My mom is honestly one of the best people in my life; not saying Dad isn't high up on that list. After allowing me to rant to her about how having Lorelai entering Chilton has changed my school dynamic, she proceeded to give me more perspective on the situation as a whole.
Three Days Ago...
"Honey, I understand that having her there has been difficult, but have you thought about how she feels?"
"Honestly," I start, Mom giving me a look, "not really. I didn't realize until she got there that she has no idea who I am."
"Well add that to the fact that she has never been a part of this life in Hartford with society parties and private school. She's probably going through some major culture shock compared to where she came from," Mom suggests as we sort through the papers on the table.
"Oh," I whisper, "should I try to help her or will that make it worse when she finds out I'm her sister?"
"Sweetheart, that is entirely up to you. Just think hard if you'll regret helping later on."
Back to today...
I decided I should probably help her a little, can't give her mother any more reason to hate me if I let Lorelai struggle so much. I shake the thoughts away as I walk into my first class with the group. Mom had dropped me off before heading into the office means I missed my usual gossip session with Louise and Maddie.
"Hello girls," I grin, "what have I missed?"
"Already got a party lined up for this weekend after the big test," Louise starts, "you in?"
"Only if Paris goes," I respond staring directly into Paris' blue eyes. She rolls her eyes, opting to get out her notebook for class instead of confirming she'll go with it.
"Just join us anyways?" Maddie asks. I shake my head knowing that if Paris won't go that I'll just drag her to my house for a girl's night in.
Class begins shortly after I respond, all of us pay attention to the class taking different notes to swap later so we don't miss anything. Right as class comes to a close, Mr. Medina begins handing back our papers from last Friday.
"Decent effort by most," he begins handing them out," Good effort by some, an exceptional effort by three. Miss Geller, Miss Grant, Ms. Hayden." Paris and I grin at each other when we see the A's in bright red ink on our papers. Mr. Medina continues as we do this, "Ms. Graham. Miss Gilmore. Take these home, and learn from your mistakes. Look at the large red circles around various parts of your paper as friendly reminders that to err is human. And that here at Chilton we try to beat that humanity right outta ya!"
Louise grabs Paris' attention as she subtly points to Lorelai's paper marked with a D.
"Ok, next up. The test - the dreaded test. Shakespeare! The man we've been droning on about for the last three weeks finally comes back to haunt us on Friday. This is a big one my friends - multiple choice with an essay section that will count for 20% of your grade for this semester. And don't be fooled by my kind face and charming personality. This test will be hard, and there will be no makeups," he reminds us as the bell rings, "refer to the study materials that I gave you at the beginning of the month and those extensive notes I know you've been taking."
And with that, the students are out of their seats and filtering into the halls. Paris falls back as she waits for Louise, Madeline and I to finish putting our stuff away.
"Hard paper," Paris comments.
"Killer," Louise responds as I roll my eyes at them. I know Lorelai is in front of us and they're just trying to get at her.
"How'd you do?"
"A," we both respond to her.
"Small world," she jokes before turning to Madeline, "Madeline what'd you get?"
"You know I got a B," she says sadly as all her friends got A's beside her.
"A B's not bad, Maddie." I remind her as I swing my arm over her shoulder.
Louise and Paris get that little spark in their eye before they go back and forth.
"Not bad at all."
"Respectable even."
"I'd be proud."
"A D, however, would be cause for concern," the "concern" clearly noted in Paris' tone.
"A cry for help."
They continue going back and forth, getting slightly cruel with their digs toward the grade they know Lorelai got.
"Ok, I have no idea what you two are talking about," Maddie says frustrated at the two.
Paris rolls her eyes, "No, but Rory does."
I split from the three as they head to a different class, and I decide to talk to her before I regret it.
"Hey," I say softly, "don't listen to them. If you need help, you can always reach out to me. Ok?"
She rolls her eyes at me, holding her books tighter against her chest. "I don't need help from you. You let them be cruel and then try to help me, yeah right. I'm not stupid to let you try to help me only to stab me in the back."
I'm a little impressed she has this bite in her but more so, I'm angry she would think I'm being disingenuous about wanting to help her.
"Fine, just don't say I didn't offer." I then hastily turn, seeing Tristan approach her before heading to my locker to switch out my books before Chemistry with Sarah.
I walk into class, the annoyance from the encounter still present on my face.
"What's with the face, Ali?" Sarah questions as I plopped into the seat next to hers.
"Just Lorelai," I grumble.
"Gonna need more than that," she says taking out her textbook to start on the assignment listed on the board.
I sigh, flipping to the page that I need before turning to her, "I decided to try and see if I could help her with English since she's struggling and she was nothing short of rude. I mean, it's not entirely my fault that Paris is doing what she is. I just....ugh."
She nods, "Then let her see what a mistake she made, I mean getting your help without asking is huge and she will realize it when she starts failing."
Mrs. Delgato (a.n.// can't remember if a science teacher ever got named) informs the class that today is a recap from last week before we dive into learning about Avogadro's number. Sarah and I spend class split between the worksheet handed to us and discussing study strategies for the Shakespeare test. The bell rings so we split ways as I head to my next class, Calculus, with Tristan.
"Hello, loser." Tristan greets me as I slide into the seat next to him.
"Mr. Dugray," I feign offense with my hand on my heart, "is that any way to speak to a young lady?"
"Hmmm," he looks around the room, "it is not, and yet I see no young ladies here. So your question is pointless."
"I hate you."
"You do not!"
I grin in triumph as he grows irritated with my insistence that I hate him. He spends most of the class trying to get my attention without getting caught by our teacher. He's more persistent than normal, that's for sure.
Once class ends I turn to him, "Okay, I don't hate you. What has you so desperate to confirm I lack hate for you? Were you ignored by a pretty girl?"
He looks irritated with my last question, I raise my eyebrow before continuing," Oh Tristan, it was a girl wasn't it?!"
"I hate you."
"Dugray, don't you dare start."
He walks away from me, heading to the cafeteria to meet his friends as I trail behind heading to my group. I get to my usual table with Louise, Madeline, Paris, and Sarah.
"Good, you're here," Paris starts, "we need a study plan so we all pass the test on Friday."
"Paris, I just sat down. Let me grab some food before you start this."
"Alice, we can't waste a moment on this. You heard what Medina said, it's 20% of our grade."
Louise and Madeline back me up, but it's useless as Paris is deadset on having a "battle plan" to make sure everyone passes with an A.
The last three classes of the day dragged on, with most of my mental energy being sacrificed at lunch to keep Paris happy. With no practice after school, Sarah drops me off at home before heading to her place down the block.
"Mom," I yell, "I'm back, please be here."
Dad walks in as I unceremoniously dump my bag on the floor and slip my shoes off.
"Sorry, kiddo. It's just me, Mom's at the office for another hour working on this case."
I sigh, heading straight for the kitchen. I start my search for the chocolate I keep in the freezer, Dad following behind me.
"Bad day?"
I nod, finding the chocolate and sitting on the stool at the counter. He grabs a piece, sitting beside me. "Wanna talk about it or do you need mom?"
"I guess you'll work," I joke.
"Ouch, thanks."
"Mom gave me advice last week that maybe I give Lorelai a chance at school. I tried today, but she threw it back at me because Paris and Louise have been doing what they usually do with new kids. I just don't know what to do."
"I'm glad you tried, Alice. I'm sorry she did that. Can you elaborate a bit more though?"
"Don't be sorry on her behalf, Dad. I offered to help her study for the big test on Friday. She didn't do great on this last one and I figured I would offer to tutor her. And you know how Paris is when she finds out you got a bad grade on something, it's like a shark with blood. Well, now Lorelai thinks I'm going to "help" her and then stab her in the back." I'm exasperated with the situation, angrily biting into the dark chocolate to let off some steam.
"Listen, Alice. She's as stubborn as her mother. I'm so glad you reached out, you're doing wonderfully with this whole situation. I hate to see any of my children suffer, but that might be what you have to do with Rory. You tried, and for that, I'm so incredibly proud," he responds before messing with my hair, "Now, we need to get freshened up for dinner. Your mom and I need to figure out who's going to the Parent/Teacher conference."
"Why does it matter?"
"Because this year Lorelai is there," he starts," and.."
"and she doesn't know about Mom!" I realize.
"Exactly, kid."
With this, we both head to get ready for dinner and for the discussion of how well will Lorelai take this.