RORY: I'll get it.

LORELAI: Hey, now, if that's Mick Jagger, hang up and blow that whistle I gave you.

RORY: [answers phone] Hello?

JESS: Hi. [pause] Hello?

RORY: Hi.

JESS: Is this a bad time?

RORY: Um, no, just hold on a sec? [to Lorelai] Um, the music. . . uh, I'll be right back. [Rory takes the phone to her room and closes the door.] Hi.

JESS: You said that already.

RORY: I did. You're right, sorry.

JESS: So, what's up?

RORY: Nothing. What about you?

JESS: Same.

RORY: So, what have you been doing?

JESS: Nothin' much. Just hanging out. . . in the park, mostly.

RORY: Central Park?

JESS: Washington Square Park.

RORY: Oh.

JESS: It's cooler.

RORY: Yes.

JESS: It's where David Lee Roth got busted.

RORY: Right, right. I hope he's got it together now.

JESS: Sounds like you got a party going on there.

RORY: No, it's just me and my mom.

JESS: Right. Okay, well, I'm gonna go. This is long distance.

RORY: Yeah, it is long distance.

JESS: So, see ya.

RORY: Yeah, see ya.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Jess is reading on a bench as Rory walks up behind him]

RORY: Hi.

JESS: How ya doing?

RORY: Good, how about you?

JESS: Good. You hungry?

RORY: Starved.

JESS: I know a place.

[They walk off together.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RORY: I feel very urban today.

JESS: Oh yeah, the plaid just screams urban.

RORY: I think I look like a native.

JESS: How well do you know Manhattan?

RORY: I've been here a few times. We saw The Bangles here.

JESS: When was that, twenty years ago?

RORY: It was a reunion and they were great.

JESS: Yeah, they're okay.

RORY: And a couple years ago Mom drove us in to shop, and she couldn't find a good parking place and all of the parking lots were a total rip-off, so she kept making U-turns and cutting off taxis and we were being screamed at in so many different languages that we just turned around and drove home and bought a Hummel at the curio store in Stars Hollow.

JESS: How very adventurous.

RORY: I'm just saying I'm no stranger to the Big Apple.

JESS: You are if you're calling it the Big Apple.

RORY: So I don't have the lingo down yet, but at least I have the attitude.

JESS: You do, huh?

RORY: Oh yeah. When I was getting a locker for my backpack at the bus stop, there was this guy and he was just standing there staring at me and instead of ignoring him I just fixed him with a really withering stare.

JESS: That I've got to see.

RORY: No.

JESS: Oh, come on, let me see your withering stare.

RORY: It's dangerous. I could hurt you.

JESS: I've been hurt before.

RORY: No.

JESS: I'm disappointed. So your arm's okay?

RORY: Yeah, it looks worse than it is.

JESS: [Looks at Rory's cast.] I like this Emily chick. Friend of yours?

RORY: She's a friend to all of us dispossessed.

JESS: So here's our lunch place.

RORY: A hot dog stand?

JESS: Hey, I eat here everyday. It's nothing fancy, but -

RORY: No, I love it. It's perfect.

JESS: Good. [to hot dog vendor] One with everything on it.

RORY: Make that two, please.

JESS: So, uh. . .how's -

RORY: Luke?

JESS: Yeah.

RORY: Okay. He went fishing.

JESS: Fishing?

RORY: Yeah. He didn't catch anything though.

JESS: Probably used the wrong bait.

RORY: Yeah, that's a common fishing blunder.

JESS: So he's good?

RORY: Yeah, he's good. I can tell him hello for you if you want.

JESS: Whatever.

RORY: [to hot dog vendor] Thank you. [takes a bite] Oh, my God, this is really good!

JESS: Im glad you like it. So how much time you got?

RORY: I got a bit.

JESS: There's a record store you should check out. It's run by this insane freak who's like a walking encyclopedia for every punk and garage-band record ever made. Catalog numbers. . .its crazy. The place is right out of High Fidelity.

RORY: Let's go.

JESS: Okay.

RORY: Where you going?

JESS: Subway.

RORY: I thought we were gonna walk.

JESS: It's fifteen blocks. Come on, I think you'll like it.

RORY: Do they allow hot dogs in the subway?

JESS: You are so an out-of-towner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JESS: I haven't even heard of half these bands.

RORY: I love that about this place. God, Lane would wanna live here.

JESS: Who's Slim?

RORY: I don't know.

OWNER: Grunge band out of Kentucky. Two albums, plus a double-A side single, disbanded in '94.

JESS: Thanks.

RORY: [looks through the records] Oh my God!

JESS: What?

RORY: Look! [shows him a record]

JESS: Go-go's. You must have that one.

RORY: No, for my mom. This was her favorite group when she was my age, and it's signed by Belinda. This would be the perfect graduation present. I've been looking for something all week long, and I couldn't find anything and now I have Belinda.

JESS: Graduation?

RORY: Oh, from college, from business classes.

JESS: I'm surprised she has time for anything except lighting darts on fire and throwing them at my picture.

RORY: Well, it's not a lot of time, but . . .

JESS: Uh-huh. Go on, get it. She'll like it.

RORY: Thank you so much for bringing me here. This was fate.

JESS: Yes, it was.

RORY: And in return, I just might show you my withering stare.

JESS: I'm a lucky man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RORY: I think this one's mine.

JESS: Yup, the sign says Boonesville.

TOURIST: Excuse me, I'm so sorry to bother you. Which way is 44th?

RORY: Oh, um, that way.

TOURIST: Great, thanks.

RORY: I got asked directions.

JESS: I saw.

RORY: He took me for a native. That's so cool.

JESS: That's very impressive. 44th's the other way.

RORY: Oh no.

JESS: Sorry.

RORY: Oh, man, I should go find him.

JESS: He'll figure it out when he sees all the numbers getting smaller instead of bigger.

RORY: He still thought I was a native. That's cool.

JESS: I'm your witness.

RORY: Well, I should go.

JESS: Okay.

RORY: I gotta go to my mom's graduation.

JESS: And give her Belinda.

RORY: And give her Belinda.

JESS: Go on. I'll check on the guy, Ill make sure he's not wandering around looking for 44.

[Rory boards the bus and looks at Jess through the window.]

JESS: Why did you come here?

[Rory opens the window.]

RORY: What?

JESS: I said, why did you come here?

RORY: Well -

JESS: I mean, you ditched school and everything. That's so not you. Why'd you do it?

RORY: Because you didn't say goodbye.

JESS: Oh. Bye, Rory.

RORY: Bye, Jess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RORY: I know you're hurt.

LORELAI: Yeah, you bet I'm hurt. Rory, I really wanted you there today, more than anything. You're why I did this stupid thing in the first place.

RORY: I know.

LORELAI: It was a once in a lifetime thing. You should've been there. My best friend should've been there. Whatever it was that kept you, you should've gotten out of it, at least this once. Was it school?

RORY: It wasn't school.

LORELAI: Was it Paris?

RORY: It wasn't Paris.

LORELAI: Well, what was it?

RORY: It was so stupid.

LORELAI: Well, Rory, where were you? What happened?

RORY: I cut school!

LORELAI: You what?

RORY: I cut school and I got on a bus and I don't even know why I did it. I. . .I have no excuse. I was just standing outside of Chilton, and I don't know, I must have had a stroke or something. What does a stroke feel like?

LORELAI: I don't know. Not good, probably.

RORY: And I left school and I got on a bus and I went to New York. And that's it! I'm grounded for six months, or seven, and no TV, no stereo, no reading. In fact, take all of my books away from me and lock them up.

LORELAI: Hold on here. You went to New York?

RORY: And no magazines, either. And I'm going to do all of the housework. Laundry, dishes. . . in fact, we're going to start eating at home so that we have dishes.

LORELAI: Rory.

RORY: What?

LORELAI: Stop. Why did you go to New York?

RORY: To see Jess.

LORELAI: Boy, do you know how to bury the lead.

RORY: I don't know what happened.

LORELAI: You went to New York to see Jess.

RORY: It was the stroke! It made me someone else, and after his phone call last night -

LORELAI: That was him?

RORY: It did something to me, I don't know what. In fact, you should take the phone away from me, too. That's right, add it to the list. No books, no music, no phone.

LORELAI: Okay, Rory. . .

RORY: I'm a horrible person.

LORELAI: You're not a horrible person.

RORY: I am sick, I'm ill, I'm cracked. This is not who I am. If I were to write this down in my diary and I would read it, I would be like, Who is this freak? This isn't me. This isn't my diary. I wouldn't do this. I wouldn't skip school when I have finals coming up to go see a guy that isn't even my guy and end up missing my mother's graduation, which I wanted to be at so badly. That's someone else. That's someone flighty and stupid and dumb and girly. And, I mean, I missed your graduation, which is the worst thing I could have possibly done. I mean, I hurt you and I had to spend hours on a stinky bus next to a guy that was spitting into a can, just thinking about all of the minutes that were going by that I wasn't at your graduation and they were hurting you, and they should have been hurting you because it was so selfish of this person who wasn't me to do what she did.

LORELAI: Okay, my God, take a breath.

RORY: I don't deserve a breath. No breaths. You should add that to the list. You should beat me, ground me, take the phone away and deprive me of air.

LORELAI: Okay, look, nobody wants to say this any less than me, but I - maybe you don't have a medical condition or a mental problem. Maybe, honey, you are falling for Jess.

RORY: No.

LORELAI: Well -

RORY: No, I love Dean. Dean is my boyfriend. He will always be my boyfriend. That's it. Forever.

LORELAI: Well, maybe not forever.

RORY: Yes, forever. I love Dean and Jess is gone now and everything's going to be good again. Everything's going to be all right.

LORELAI: Rory, you cut school.

RORY: Yeah, I know.

LORELAI: You got on a bus and went to a strange city in your uniform to see Jess.

RORY: I know.

LORELAI: Well, that doesn't mean nothing. That means something. I mean--

RORY: No! I don't want to talk about this anymore. The only thing I want to talk about is the list I made on the bus of all the ways I'm gonna make this up to you. You get total control over the remote and the stereo for as long as you want. Total control over takeout food choices and a special surprise present every day for a month and -- oh my God! I left your present on the bus.

LORELAI: What present?

RORY: It was a vinyl copy of The Go-Gos original album and it was signed by Belinda, but it's not the only copy and I'm gonna find another copy. That's going on the list, too.

LORELAI: Okay, honey, please. Forget about the list until tomorrow.

RORY: Okay, I'll just go to bed then and...I'll go to my room.

LORELAI: Hold on one second. Does this mean I have to eat alone?

RORY: Well, it's up to you. Sending me to bed without supper, you can't lose with that punishment. It's a classic.

LORELAI: I'd rather go out with my daughter tonight.

RORY: I don't deserve it.

LORELAI: No, but I do.

RORY: Okay, just let me take a shower and get the horrible smell of this horrible day off of me, and then we'll go anywhere you want, my treat, and I won't enjoy it. And then we'll come home and I'll go straight to bed and I'll have a terrible night's sleep, okay?

LORELAI: Sounds great.

RORY: I'm so, so sorry, Mom.

LORELAI: Oh, really? 'Cause you didn't make that clear.

RORY: I won't be long.