Chapter 21: Getting in

"So, Logan, you will be finishing middle school in 2 weeks. What are your plans for high school?" Richard started the conversation at the dinner.

It was May of 1998. Rory would be turning 14 in a few months and Logan was already 15, which meant that he would be going to a new school in the fall.

"We have several options regarding Logan's further education. We're still weighing down our options." Mitchum answered for Logan before he had a chance to speak up. Logan frowned at his words but stayed silent.

Logan often had dinners with the Gilmore and Danes family but it usually didn't involve his own parents. His dad was so busy these days that they often just dropped him off at the Gilmores and then Luke and Lorelai would take him to Stars Hollow for the rest of the weekend. However, once every few months Mitchum and Shira would join them for dinner, as it was "dictated by protocol". It would often make things awkward and uptight. Richard and Emily were always a little stiff but after years of dinners with children they were more likely to let them have their freedom. But with Mitchum and Shira there, they all felt as if they were having dinner with the queen.

"Yes, of course. Picking high school is a very important decision. It will determine the whole future. Especially if you want to get into a good college." Emily said. "We're already looking around for a good high school for Rory. There are some excellent options here in Hartford."

"What do you mean by we, mom?" Lorelai asked. "I think Rory should decide by herself what high school she wants to go to."

"You can't be serious, Lorelai. Rory is still a child, she can't make such an important decision all by herself." Richard protested.

"Guys, there's no need to argue. We're still one year away from this discussion." Rory chimed in. She often took it upon herself to avoid any unnecessary fights between her mom and her grandparents.

"Well, I agree with your grandparents, Rory." Mitchum said. "I would never let Logan pick his own school. He needs to get into Yale. And he has to get into a good high school to do that. How can he pick one if he doesn't even care?" He asked.

"I'm sure he cares." Luke tried to defend him.

"I don't need to care when you care enough for both of us." Logan answered, angrily. The older he got, the angrier he was with his father. He would often pick a fight with him, without even trying. They were just so different from each other, and Mitchum couldn't accept it.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go to Stars Hollow High in the future." Jess joined the conversation, trying to take some heat off of Logan.

"Stars Hollow High is not in any of the rankings. No-one who has any responsible plan for their future would choose that school." Mitchum said, outraged.

"Well, when my mom decided to abandon me at the steps of my uncle's house, she didn't exactly leave me a big pile of money for private high school, did she?" Jess answered sarcastically, which caused a rather awkward silence. "Too soon? Come on, guys, it's been over 2 years." Logan and Rory quietly giggled at his words, while Lorelai coughed trying to hide her laughter, which caused Luke to chuckle lightly. The rest of the people gathered at the table continued to be silent.

Of course, there was nothing really funny in what Jess said. However, in the last few years, he has become a master of dark humor, which eventually everyone around him picked up a little. It was at first Lorelai's idea, which she gave as advice to Logan. One weekend he was in a really bad mood, as his father publicly humiliated him at one of the fancy events, by calling him out as being lazy and irresponsible. Lorelai then told Logan a story, about how one day, she just decided to not let her mother get to her. She wouldn't care anymore about her disapproving tone and her judgment. In fact, she would simply find it funny and amusing. Logan quickly picked up on it and soon, Jess also tried it. It was certainly a lot more fun to laugh at the fact that his mom just decided to leave him with his uncle one day, instead of crying about it.

This sort of dark humor was also really helpful when Liz finally decided to break the silence and call Jess. She apologized, but said that she was still not ready to go back to being his mom. That caused a rather heated argument between her and everyone at Danes family - it's not something she could get ready for, she was already a mother. But there was no talking to her. Jess was deeply hurt, but decided to just laugh at it instead. Liz still wouldn't tell them where she lived but at least she would now call once a week to check on Jess. Honestly, right now, he couldn't care less. As far as he was concerned, Luke, Loreai and Rory were now his only family. But Lorelai insisted that he should keep on taking the calls - 'you never know and sometime you just might be ready to actually forgive her. It would surely come in handy to know her current phone number then.' she said to him.

"So what are your top choices at the moment?" Emily asked Logan to go back to the conversation of choosing High School.

"We have 3 right now." Mitchum once again answered for Logan. "Chilton, here in Hartford. Collegiate School in New York. And Institut Montana Zugerberg in Zurich."

"Zurich?" Rory asked, worried. "As in Zurich, Switzerland?"

"Yes, it's a boarding school."

"What? You never told me about it, dad." Logan said, shocked.

"Well, as you put it earlier, I care enough for both of us. It's an excellent school. And Honor loves boarding school."

"Her boarding school is in Boston, 2 hours from home. Come on, dad, when were you gonna tell me about it?" Logan raised his voice. Others were quiet.

"Honor doesn't need the structure that you do. And it seems like maybe you can't get it here."

"I won't go. You won't make me."

"As long as you live under my roof, you will live by my rules, son! I certainly can make you go."

And Rory quietly agreed with him. Logan was only 15. He really didn't have much say in this. And now she had to wonder, how was she gonna survive in the world when one of her best friends would be almost 4000 miles away.

"Okay, so I have a plan." Rory said, while barging into the guest room on Saturday morning.

"Well, good morning to you, too, Ace. Have you ever heard of knocking? I could've been naked, you know?"

"Ew, gross. Whatever, you want to hear my plan, trust me."

"Okay, hit me. What kind of genius plan do you have at 7 AM on a Saturday?"

"So, I did some research. Those options that your dad gave you are all excellent high schools. It's the easiest to get into the one in Switzerland - basically you just have to write them a big check. But of course we want you to get into Chilton because this one's the closest. They do have some harsh requirements, but I think it's manageable. I can help you with your math so you can go from B to an A. You're gonna have to write the essay also, but you're already great at that, so no worries there. We can do it. We can get you into Chilton." She said determined. He just looked at her in silence, smiling. "So, what do you think?"

"Honestly? Right now I'm wondering when did you have time to do all this research. When we came back from your grandparents' house it was already midnight. Did you spend your whole night doing this?" She blushed a little at his words and shook her head.

"Don't be stupid. It took me a minute." She protested.

"Whatever you say, Ace." He chuckled. "Do you really think I can get in? I heard it's the school for the biggest nerds in the country."

"Well, you're just gonna have to become a nerd, okay? Because you cannot move to Switzerland."

"Just admit it. You did all of this because you're gonna miss me like crazy if I move."

"Well, of course I would miss you. You're one of my best friends. You, me, Jess and Lane - we've been inseparable since as long as I remembered. So you need to get into Chilton, okay?" She looked at him, pleadingly with honest worry in her eyes. And he knew he also wasn't ready to say goodbye to his friends.

"I guess I have to do this. Okay, show me this research of yours."

"No, don't put "Catcher In the Rye" as one of your favorite books. They might get the wrong idea." Jess said to Logan. They were all gathered around the kitchen table, looking at his application.

"What on earth are you all doing up?" Lorelai asked as she walked down the stairs. "It's 8 AM on a Saturday morning. I was already woken up at 6 by my very clumsy husband getting up to go to the diner, but do all of you need to be so noisy, too? I need my beauty sleep, you know?" She complained.

"Sorry, Lorelai" Logan answered. "Believe me, if it was up to me and Jess we would both still be sleeping right now, but it was your daughter who decided to wake us up at the crack of dawn."

"My beautiful child, why are you so cruel to mommy and your friends?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm just trying to help Logan get to Chilton. We don't want him to move to Switzerland, do we?"

"Of course, we don't, but I'm pretty sure there's still time for Logan to apply to Chilton, hon. Okay, since I'm already up we might as well go get some breakfast. Get dressed, we're going to Luke's in 10 minutes."

When they walked out of the house, Rory was still blubbering to Logan about recruitment related topics, which gave Lorelai a perfect opportunity to talk to Jess.

"Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you since last night. I know you talked about going to Stars Hollow High only to save Logan from awkward conversation but Luke and I have talked about this and I just wanted you to know that if you wish to go to private high school we have it in our budget. Your grandfather left you and Rory money for school, and whatever will be left to pay, we got it covered."

"Relax, aunt Lorelai. It's still 3 years away. Honestly, I haven't thought about it yet. But don't worry about it, I know Rory comes first."

"No, Jess. You and Rory both come first. You've been with us for over 2 years now and you're part of this family. Rory loves school, and we will send her to private high school and to the Ivy League college, because this is what she wants. But that doesn't mean you don't get to chase your dreams, too. If it's also Ivy League, great. If you want to tour the world in a rock band, that's also awesome. But whatever you need, money or any other kind of support, we're always here for you."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Jess answered honestly. "That rock band is a great idea, actually." He laughed.

"It was my plan A for life." She smiled. "Plan B was college, but then I saw a positive pregnancy test and it all changed to Plan C. So you should know that it's okay to try different things. Because, sometimes, plan C ends up being the best thing in the world."

"That's good to know."

"And just so we're clear, I am not saying that you should get some girl pregnant in high school." She warned him.

"Noted."

When they were eating breakfast, Lorelai looked around and she couldn't help but feel that something had changed. Her little girl was not so little anymore. They were all growing up so fast. First it's high school, then first kiss, first love and then college and grown up life. And it was coming, whether she felt ready for it or not.