tickets you are about to enter sacred space, you will be treading on hallowed ground, you will be walking like an Egyptian."

"Mom," Rory smiles as she takes the tickets.

"Take them. Oh, you're going to have a great time. The Bangles are the best! They were my favorite band in high school. I named Susanna after a member. The day I found out neither of you had any musical talent at all was the saddest day of my life." She pouted as she looked at the ground like she was reliving that moment.

"I'm sorry." Anna rolled her eyes.

"Well, you say that now. Here, okay, these are probably located ...Hi!" She took the tickets back and walked up to an usher.

"Hi." He says.

"Can you tell me where these seats are?" She showed him the tickets.

"Uh, those are right in here." He points into the entrance that he was manning.

"Oh good, girls...okay, here's the deal. Take the tickets, go to your seats, have the night of a lifetime, Bangle it up. The second the concert is over, meet us outside in front of the theater, got it?" She hands Rory the tickets. She passes them out to everyone.

"Yes." Her daughters nod.

"Good! Now go!" She cheers.

Their classmate walked in ahead of them. "Thank you." Anna and Rory each hugged their mom.

"You're welcome." She smiles. They walk into the theater to take their seats.

"Which aisle is it?" Paris asked.

"We're almost there," Louise assured her.

"I have never sat this close to a stage before. I've never even been to a concert before so I could be sitting at the back and say the same thing." Madeline told them.

"In here." Louise led them through the crowd and to their seats. They seated: Madeline, Louise, Anna, Paris, and Rory.

"Wow, these are amazing seats." Rory stares at the stage.

"Yes, they are." Louise looked back at the two cute boys that were sitting behind them.

"What are they looking at?" Rory innocently asked.

"One guess," Paris sighs.

Rory and Anna look behind them at the guys. "Check it out, we've got fans," A guy winks as he points them out to his friend. The sisters simultaneously roll their eyes as they face forward.

"Was I right?" Paris asked.

"You were right." Rory sighs.

"And before it's dark, they'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park," Paris told them. This was why Paris always made sure she had a ride when she went anywhere with them.


As the concert went on, Paris, Anna, and Rory couldn't take their eyes off the stage. Louise and Madeline were turning around flirting with the guys in the row behind them.

Anna was confused with the men. Unless they somehow got their seats for free they were wasting good money and for what, to maybe get laid. You could go to a bar or most public places to get that.

"Oh my God! He is so gorgeous." Louise leans over to tell them.

"I guess." Anna glares at the girl for speaking during Eternal Flame.

"Listen, there's a massive party going on right around the corner." She informed them.

"So?" Rory didn't see why she would be interested in a party when there was a concert going on.

"So they invited us." She said.

"Who?" Rory asks.

"Jess and Sean, we've been talking to them this whole time, they're extremely cool." She nodded back to the guys.

"Are we going?" Madeline asked.

"Going where?" Rory sighs.

"To the party," Louise whispers.

"There's a concert going on." She points at the stage.

"The band won't miss us." She rolls her eyes.

"We can't just leave Louise." Rory hisses.

"It's America, Rory." Louise reminds her of her freedom.

"We have to meet my mom after the show," Anna interjected, not being about to watch the band with them talking over her. Paris was able to. She was used to her friend's behavior.

"Oh, come on." Louise scoffs.

"What do you mean, come on? We have to meet my mother after the concert. The band may not miss us but Lorelai sure will." Rory snaps.

"These guys are so cute." Madeline coos.

"Oh, that's great but we're not going anywhere." Rory put her foot down.

"What are you afraid?" Louise mocks.

"Of going out into a strange city with two guys I don't know? Yeah," Rory gave her the same mocking tone back.

"Yeah, that's how lifetime movies start." Anna nods.

"I expect this is from Rory, but Anna? I thought you were more fun, you're going out with Tristan." Louise cocks an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, because Tristan would be glad to hear that I went off with some random guys in the middle of the night." She shook her head at the girl.

"Well, we're going." She points to Madeline and herself.

"No, you're not." Rory shook her head.

Louise ignores her and turns to her friend. "Paris, join please?"

"No, thanks," She never looks away from the stage.

"Fine, come on Madeline." She put on her coat and grabbed her bag. Madeline was quick to follow her friend.

"And just what am I supposed to tell my mother?" Rory asks.

"That you're a very good little girl." She mocks her as she gets up and leaves.

"Louise." Rory hissed as she walked away.

"The party's in a building on the corner of Waverly and First. Try to get away." Madeline leaned down to tell them.

"Madeline," Anna calls for the follower to come back.

"We'll be back by the time the concert is over." She promised before walking off.

Anna jumps when the man with the leather jack leans down to whisper in her ear. "Hope to see you there." He kisses her on the cheek. He stood up and walked out to lead the girls away. She gasps as she wipes the kiss-off.

"You know, I like this band," Paris whispers to them. The sister looks at her in amazement that she wasn't concerned for her friends at all.


The concert was over. Anna and Paris were waiting out front. Rory walks back over to them after having a look around. "Well?" Paris asked.

"I couldn't find Mom or Sookie anywhere." She told them.

"I'll take a look around." Anna walks into the building. She looked around for their familiar faces. "MOM! SOOKIE!" She pushed her way through the crowd. "What took your guys so long, we've been waiting forever?" She asked.

"There were a lot of stairs," Lorelai informed her.

"We had nose bleeders." Sookie points up.

"What are you guys doing?" Anna noticed they were standing in line.

"Getting shirts," She smiles. Lorelai was so happy that Anna didn't know how to tell her that she was missing two teens. She figured she let her find out for herself. She stood in line and helped them carry the shirts outside.

"Hey!" Lorelai greets the two girls waiting for them outside.

"There you are." Rory smiles in relief.

"Think fast." She throws a t-shirt to each of them. "T-shirts for all the girls because I'm the good witch of the... hey, aren't you missing a couple of kids?" She pointed to the empty space by Paris.

"They left," Rory told her.

"Excuse me? Why didn't you say anything earlier, I wouldn't have stood in line getting these shirts." Lorelai turns to Anna.

"I wanted a shirt… Madeline and Louise met these guys and they…" She shrugs before explaining to her mom what happened.

"What guys?" She didn't see any kids their age here.

"I don't know, they were sitting behind us and they were having a party," Rory told her.

"Unbelievable!" She shouts.

"What's going on?" Sookie asked.

"They left," Lorelai told her.

"What?" She gasped.

"They told us where the party was," Anna explained that they could go get them.

"Let's go, come on, move," Lorelai nods. They walk to the apartment building where Lorelai and Sookie were knocking on doors.

"I leave the house with five girls. I'm coming home with five girls." She knocks on a door. The door opens to reveal a woman in her rope. "Hi, I'm looking for a couple of college boys, who might live here or have friends who live here."

"I don't talk to anyone. People annoy me." She closed the door.

Sookie had her ear up against another door. "What?" Lorelai asked.

"She found him with the blonde again." Sookie whispers. Lorelai gasps before they went on to knock on the next door.

"She's going to knock on every door in the entire building, isn't she?" Paris turned to her classmates.

"Yep," Rory nods.

"Wow." She was amazed that the woman would go through the trouble. Her mom would have just called their parents and made a rude comment about the children they are raising.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Lorelai knocks on another door. She put her ear against the door, to hear no partying, so she moved to the next door.

"Hello?" Sookie knocks on a door to get loud dog barking. "Aah! Let's go follow your mother." She jumps before waving to the girls to follow the woman.

"I wonder if I was missing if my mom would come looking for me like that," Paris said, making the sisters look at her with pity.

"Paris, you know she would," Rory told her.

"Yeah, or at least she'd send somebody." She follows Lorelai.

Lorelai knocks on another door. "Music," Sookie pointed to a door.

"Let's go." She nods to the door.

Anna ran to knock on the door this time. The guy with a leather jacket opens the door. "Hey babe, you decided to show up. You brought some older friends, let's okay. I got a friend who likes MILFs." He nods to Lorelai and Sookie before wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders to bring her into the party.

Lorelai scoffs as she walks inside to see Madeline holding a blue plastic cup. "Hey, did you miss me?" She gave a fake smile.

"Lorelai," She smiles, thinking she was one of those cool moms that party with her daughters.

"Ms. Gilmore. Put the cups down, let's move." She demands.

Leather jacket hands Anna a red cup before moving in front of Lorelai to ask, "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, see those two idiots over there? They're 16... Underage and I bet you're not. I also bet those big fancy party cups aren't holding lemonade. You want to end any further conversations with me, so step aside Skippy." She waves her hand for him to get out of the way. He gladly did, knowing how much trouble he could get into for giving underage girls alcohol. "Move your asses outside... now!" She demands. Madeline and Louise put down their cups and grab their jackets and run out the door. Paris, Sookie, and Rory follow them quickly out.

"Maybe, we'll see each other in two years." Anna winks at him. He let out a deep sigh at having wasted a whole night of charming. "Have a drink, mom." She hands Lorelai the cup as they walk out. Lorelai chugged it. She needs to take off some of the edge. She threw it into the trash can on their way out and slammed the door.

"Hey. I am not even going to begin to tell you how completely insane it is to take off with anyone you don't know, or drink things that you don't know what's in them, or act like you have a clue when you don't, but so help me God if you ever pull a stunt like this again, it will not be around my kids! Do you understand me?" She yells at two teens.

"Yes." She nods.

"Good, now let's go. I can't wait to meet your parents. We have some catching up to do. I think we'll just talk and talk and talk all night long." She leads them out of the apartment building.

"You know what? I think this is the best night I've ever had." Paris told Rory and Anna before walking ahead of them.

"That's something." Anna wraps an arm around Rory.

"Ew, you smell like that guy's cheap cologne." She pushed her sister off her to walk away.

"Ew, I do… hey, wait." She ran to catch up.