Jess' Girl

Chapter 1

You ever felt that slight tingling before you get an itch. The unbearable crawling under your skin. The point by which you already know the itch is coming and their is nothing you can do about it. That desperation had passed almost an hour ago - my eyes flickered to the clock - make that an hour and a half ago. 

This was it! I'd ignored and ignored the scratch searing up and around my lower right leg. I grabbed the nearest fork and stuck it down my cast. That hit the spot as if squishing those little killer ants nipping at my skin almost the whole time I'd been in the diner. 

"Take that out of your cast, El!" Luke groaned snatching it from my hand as he swept past to collect another meal.

"Luke!" I complained.

The backward baseball cap wearing diner owner turned to me, "You know El, if you're going to spend all your time crowding my counter, you might as well do some work." 

Was Luke having a joke? I pointed out my cast, "Of course, shall I start busting tables now or during the dinner rush?"

"Busting tables isn't all that happens in the diner." Luke sighed plopping the plate he collected from the service hatch in front of Kirk at the other end of the counter. 

"Are these eggs cooked for exactly 4 minutes and 35 seconds?" Kirk questioned pushing them slightly around his plate. 

"Kirk, we have this discussion everyday. You eat the food or I take it back," Kirk grabbed his plate before Luke could take it away. 

Luke flitted into the back before returning with a box and plonking it down on the empty counter in front of me. "If you're going to just sit their for another few hours, you can refill these salt and pepper shakers as well as the napkin containers," Luke ordered emptying the box of empty containers and packets of salt, pepper and the napkins.

"Coffee!" was called as the door swung open. Entering the one and only Lorelai Gilmore awaiting her next caffeine fix. A regular occurrence this summer with Rory being at summer school, Lorelai had nobody to bring her regular afternoon coffee from Luke's so she would come herself, half deranged like a wild animal. 

I watched Luke sigh as he headed for the coffee pot while Lorelai fell into the seat next to me. 

"Any better today Prima Ballerina?" Lorelai asked gesturing to my broken leg. 

"Luke took away the fork I was using to itch but other than that, it's very much the same," I assured her, while starting to refill all the shakers. I mean, I am sat here bored so I might as well do something. 

"Luke's a meanie," Lorelai whined just as Luke came and placed her coffee in front of her, earning an eyebrow from Luke. "A lovely meanie, who takes pity on the caffeine-deprived woman."

Luke just shook his head taking some of the filled shakers to switch them out. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Prima," Lorelai nodded at me. Prima had become a nickname used by both the Gilmore Girls while the rest of the town calls me El. 

"Eleena!" Except my Aunt Patty. "Eleena, darling. It's time to head to your appointment. I cancelled the Yoga class so I could come with you." 

Basically Aunt Patty cancelled the Yoga class so she wouldn't be behind on the latest town gossip but also because this appointment would dictate if I could dance again. Aunt Patty had been in a state the night I'd been rehearsing for the summer town fair and suddenly crashed to the ground. Whether my pointe shoe gave or I went up into my jump wrong, I can't remember. I remember dancing along to the music Aunt Patty was playing before a shriek of pain and then my head slammed against the wooden floors. Aunt Patty insists I blacked out for a while, which is highly likely, because next thing I know Luke had closed the dinner and rushed over. When I finally woke he was carrying me to my car.