"I'm back!" Rory, Anna, and Sookie heard Lorelai come into the house.
"Kitchen!" Rory yelled as they used their bodies to block the gift on the table.
"Mmkay, I couldn't make up my mind so I got The Shining and Bringing Up Baby. Now, I know you're thinking, one's a movie about a homicidal parent and the other one's . . . .hello." Lorelai walks in to see them standing there smiling at her. She wondered if she was going to get an intervention about her coffee addiction.
"Hi." Sookie waves.
"Hi, Mom." Her children smiled.
"What'd you break?" She asks.
"Nothing. Well, the broiler. But this came for you and Max." Sookie pointed behind her. They move to reveal the big gift on the table.
"We're thinking it's a wedding present," Rory told her.
"A big present." Anna wonders what it could be.
Lorelai looks at the gift tag. "Huh. Mmm. Lorelai Gilmore and Max Medina. Well, I guess news doesn't always travel fast."
"You gonna open it?" Sookie asks.
"No," Lorelai answers instantly.
"Please!" Anna pleads.
"No." She looks down at her feet.
"But, aren't you curious?" Sookie stares at the white gift-wrapped present.
"No. Just leave it there. I'll take it back tomorrow." She would do the same thing she did with all the other gifts.
"But there's not a return address," Rory informed her.
"Well, isn't there a card?" She moves the big bow around to look for one.
"Nope. Maybe there's one inside." Rory taps the box.
"With the return address on it." Sookie nods.
"But that means you'd have to open it to find out." Anna smiles.
Lorelai gave them a look, knowing that they had this plan all along. She sighs giving in, "Fine, gives me a knife."
Rory handed her one. "Ooh! This is so exciting!" Sookie clapped but stopped when she saw the look Lorelai was giving her. "Maybe not."
Lorelai cuts open the package and they tear the paper off. Rory screamed in excitement. "An ice cream maker!"
"A Musso Lussino 480!" Sookie and Anna gasp at the expensive model.
"Somebody sent me a fascist ice cream maker?" Lorelai looks at the machine.
"Italian design, stainless steel body, chrome finish." Anna circles it. She had been eyeing the machine online for a while.
"And no card. Perfect." She glares at the machine.
"Jackson just got in his apple crop! We can make cider ice cream!" Sookie grabs Anna's arms. They jump up and down, giggling.
"Yes we can, using his ice cream maker, but IL Duce here is going back." Lorelai shot it down.
"To where? Maybe it's an orphan." Rory wanted homemade ice cream.
"That's right. We'd be giving it a home." Sookie points at Rory for having a good point.
"Okay, once again, I bring up the fact that this is a wedding present, and as I am not getting married, neither God's law nor Emily Post allows me to keep this." If she kept this machine, every time she looked at it she would see her failed relationship.
"Let's think of it as a birthday gift to me. I mean if this person isn't from Stars Hollow or grandma and grandpa, they owe me one anyway." Anna ran her fingers along the steel.
"What if it's someone from Max's family? Then they don't owe you." Lorelai put her hands on her hips.
Anna looks over at Rory to help talk their mom into letting them keep it. "But isn't there a rule about late presents?"
"Like if it arrives after a certain date, the giver forfeits all rights of return." Sookie went along with it.
"Exactly." The sibling nods.
"Nice try." Lorelai gave them a less than impressive look.
"It's true. I saw it on Martha Stewart. She was doing one of those double programs, and the first half was on massaging your dog, and she had this chow and she was rubbing it…" Sookie got cut off by her best friend saying her name sternly. "But the second half was about gifts, and she said that if it arrives after ten weeks…"
"Eight." Rory corrected her.
"…eight weeks, that you don't have to return it." Sookie points at the ice cream machine.
"Okay, clearly this is shaping up to be one of those moments that St. Peter's gonna show on the big video screen when I die, and I for one do not wanna see the four of us staggering around with cider ice cream splattered all over our faces while my soul hangs in the balance, so until I can find out who sent this, no one goes near it. And we're watching The Shining." She picks up the tape and walks into the living room.
"I bet Max would let us keep it." Sookie pouts along with the girls.
"Believe it or not, Shakespeare probably never intended his plays to be read by students sitting at decks more concerned with getting A's than with the fate of Macbeth. His plays were meant to be experienced, lived. So with that in mind, together with my first period Shakespeare, you'll be split up into five groups and each group will assume responsibility for one act of Romeo and Juliet, which will be performed a week from Sunday. You will nominate the director, you will cast the scene, rehearse the scene, and interpret the scene. Last year, we did Richard the Third. One group did their scene as the Mafiosi. Another set theirs during the Roman Empire. And my favorite, the climactic last scene was set during the final days of the Sonny and Cher show. Just remember, whatever interpretation you choose should highlight the themes you see in the scene. And if the love of Bard's language still doesn't inspire you, remember this will be fifty percent of your final grade." The teacher passes out the scripts.
Anna sighs, even though she knew this was coming since Rory and Henry had Shakespeare for the first period. She noticed that most of the groups were sitting by each other. She turns to the people around her to say the part she got. "Act 2, Scene 6. The secret wedding scene."
Summer, Roger, and Thomas nod that they got the same scene. "There are only three parts in that scene. Do you think she made a mistake?" Summer asks.
"She said there needs to be a director, so no." Roger pointed out. The bell rang, signaling lunch so they went to the cafe to get food and further discuss their plans.
"Who wants what part?" Anna asks.
"I got to be the director, I got a lot of creative ideas." Thomas opens up his milk carton.
"Like what?" Anna glares, knowing it would be something stupid or perverted, maybe both.
"You can play Romeo and you can play Juliet." He pointed to Anna then Summer. The girls roll their eyes. Roger laughs at his friend. "Wait… here me out. It would make their love even more forbidden. It would give the story another layer besides feuding families. It makes the story less pitiful and more concrete." He explains making everyone at the table look at him in surprise.
"If you don't mind." Summer looks over at the other girl.
"Why not?" She shrugs.
"Yes!" He pumps his fist in the air. "Maybe we could do a fantasy twist to it like one of you can be a cute little angel while the other is a sexy demon."
"Thomas!" Anna slapped him in the back of the head.
"You were doing so well." Summer rolled her eyes.
"I'm home!" Rory and Anna walk through the door with coffee in their hands.
Lorelai was on the phone with a distant relative to see if they bought the ice cream maker. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, really? The Bible said all that, huh? Did it, did it mention me by name? I'm just. . .okay, I'm just kidding. So, um, judging by your Billy Graham impression, I am guessing that you didn't send me an ice cream maker, so maybe you could just give me Aunt Clarissa's phone number?... Oh no, I hadn't heard. That's terrible… Uh-huh. Well, then I guess she had it coming, didn't she? Hey, listen, I'd love to chat about who else in the family is currently or soon to be headed for hell, but I've gotta run, so I promise to call in the next twenty years, okay? Bye-bye." She hangs up. The girls put the coffee down and sat next to her on the couch. "How scary is it that my parents are turning out to be the normal ones in the family?"
"No luck?" Rory asks. Anna did a small cheer in her head when Lorelai shook her head.
"Well, I still have the, uh, Pennsylvania Gilmores, but how was your day?" She asks.
"We have to do Acts from Romeo and Juliet. I got Act 2, the wedding. I will be marrying Summer." Anna told her.
"Summer, like the girl Tristan danced all night with." Lorelai tilts her head.
"The same one." She nods.
"Is that awkward?" She asks.
"No. She didn't break us up. She didn't even want him. Besides, we've been broken up for a few months now. Rory's situation is awkward." She nods to her sister.
"I have to perform Act Five with Paris, Madeline, and Louise." She sighs.
"Really?" Lorelai was starting to wonder how small this school was when her daughter kept ending up with these girls.
"Paris has appointed herself as director." Rory rolls her eyes.
"Nice. What part are you playing?" Lorelai laughs.
"I don't know yet. She's still mulling over the screen tests right now. We're gonna find out tomorrow." Rory had to stay late and they still have to decide their parts. At least Anna's group decides on solid ideas and practices their parts.
"Screen tests?" Lorelai snorts.
"24 takes." In two words she explains the torture she went through.
"Ah, I want a copy." She laughs.
"Forget it." Rory would burn that tape herself when this is all over.
"Sell it on the Internet, make a fortune. First, we brought you Pamela and Tommy Lee, now prepare yourselves for the crazy antics of Rory and the Bard!" Lorelai got up and waved her arms around as she walked backwards into the kitchen.
"Oh, and I told Paris that you would make all of our costumes so she wants to have a concept meeting with you tomorrow at three." Rory picked up the address book.
"What?" Lorelai yelled.
"I volunteer you for our play too. We're doing forest elves and fairies. So, you can have fun with it." Anna calls out.
"Paris says she needs a resume and samples of your previous work and, uh, referrals," Rory told her mom.
"And my bare butt to kiss." She leaned against the archway as she ate some cool whip out of the container.
"If that's what it takes to get you to be our costume maker then Thomas, our director, will be happy to do it." Anna laughs.
"Hey, I didn't know that there was someone in our family named Bunny." Rory read a name from the address book.
"Oh, cross her off the list." She made a sharp hand motion across her throat.
"Poor Bunny." Rory pouts.
The phone rang, so Anna answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey," Henry answers.
"Henry, hi. I'll get Lane." Anna put Henry on hold and dialed Lane's number.
"Hey, I'm heading for class. There's pizza-slash-Luke's money on the table for dinner." Lorelai puts her coat on and grabs her purse.
"Thank you," Rory nods.
"Kim's Antiques." Mrs. Kim answers the phone.
"Hello Mrs. Kim, this is Anna. May I please speak with Lane?" She asks for her friend.
"Lane is studying." Mrs. Kim told her.
"Wait, Mama. Mama, is that for me?" She heard Lane talk to her mother.
"Why?" She wondered how Lane would know she was going to get a call.
"Well, I was just expecting a call from Anna and I thought. . ." Lane's voice got louder as she walked close to her mother.
"You do your math?" Mrs. Kim began drilling her.
"Yes." She nods.
"History?" She went on.
"Yes." She nods.
"Biology?" She went down the list.
"No." She shook her head.
"Why?" Mrs. Kim asks.
"Well, I'm not taking biology." Lane didn't have that class anymore.
"Why?" She questions.
"I took it last year," Lane explains.
"And that's it? One year and you know all there is to know." Anna giggles at Mrs. Kim's sassy comeback.
"Well, I. . ." Lane sighs.
"Tomorrow we look into private school." She told her.
"Mama, please, the phone." She held her hand out for the phone.
"Five minutes. I'm counting." She gave it to her.
"Hello?" Lane hoped she was still on the line.
"Lane. Hold on." She put him on the line. "Henry?"
"Here." He let her know he was still there.
"Lane?" She made sure she did it right. One time, she didn't and had to try again.
"Here." Lane smiled.
"Okay guys, talk to you later." Anna put the phone down.
"Okay, I'm gone. Hey, um, do me a favor, make some of those calls for me." Lorelai came back in for her briefcase.
"Don't you think you may be going a little far with this?" Rory looks up at her.
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"I mean, I understand that you wanna return the ice cream maker, but you did make an honest effort to get in touch with the person that sent this to you." Rory didn't like seeing how crazy her mom was going over this.
"Yeah, mom. These people must not care because they would have called you to get their gift back. They have to know by now." Anna wanted that ice cream machine.
"It's called closure. I need it, okay?" She wouldn't be able to live in peace with that machine in the house. Anna felt guilt for thinking of herself and not of what the machine symbolized to her mom.
"Okay. Uncle Randolph. Oh, sorry guys. They'll be off in a sec." Rory picked up the phone to put it back down when she heard Lane and Henry talking.
"Okay, don't wait too long. I think Randolph was Bunny's older brother." She whispers to them.
"Got it." Rory nods.
Anna's group walks into the study hall room to see Rory's group sitting with Brad and Tristan. "Look, they have their perfect Romeo we need ours." Louise pointed at Thomas.
"Hey, I'm the director and I'll decide who's born to be what, and Brad is Romeo," Paris yelled.
"Oh, we walked into some drama." Summer giggles.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Louise said in a whispering tone but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What'd you say?" Paris glares.
"Just perhaps that someone is letting her personal feelings interfere with her leadership." She called her out.
"My only feeling is that I don't wanna give the most important part to someone who can't even manage to stay in school." She glares at Tristan.
"I'm just gonna say one thing: fifty percent of our final grade," Louise said slowly.
"Is there gonna be any scratching involved, or is this just a verbal thing?" Tristan points between the two.
"As entertaining as this is, this Romea wants to get her table reading done." Anna points at herself as she across the room.
"What?" Madeline tilts her head in confusion, an expression she had for most of the school day.
"Where Romea goes, Juliet must follow." Summer ran to put her arms around Anna's waist and give her a loud kiss on the cheek. Tristan watched as the girls sat by each other. Anna plays along with her as she drapes her arm on the back of Summer's chair.
"Their body language is getting better, but they still need to work on their eyes. No one is going to believe it if they look at each other like it's an inside joke." Thomas sighs as he walks to the table.
"Still can't believe how serious he is taking this," Roger mutters under his breath as he walks over to join his group.
"What do you think about this?" Paris pulls her group's attention away from the two girls that were being made to practice looking soulful into the other eyes.
When Rory saw she was being spoken to, she turned to Brad. "How are you at speaking in front of a crowd?"
"I tend to throw up." He told her.
"Fine, but I swear, you flake on this and you'll pray you get suspended." She pointed a finger at Tristan's face.
"Does their scene have a kiss?" He nods to the two girls.
"What?" She glares at him.
"If they kiss, I'll definitely be there." He looks down at his beeping pager. "I gotta run. Are we done here?"
"Rehearsal, tomorrow night." She orders. He gave a wave as he left.
"Good. So, now Brad can be Friar Tuck and I can be Juliet." Louise filed her nails.
"Wrong." Paris shut that down.
"Hey." She cried. She wanted to kiss Tristan.
"Juliet's supposed to be chaste," Paris told her.
"Oh." Louise didn't think she could pull that off.
"Then . . ." Madeline smiled next to her.
"And she has more than three lines." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh." She pouts.
"Oh no." Rory shook her head.
"Too late." Paris looks down at her.
"It can't be too late, we haven't done anything yet. That is my sister's ex. You can't expect us to kiss." She shook her head.
"Your sister will understand it for a grade. You're Juliet. You're the best public speaker here, you've definitely got that waif thing down, and you'll look great dead. Next order of business. I did some location scouting this morning, and I think the courtyard outside. . . ." She went on with her meeting.
Anna was with her group at Miss Patty's. They were rehearsing for the play. "Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags of his substance, not of ornament. They are but beggars that can count their worth. But my true love is grown to such excess. I cannot sum up half of my wealth." Summer recited the line as she caressed Anna's face with the back of her hand. They decide to go with the old English because it adds to their fantasy aspect.
A clap and a whistle made them look to the entrance to see Tristan. "What are you doing here?" Anna didn't like seeing him in her town.
"We are about to practice here." He pointed down.
"Well, you're not yet. We still got 5 minutes, enough time to make sure they do the actual wedding scene right, so be gone." Thomas pushed him out. "Pick it up where we left off."
"Come, come with me, and we will make short work. For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone till holy church incorporate two in one." Roger playing Friar Lawrence guided them to the center of the stage and had them kneel as he married them.
"Excuse me. We reserved this place for 8 sharp and right now my watch says 8:04." Paris came barging in.
"Calm down, we're done." Thomas rolled his eyes at the high strung girl.
"Come on, I'll treat you guys to Luke's." Anna led them out of the dance studio.
"Where's Tristan?" Paris asks about the missing member.
"He went to the market to get cigarettes, in case any of us didn't know he was bad." Louise scoffs.
Rory and Anna shared a look. "Thomas, why didn't you take them there. I'll meet you guys in a bit." She nodded to her friend.
"Alright." He nods and they walk to Luke's.
"I'll be a sec." Rory ran with her sister to the market to see Dean and Tristan in each other's faces.
"You know what, I hope for Rory's sake that you got an understudy." Dean points a finger at the smirking boy's face.
"Dean, hi!" Rory ran up to her boyfriend.
"Rory, what is he doing here?" Dean glares at Tristan.
"I need to talk to you." She grabbed his arm.
"I got something to settle with this guy." He didn't budge.
"Outside, please." She drags him out.
"What the hell are you doing?" Anna looks down at the flour bag and money on the floor.
"I don't know what you mean. I came in here to get flour, I saw him and made conversation. It's not my fault she didn't tell him about the play or that he is a jealous psycho." He shrugs.
"Do not ruin things for my sister." She glares.
"You don't even like her with him." He rolled his eyes.
"I also don't like pineapples on pizza, but I can't stop people from doing what they want to do." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"You never gave it a fair chance." He reached out to rub her arm, but she smacked it down.
"Don't touch me." She sneers.
"Everything alright?" They look to the side to see Jess standing there.
"It's fine, Jess. Someone was just leaving." She nodded to the door like he wouldn't know what direction to go.
"Leave?" He cocks his head.
"You do have a play to rehearse." She reminds him.
"Nothing so urgent that I can't meet someone new. Tristan," He held his hand out.
"Tristan? Never took you for the type to like polished pretty boys." He looks over at Anna, not taking his hand.
"He's here doing a play with Rory. We've got to do acts from Romeo and Juliet." She told him.
"Why does he need to know why I'm here? You move on from me already." He put a hand over his heart like he hasn't had a dozen girlfriends since they broke up.
"Is that problem?" Jess wraps his arm around her waist. Anna blushes at the feel of his hand on her hip and his side against hers.
"No, it's just the worst downgrade in history. You went from eating at five-star restaurants to what fast food drive-thrus." Tristan snickers.
"She went from arguing every day with an immature asshole to enjoying herself talking about literature and watching movies with someone who just needs her and not a room full of people to feel alive." He cups her face to lay a kiss on her. He pulled away when he heard angry footsteps and a slamming door.
"Thank you, you didn't need to do that." She looks down at the floor blushing, as she collects her breath.
"It's no problem. That prick doesn't deserve the ego boost of thinking you're sitting at home wallowing over him while he's out having fun." He kept his arm around her as they walked to Luke's.
They went over to the table her classmates were at. "Hey guys, this is Jess. Jess, you already know Thomas. This is Roger and Summer." She introduced them before sitting down.
"Hi." They waved at him.
"So, Anna says you guys are doing Romeo and Juliet." Jess took a seat at the table next to Anna. "For us, it's Romea and Juliet." Summer told him.
"What?" He asks.
"I'll be playing the part of Romeo, but I won't be in drag so it's Romea," Anna explains to him.
"So, you're Juliet." He points to Summer, who nods. "What scene do you guys have?"
"The secret wedding. I'll be the one marrying them." Roger told him.
"Friar Lawrence." Jess nods. "Are you guys doing any other interpretation?"
"We'll be doing a fantasy twist of Romea being an elf and Juliet being a fairy. The backdrop is an enchanted forest." Thomas had it all plan out. His mother, who was a professional artist, was going to paint it. "You should come." He invites.
"Yeah, it'll be a riot with some of the other interpretations. Someone doing a furry version of it with growling and hissing." Roger nods.
"You have to come. We'll be looking amazing in our costume, especially Anna." She winks at the other girl.
"I don't think…." She was going to say it wasn't Jess's thing.
"You don't want me there?" Jess asks.
"No, I would…" She pauses in her confession. Thomas kicked her from under the table to get her going again. "...like you there. I just don't want you to feel forced to go."
"You sure? That was a long pause." He arches an eyebrow.
"Yes, I want you there." She nods firmly.
"Then I'll be there." He waves Luke over to order.
Anna was sitting at a table with Rory as she ate her dinner. Lorelai came through the door and sat down at the table. "Oh, thank goodness, you ordered. I am starving."
"What are you doing here? I thought you went out to dinner." Rory looks at her mom.
She took off her coat and sat down. "I did go out to dinner." She took a fry from her plate.
"Then why are you eating mine?" She looks down at her plate to her mom's full mouth.
"Well, he took me to this darling little place called Minnie's. Very hip, very chic, very small portions." She ate her meal and was still hungry.
"Besides the food not being enough, how did it go?" Anna drank her soda.
"Well…" She shrugs.
"Aww." The girls pout.
"You know, we talked about all the things we had in common and then the salad came." It went downhill after the first ten minutes.
"Not a soulmate?" Rory asks.
"He's never seen Ab Fab." She shook her head.
"Definitely not a soulmate," Rory confirmed.
"Plus, he's outdoorsy. Remember that Meryl Streep movie where she and her family take a rafting trip and then psycho Kevin Bacon forces them to take 'em down the river?" Lorelai knew it wouldn't work when he kept talking about the woods.
"The River Wild," Anna told her the name of the movie.
"Yes, that one. That's his dream vacation, minus Kevin Bacon." She told them.
"Wow." Rory ate a fry.
"Whereas mine is Kevin Bacon, minus the river, so…" She winks.
"Enough said." Anna put an end before she went on about her dirty fantasy.
"Yeah. But I must say, I'm really glad I went tonight." She smiled despite the awkward date she had.
"Yeah?" Rory and Anna look at her surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, it was fun to get dressed up and have a freshly laundered man open the door for me. And the best part about it was, it was no big deal. I mean, we laughed a little, we hugged goodnight, I'll never date him again, but I do believe the burrito bit will live on. It was a totally casual date. I am now officially a casual dater." She giggles at the thought of her dating. Not being in a relationship, but dating.
"That's great. And we can celebrate by getting you your own plate of fries." She turns around to order. "Hey Luke, can we get another round?"
"Coming right up." He nods.
"So, tell me about the big rehearsals." She looks between her daughters.
"Ours went along perfectly. Thomas did get a little irritating with his, it's all in the eyes speech he gave like three times." She never knew he was a theatre nerd.
"We got off to a shaky start, and Louise acts like she's the priest in a Madonna video, but by the end, we were not half bad," Rory spoke of her group.
"Good, good." Lorelai nods.
"Tristan ran into Dean," Rory told her.
"More like Tristan found Dean. He tried to cause trouble." Anna rolls her eyes at her ex.
"Ugh, bad bad." Lorelai made an unpleasant noise.
"It's okay though because I pulled them apart without any bloodshed and I explained it all to Dean," Rory explains.
"It's so weird he likes a whole different person. Or should I say this who he always was, everyone saying he's back to his old ways? It's odd to look at someone you thought you knew and see a stranger." Anna wondered how caged he must have felt in their relationship. She wished he was honest from the start about who he was, so she wouldn't have fallen for the guy he was pretending to be, and that way they wouldn't have wasted each other time.
"I know what you mean. With every girl and prank he pulls, it makes you wonder about how much we really know each other." Rory hums. They sat with that thought until Luke came over.
"You want a burger too?" He put down the plate of fries.
"Hmm, no, I'll just have half of hers." She went to grab Rory's.
Rory slapped her hand away. "One burger please."
"You look all dressed up." Luke noticed.
"Do I? Because I feel very casual." She smiled at her daughters. Luke gave her an odd look before he went to another table to take their order.
Dean walks into the diner and sits down with them. "Hey."
"Hi, you just got off work?" Rory asks.
"Yup." He nods.
"Hey, Dean. Do you want some fries?" Lorelai pointed to her plate.
"No, I'm going home for dinner. My mom made fried chicken tonight and she saved me some," Dean told them.
"Oh, you have a cooking mom." Lorelai smiled.
"That's so nice." Rory looks over at her mother.
"It must be delicious." Anna looks at Lorelai.
"Well, she may make chicken, but is she a casual dater?" Lorelai put on a devilish smirk.
"I hope not. She's married." Rory laughs.
"Do I wanna know what either one of you is talking about?" Dean asked.
"Nope," Luke answers as he serves a table by them.
"My mother casually dated tonight," Rory told him. Luke's head snaps over to their table.
"Oh, well, congratulations." Dean nods.
"Thank you. Thank you very much." Lorelai did a pageant wave as she ate a fry.
"So, I was wondering what time your rehearsal was tomorrow?" Dean asks.
"Five, why?" Rory wonders.
"Well, uh, it's my night off and I thought maybe I'd come by and watch," Dean told her. It took every muscle in Anna's body to not roll her eyes. He was so obviously jealous about nothing.
"Watch what?" Rory asks.
"Watch you." Dean nods to her.
"Watch me do what?" Rory asks.
"Rehearse, what else could it be?" Anna didn't know why she was playing dumb.
"Oh. Um, Dean, I think you'd be bored watching rehearsal." Rory told him.
"Oh yeah, I've dozed off twice just listening to her talk about rehearsal." Lorelai tried to help her out.
"Well, I won't be bored." Dean insists.
"Louise is going to be there. You know how she tried to climb you like a tree the last time." Anna reminds him.
"I'm not worried about her." He shrugs.
"We don't even know our lines yet. You should just come on Sunday." Rory told him.
"That's a good idea. After all, Sunday is the day of rest and that's what you'll be doing... resting, 'cause it's boring." Lorelai stretches the last word out.
"Mom." Rory scolds.
"Well, honey, it's not your fault. You didn't write the damn thing." Lorelai pats her hand.
"Well, I'll come on Sunday too." Dean didn't see the problem.
"Okay. But if you're gonna go on Sunday, you don't want to spoil it for yourself." Rory didn't want there to be a fight between him and Tristan. If Dean was there Tristan would start something.
"What? It's not like I don't know how it ends." He laughs.
"Okay, Dean, look…" Rory was going to level with him when he cut her off.
"Rory, come on. I'll sit in the back, you'll die, and I'll walk you home. It's no big deal, right?" He put it in a way that she couldn't argue.
"Right." She nods.
"Good, so I'll see you tomorrow." He gave her a peck on the lips.
"Yup, you sure will." She sighs.
"Bye Lorelai. Anna." He waves.
"Bye Dean." They echo as he leaves.
"Oh yeah, he's fine." Lorelai smiled at a pouting Rory.
Tristan leaned against the locker next to Anna's. "So, Rory had a talk with me about behaving around Dean?"
"She told me." Anna didn't look away from inside her locker.
"I just don't understand his concern. Thomas hangs around her all the time and Dean doesn't care and they have kissed. So, I figure we should have a talk to get to the root of the problem." Tristan explains casually like he didn't have evil intentions behind it.
"Maybe it's because you taunt him that you get to kiss Rory." She glares.
"That doesn't explain his friendliness with Thomas, because from what I remember Dean is a jealous guy. Unless the guy doesn't know, he has the right to know." He rubs his chin.
"Don't you dare?" She slammed her locker shut.
"I would want to know if my girlfriend kissed another guy the day after we broke up." He kept up the act that he was doing something honorable.
"Tristan, don't hurt Rory because Jess insulted you." She sighs.
"A little boy could never insult a man like me." He puffed out his chest making her roll her eyes.
"Then I don't know what your motivation is. You never cared for Dean, but Rory has always been polite. She wants the best for you, still does." Rory started that conservation many times on the bus rides of how frustrating it was to hear about Tristan screwing up his life.
"Do you still want the best for me?" He asks.
"Of course, the only person who doesn't is you." She walks to her next class.
The Gilmore Girls were at Luke's counter. "Taking pity on your burger?" Lorelai commented on her oldest staring at the burger.
"Not hungry." She pouts.
"Honey, you've got to eat. You're gonna kill yourself in a couple of hours, you need your strength." Lorelai pointed at the plate.
"Haha," Rory said dryly.
"Maybe Taylor will need Dean and he won't be able to come tonight." Anna tried to make her feel better.
"Oh, he'll be there. There aren't enough monster truck rallies in the world to keep him away from Miss Patty's tonight." Rory went back to pouting.
"Alright, that's it. This afternoon we are going to engage in some intensive retail therapy to bring you out of this funk." Lorelai offers.
"No thanks," Rory said while Anna clapped.
"I mean it. Today is the day we finally spring for the Powerpuff girl shot glasses." Lorelai has been talking about getting those shot glasses for the three of them, so when the girls were legal they could do shots together.
"Hmm, I can't. I promised Lane I'd help her pick out an outfit for the play tomorrow." Rory explained that she couldn't even if she wanted to.
"Oh, that's right we can't." Anna nods.
"Lorelai?" A young guy next to them said their mom's name.
"Yeah?" She looked the guy up and down, not recognizing him.
"Hey, it is you. This is Lorelai, she's the girl I told you about." He pointed her out to the older couple standing behind him.
"Oh, Paul. I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you with the hat. What are you doing here?" She finally recognizes the guy.
'Paul.' Rory and Anna mouth to each other before looking at the guy from a new perspective. Their mom told them he was younger, but they didn't think it was by a lot. He didn't look much older than them.
"Well, um, getting some coffee." He told her.
"In Stars Hollow?" She thought it was a long way for him to go for coffee.
"Well, you know, you talked so much about the town the other night and especially Luke's place, and my mom's crazy for coffee, so I thought I'd bring 'em up here for breakfast." He explains.
"The other night?" Rory taps her arm.
"Uh, yes. Paul's my friend from the other night, the uh, casual Wednesday." She whispers.
"Real casual. Couldn't even recognize the guy you went on a date with?" Anna snickers.
Lorelai made a face at her before turning back to the family staring at her. "Oh, Paul, I want you to meet my daughters, Rory and Anna."
"Hi, nice to meet you. Hey, these are my parents, Dorie and Sid." He waved to them before introducing his parents.
"Nice to meet you." His mom smiled.
"Pleasure, really." His dad nods.
"Oh yeah, me too." Lorelai nods.
"A great pleasure." Anna smiled.
"You ordering?" Luke came over to address the new people.
"Luke. Are you Luke? Is this Luke?" He pointed at the man and looked at Lorelai.
"Yes, that's Luke." Lorelai nods.
"Oh, man! Mom, Dad, that is Luke." He claps and shouts in excitement.
"We've heard so much about you." His mom smiled.
"Darn shame about that Rachel." His dad nodded to him in sympathy. Rory and Anna had their hands over their faces to hide their laughter.
"Who the hell are these people?" Luke whispers to Lorelai.
"Uh, Paul is my friend from business school." She explains.
"Yeah, we went out the other night. And uh, you know, she talked about a few people in this town, and you being one of 'em, so nice to meet you." He smiled.
"Yeah." Luke nods.
"Um, okay, three coffees to go then." He orders.
"Something funny?" Lorelai turns to her laughing daughters.
"No." They shook their heads giggling.
"You're just smiling for no reason?" She glares.
"I'm a happy person." Rory smiled.
"Hey, I've gotta run. Mom wants to go antiquing, so it was nice meeting you, and uh, I'll see you in class Lorelai." He hands his parents their coffees.
"Bye. Bye now. Bye." Paul and his parents leave.
"What?" She snaps at her daughters.
"Nothing." They giggle.
"Say it!" She hissed, wanting to get it over with.
"I've always wanted a little brother." Rory giggled.
"We could take him to his little league games." Anna puts her hand on Rory's shoulder as she laughs.
"He looked older the other night!" She defends herself.
"How much older could he possibly look?" Rory didn't believe her.
"A lot! He's usually a little scruffy, and then the baseball cap hides the funky hair thing." She never saw him clean shaved.
"He should've been holding a yo-yo and a lollipop and wearing a beanie with a propeller on it." Rory couldn't stop laughing.
"He's in his twenties," Lorelai told them.
"He seems like a cute city boy, happy to be in a small town like he sees in the movies." Anna couldn't smile any bigger.
"He must have been a very good boy to deserve such a happy day. I bet they let him ride a pony." Rory nods along with her.
"Aren't you guys supposed to go help Lane?" She glares.
"Thanks for cheering me up." Rory grabs her burger to go.
"Do us a favor? When you come to the play on Sunday, try not to pick one of our classmates as your new casual boy toy." Anna snickers to get shoved towards the door by her mom. The girls walk out of the diner making Mrs. Robinson jokes.
Thomas and Anna were waiting outside of Miss Patty's dance studio, Rory's group was practicing inside. "Are you sure about this?" She looks at her friend.
"Look, if Tristan tells. I want Dean to know from me that it meant nothing. It lasted a second and she cried out of guilt instantly." Thomas wanted to smooth things out for Rory's sake.
"Dean has a temper. He might come out swinging if he finds out and sees you." Anna told him.
"I can handle myself." He shrugs.
"Oh, he's coming…. Hi Dean." She waved.
"Your ex-boyfriend is a jerk." He grumbles.
"We all know that." Thomas nods.
"He is in there saying Rory should cry when he kisses her." He points to the dance studio.
"What?" Thomas and Anna shared a look.
"It stupid. He just wants to mess with me. I'm going to go cool off." He walks away.
Tristan came out with Paris and Brad chasing after him. Anna and Thomas walk over to Rory, who was standing in the doorway. "He didn't tell?"
"No he hinted, but he didn't tell." Rory crossed her arms.
"That's good." She nods.
Lorelai, Sookie, Dean, and Lane were standing in the audience and watched Act 2 Scene 6. "She looks so beautiful." Lane gasped at her friend in a green gown that had a sheer cape that wrapped around her neck and gold vines strimming on the dress and the cape. She had vines wrapped around the left arm and hand. She did her makeup with a reddish-brown for the eyeshadow and blush. Her hair was brushed back with two braids hanging on the side of her face and a headband with green gems. To top it off were her elf ears. When Summer came on stage, Anna ran to meet her halfway.
"The other girl is pretty too." Sookie noticed the fairy. She had on a white dress with blue flowers on the skirt with pink sheer hanging over the chest and the sides with a silver gemmed belt to hold the sheer in place. She had blue wings, pointy fairy ears, and a pink rose crown. Her makeup was more tribal with the white lines down the center of her lower lip and under her eyes. Along with the white dots along the top of her eyebrows.
"That's Summer," Lorelai told her.
"Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy be heaped like mine, and that thy skill be more To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath This neighbor air, and let rich music's tongue Unfold the imagined happiness that both Receives in either by this dear encounter." Anna playing Romea grabs Summer playing Juliet's hands as she asks to tell her of the happiness she thinks they'll have in marriage.
"Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags of his substance, not of ornament.
They are but beggars that can count their worth. But my true love is grown to such excess. I cannot sum up half of my wealth." Juliet says that there are no words to describe the image she has for them. People who can describe it don't know of true love like they have, because she isn't able to even count half of the reasons she loves her.
Roger dressed as an Elf Friar Lawrence and guided them to the center of the stage. "Come, come with me, and we will make short work. For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone till holy church incorporate two in one." The girls got down on their knees as Lawrence silently did the ceremony. They got up to share a kiss before exiting the stage.
"Great Job." Thomas pulled them into a group hug. The teacher guides them off the stage, so they could meet their families.
Anna was about to go through the crowd to where her family and friends were in the middle when a whistle made her turn. "That was some kiss." Jess leans against the back wall.
"You came?" She walks over to him.
"All your friends invited me. You seem reluctant too but..." He shrugs.
"I just didn't want you to feel forced." She sighs.
"I'm here willingly. Is it a great comedy, did you see that caveman act?" He nods to the stage.
"No, but I heard it while I was doing my make-up." She leaned against the wall next to him.
"You look very much like a woodland elf." He looks her over.
"Thanks, I think I might wear it next Halloween." She twirls around.
"I'm sure dads will be dumping the candy bowl into your trick or treat bag." He eyes her sweetheart neckline.
"Well then, it's a definite plan." She laughs.
Paris walks over to them. "Do you know where Tristan is?"
"No," She shook her head.
"Then he is not here. If he was here and saw you with this guy then he would be over here. I got to get Rory." She pushed her way through the crowd.
"I feel bad for Rory, having to deal with that." Anna shook her head.
"Then feel bad for yourself." He watches Paris drag Rory over to them.
"Why?" He didn't need to answer because she was being dragged out by Paris too.
"He's not here." She told them.
"Who's not here?" Rory asks.
"Tristin. I've looked everywhere. I called his home, his cell, I called three girls I know he's seeing." She looked like she was about to have a panic attack.
"Paris, calm down." Rory tried to calm down her director.
"Weren't you listening? He's not here. We're on in twenty minutes and we don't have a Romeo. We are going to fail." Paris was swirling out of control.
"We're not going to fail," Rory reassured her.
"Do you think Harvard accepts people who fail Shakespeare? They don't. I don't have the numbers on it or anything, but I feel pretty secure in saying, you fail Shakespeare, you don't get into Harvard." She was jumping to the worst-case scenario.
"Okay, maybe he's just in one of the bathrooms smoking," Rory suggests.
"Good idea. You guys check the east men's rooms, I'll check the west ones." She walks off.
"She needs to smoke some weed." Anna sighs as she follows her sister to check the bathrooms.
"I knew he was going to do this, but no one wanted to listen to me. It was all, let's make Tristin Romeo, he's hot." Paris grumbled when all the bathroom came up empty.
"Don't you guys have that other guy?" Anna asks.
"Yeah, what about Brad?" Rory nods.
"Brad transferred schools," Paris told them. Tristin walks up to them. "Where have you been? You have to get dressed, we're on in ten minutes."
"Can't." He scratched the back of his neck.
"What?" Paris yelled.
"My dad had me pulled out of school. He…" Paris walks away. "… and is she unhappy." He watched her stomp down the hall.
"Duh," Anna rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean he had you pulled out of school? What happened?" Rory asked.
"Nothing. Just ticked the old man off, that's all." He shrugs.
"You're always ticking him off. It must have been something really bad." Anna crossed her arms.
"I got in some trouble." He admits.
"Trouble involving?" Rory pushed on.
"Involving Duncan and Bowman, and Bowman's dad's safe." He looks away from them.
"Oh no." Rory gasps.
"What the hell do you need from his safe? You have your dad's credit card." Anna scoffs.
"My dad took that away. Look, it was supposed to be no big deal. Bowman had the key but then the silent alarm kicked in." He couldn't believe the shitty luck he's been having lately.
"Well, okay, you can apologize and you can put back the money and you can explain that I don't know, you were going through something." Rory thought of a simple solution.
"I was, I was going through his safe." Anna rolled her eyes, even when he was in major trouble, he wouldn't admit that he was having emotional problems.
"Why would you do this?" Rory didn't understand him. He was bright, she saw his grades. Why would he throw it away for a cheap thrill?
"I don't know. I guess that's something I can ponder at military school." He put his hands in his pockets.
"Military school?" The sibling echo.
"The police are letting our parents handle it, and in my case, that means a military school in North Carolina." He points to himself.
"I don't know what to say." Rory looks at him with sorrow in her eyes.
"Well, I imagine you two are overwhelmed with the relief in knowing that soon I will be gone." Tristan leaned in to say with venom in his voice.
"Fuck off, Tristan. I'm not going to feel bad for you. How many times did you get away with a slap on the wrist for doing crazy shit? If you didn't have your dad's wealth and skin color you would be sitting in a juvenile detention center right now. You should consider yourself lucky that all that is happening is a military school and your dad not throwing you out on the street." She turned to walk into the theatre room, muttering under her breath that he was a narcissist brat.
"I'm gonna miss you, Bobcat." He called out making her freeze. "I hope that the new guy treats you better than I did."
Anna took a deep sigh before turning around. "I'll miss you too, Draco and I hope you find everywhere it is you're looking for, so you stop making life so damn hard for yourself." She walks back into the theater to take a spot next to Jess.
"Everything okay?" He asked.
"They need a new Romeo." She told him. Rory got dragged by Paris dressed in drag to the stage. "I never saw a Romeo that was shorter than Juliet." Anna giggled at the thought of Rory and Paris kissing.
"I never saw a female elf Romeo, but here you are." Jess winks, making Anna blush.
