Stars Hollow

1

Her Outfit is at the top.

I'm lounging on the couch, waiting impatiently for Rory to get her act together so we can hit up Luke's Diner before school. Rory storms into the room in a frenzy, frantically searching for her missing CD.

"Alex, have you seen it?" she demands, her frustration palpable.

"Was I supposed to be on CD duty?" I retort, earning an exasperated eye roll from Rory. "Forget it, let's just go," she snaps, clearly agitated.

We finally make it to the diner and snag a table next to Mom. Rory wastes no time in voicing her complaints about the freezing weather.

"Tea or coffee?" Mom asks, her motherly concern on full display.

"Lip gloss/coffee" Rory and I reply simultaneously, and I slump onto the table, feeling drained.

Mom starts rummaging through her purse, listing off lip gloss flavors like she's reciting a menu. Rory, ever the sass master, asks for something that doesn't resemble breakfast cereal. Mom continues her search and pulls out a color-changing lip gloss.

"That's cool!" I say, eagerly grabbing the gloss. Mom nods, pleased with herself. Rory, predictably, can't resist making a snide remark about Mom's makeup stash.

"Someone's in a mood," Mom teases, prompting Rory to blame her foul mood on the lost CD and the lack of coffee.

Mom apologizes and heads to the counter to grab us some much-needed caffeine. I offer to tag along. Luke shoots us a disapproving look, but Mom assures him it's for Rory and me.

We get our coffee, and as we settle back at the table, some random guy starts chatting up Rory. Mom swoops in, grilling him in a way only she can.

"Are you my new daddy?" Rory deadpans, leaving me wheeze laughing. The poor guy stammers out some compliments about Mom not looking old enough to have kids.

With the awkwardness over, we settle back into our caffeine-fueled morning at Luke's Diner.

[TIME SKIP TO THE INN]

Mom's on the phone, Rory's rifling through drawers, and I'm lounging in Michel's chair, much to his annoyance.

After some banter with Michel, Mom suggests Rory gets her French paper checked before we leave. Rory tries sweet-talking Michel into helping, but he's having none of it.

"Come on, Michel. Pretty please with sugar on top," Mom chimes in. Eventually, Michel reluctantly agrees to take a look, much to Rory's relief.

With the paper sorted, we head out, picking up Lane, Rory's friend, along the way. As we walk to school, we chat about Lane's upcoming hayride with a future doctor.

[TIME SKIP TO AFTER SCHOOL]

After a day of work at Luke's, I head back home to find Mom, Rory, and Sookie deep in conversation.

Rory excitedly announces her acceptance into Chilton, and while I put on a happy face, I can't shake the feeling of disappointment. I head upstairs, study for a bit, and call it a night.can't shake the feeling of disappointment. I head upstairs, study for a bit, and call it a night.

A/n okay, so part 2 will come soon, I promise!