Ten Things I Hate About You , Jess Mariano

two. the band is broke

"I CANNOT STAND him," Sissy groaned, sitting with Lemon, Elliot, and Marls at Luke's, her head on the counter. "If I could kill him and get away with it, I would." Lemon giggled, earning a glare from the Gilmore girl. "You're so dramatic, Sissy," Marls teased, poking Sissy's head. "I will hurt you," she grumbled, not noticing the two plops next to her. "Is Sissy okay?" She could hear Rory's voice, and where Rory was, there was Lorelai. "She's just being dramatic," Elliot mocked, the trio poking the annoyed girl. "Ah, classic Gilmore," Lorelai sighed.

"Can you read my paper?" Rory asked, handing it to Lorelai. Sissy sat straight up, smoothing out her hair. "I wanna read!" She begged, holding her hands out. "No, you'll get strawberry stains on it," sassed Rory, earning a glare from Sissy. "It sucks. I know it sucks, just tell me it sucks." Sissy poked her pancakes, playfully banging into Elliot. "I bet it's amazing, Ror," she assured, giving her a smile. "It's great."

"No it's not," Rory argued, shushed by the slightly older girl. "It's an A," Lorelai assured, followed by a nod of agreement from Sissy. "Rory, you're amazing, just accept it," she encouraged. "Is anything higher than an A-plus?" Lorelai asked. "I think an A-plus-plus," Sissy answered, earning an eye roll from Rory. "It's an A-plus-plus with a crown and a wand."

"This is not how you raise a child. You don't send them out there with a false sense of pride because out there, in the real world, no one will coddle you. I'd rather know right now if I'm gonna be working at CNN or carrying a basket around it's offices with sandwiches in it," Rory panicked. "Rory, I know it's good," Sissy assured, rubbing her shoulder. "Hey, Sissy," Lemon called, hoping off the chair. "We're gonna go, Marls wants to sit in the Gazebo." Sissy nodded, giving the trio a high five. "I'll see you at school," she affirmed, hoisting herself up. "Coffee...coffee. Okay, what do you want? Eggs, toast, combo?" Luke rushed.

Sissy poked her pancakes, swirling her strawberries in the maple syrup. "What's the rush there, Zippy?" Lorelai joked, making Sissy smile. "I'm just swamped this morning. I was supposed to have help but I don't. So order right now or I'm bringing the both of you an egg white omelet with a side of steamed spinach," he rushed. "Yuck," she mumbled, pushing her backpack under her seat. "Jess, you were supposed to be down here," Luke called, making Sissy groan. There he was in the flesh, her new mortal enemy, and in a horrific Metallica shirt that made her want to gauge her eyes out. "What the hell is that?" You just read my mind, Sissy thought, finishing her pancakes. "What?"

"That." How dumb can you be? "That is a shirt." No shit. "Change." Man, I wish I had some popcorn. "What?" God, he's so dumb! "Go upstairs and change your shirt." Sissy watched the interaction intently, enjoying watching Jess get yelled at maybe too much. "I like this shirt," he defended, making Sissy laugh. "Why?" Jess gave her a glare, which she responded with with a coy smile. "How can you like that shirt?" Luke asked, ignoring the pair's interactions. "It brings out my eyes." Sissy scoffed, covering it up with a cough. "You know what, I'm gonna go meet up with gang," she stuttered, clearing her throat. She could feel Jess' eyes on her, something that made her infinitely more uncomfortable.

       "Bye Rory, Lorelai." Her cheeks were a rosy strawberry shade as she grabbed her backpack, Jess' eyes burning into her the back of her head. She wanted a comeback, something, anything, but the idea of his eyes on her made her mind blank.

       She walked out of Luke's, being careful not to look back. "Sissy!" She heard called across the street, but she couldn't stop — she continued speed walking forward. "Sissy! Stop!" She turned around, immediately facing Elliot and Lemon. "What's wrong?" Lemon asked, pushing her messy hair out of her face. Sissy felt dizzy, like she had just spun around a room and crashed on her bed like she used to do when she was younger. "I fucking hate him," she mumbled, continuing to walk.