The Other Gilmore

College Stress

Since her last dance competition, Frankie had been getting a lot of calls and letters from college scouts, recruiting her for their programs. Being scouted and recruited was very exciting, but a little overwhelming for the girl. A year ago, if you had asked her what she was going to do after high school, Frankie would have said that she was staying in Stars Hollow and would be working with Ms. Patty. Now, with the amount of colleges that wanted her in their programs, the possibilities were endless, and she was feeling the pressure.

Every weekend, she and Jess would take the bus to Hartford and go to the library. She would research the schools that were calling, and he would read. Just having him there for moral support was enough for her.

Each college Frankie looked at was amazing. Some were more reputable than others, but all had their perks and drawbacks. She had finally whittled her prospective list down to five: Juilliard, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, University of Southern California, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and California Institute of the Arts.

"You know, if you're in New York, I can visit you all the time," Jess said with a smirk as they took the bus home one weekend.

"Oh, really?" Frankie replied, a huge grin etched across her face.

"Really. And I can show you around, and help you move in, and then maybe one day we can get an apartment together."

"Really?" she asked, her grin now morphed into a look of surprise. "You want to live with me in New York?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Frankie shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just didn't think you thought about that stuff."

"Of course I think about that stuff. I love you, Frankie. I want this to last."

She smiled and kissed him deeply. "I want this to last, too."

When she got home that night, Lane was in Rory's room blasting music, and Rory and Lorelai were outside.

"Look what came in the mail today!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly. She held up the packet, showing Frankie the emblem on the front.

Harvard.

"Congrats." She smiled tightly at her family, then walked into the house and straight to her room.

It was Friday night, and Lorelai and Frankie were meeting Rory at the Gilmore mansion. She had a college admissions event to attend because she and Paris were hosting it, so it was just two Gilmore's instead of three in the car from Stars Hollow. Lorelai took the rare opportunity to try and talk to her estranged daughter.

"Frankie?"

"Hm?" she responded, staring blankly out the window.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"I just, um..." Lorelai cleared her throat, trying to find the right thing to say. "I just want to apologize. For what I said at my graduation."

"Oh?"

"What I said...or, rather, what I didn't say, has been haunting me, and I can only imagine how it must have made you feel. I'm really sorry, hon. I never want to make you feel less important."

Frankie nodded, processing her mother's words. "Okay."

Lorelai glanced over at her daughter, furrowing her eyebrows. "That's it?"