𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 | 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴

22 :: 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

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❝ They're just grades, they don't define you. ❞

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THE NEXT FEW weeks went by steadily. The relationship between Jess and Melissa — whatever it might be, they didn't get the chance to talk about it yet — was progressing since that night at the Inn. Pretty much everyone just assumed they had crossed the bump in their relationship. Gracie was the only person who besides themselves, knew any different.

Luke was ecstatic when Melissa was returning to the diner. It was a moment for the history books. It had been over a good month since she'd been inside, and he was so overjoyed he had given free coffee to practically everyone who jingled their way through the door that day.

With the approach of the PSATs, Melissa hardly ever found a chance to meet up with Jess for longer than the moments before school in the mornings and the times she came into the diner with her mom and sister. It was stolen kisses whenever they were together, and hushed whispers over the phone in the middle of the night.

Melissa and Gracie were spending most of their free time studying for their PSATs. If Melissa wasn't studying, she was playing soccer. She worked up a habit of going for a run every evening after her study sessions to cool off steam.

Weeks later, the PSAT scores were out and Gracie, Melissa and Rory were nervous beyond description; Melissa more than any of them.

Gracie was raised in a way that brilliance was expected of her, and luckily for her, the environment she grew up in allowed her to perform brilliantly. And Rory was encouraged in every aspect by their mother, but because Melissa had other hobbies other than studying, she wasn't brought on the trips to the library or the bookstore when they were growing up. Hell, she didn't even get a library card till she thirteen, when Rory had one since she was six years old.

But even though Melissa's education had never been a big priority to Lorelai, the pressure was still on to do well in all her exams. Melissa refused to be viewed as less than Rory; that because she plays sports she couldn't also be smart.

The only reason Rory had even applied for Chilton in the first place, was because Melissa had been offered a sports scholarship at the start of their sophomore year and according to Rory, she couldn't "bear to be apart from her sister."

Even though they never spoke at school.

Melissa wasn't saying she felt like her achievements were belittled in the eyes of their mother, but when Rory had been accepted into Chilton purely based on her grades whereas Melissa got in first, might I add, on a sports scholarship of all things, Rory had gotten much more enthusiasm than Melissa had.

If there was one thing Lorelai Gilmore hated more than bad movies and cold coffee, it was sports. And the very fact that her daughter played them and was good at them, was something she overlooked on the daily.

So that's why Melissa was scared for the results to come back. She didn't want to give her mother any more reasons to choose her sister over her. Rory already had plans to go to Harvard once they graduated, but Melissa had no idea what she'd even like to major in let alone what school she'd like to do it in.

Now, with Gracie sitting on one side of her, Rory on the other, her mother across from her, Jess behind her with his hands squeezing her shoulders and the envelope in her hands, she couldn't do it. They weren't the actual real exams, so what did they matter? But still, she couldn't shake the nerves.

"I say we just open them on the count of three," Gracie suggested. Melissa glanced over at her and saw her eyes trained doubtfully on the envelope in her hands. Maybe Gracie was scared too. Melissa looked to her other side and saw Rory with the same facial expression. Maybe she wasn't the only one who was scared.