Author's notes:
This is my first Gilmore Girls fic, so please be gentle with your comments. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, so any comments/advice would be especially helpful. This follows Rory's first year at Yale, and will primarily focus on her, although other characters will make appearances as well. Paris will probably be in this fairly regularly, and possibly Dean as well, although I haven't decided anything yet. Enjoy, and please review!
Freshman Year
By Dulcey
* * *
It was probably the biggest her dorm room would ever seem to her. It had seemed downright tiny early this afternoon, when her mother and Luke had helped her move in, and her grandparents had stopped by to say good luck, much to Lorelai's dismay. She had barely had enough room to hang up her clothes in her closet and shelve her books above her desk. Not only was this space half the size of her room at home, but she was supposed to share it with another girl as well.
She'd met Jackie briefly, when her roommate had stopped by to change inbetween rush activities. She'd seemed friendly, from what little Rory talked to her. They had written a few times over the summer, and talked on the phone once, and while she seemed nice, Rory didn't know anything about her apart from the fact that she was from California and she was rushing a sorority. They didn't seem to have much in common, but as long as they could coexist peacefully, that was fine with Rory.
But now Jackie was off as some sorority activity, and her grandparents had gone home, and her mother had hugged her about a dozen times before leaving, making Rory promise that she'd call if she needed anything. Even Luke had hugged her briefly, embarrassed to be showing how much he'd miss her.
Now that everyone had left, this room seemed huge. She was all alone at this strange school in this strange city, and she had the childish desire to cry. This was what she'd wanted, she reminded herself. This was what she had worked for during all those years at Chilton. Tomorrow she would start her new classes, and take the next step towards the dream she'd been pursuing for so long. She should be excited, not scared. What on earth was there to be afraid of?
Her bed was on the top bunk—not her first choice, but Jackie had arrived first and selected the bottom bed. Rory climbed up onto the bed, intending on reading for a bit and getting to bed early, and promptly smacked her head on a beam on the ceiling. Apparently it was lower than it looked.
"Ow," she whimpered, rubbing her temple and really wanting to cry. She had to get out of here or she would lose the battle, and she couldn't stand the thought of spending her very first night in college crying alone in her dorm room.
Paris, she thought suddenly. She lived two dorms over, and certainly wouldn't be at a rush party. Granted, Paris Gellar wasn't as supportive as Lorelai or as fun as Lane, but she was a familiar face and she was here. Rory put on her jacket, grabbed her keys from her desk, and headed out.
* * *
The girl opened the door and looked Rory up and down skeptically. "Who did you say you were again?"
Rory sighed. "Rory Gilmore. I'm a friend of Paris's. Is she here?"
The girl shook her head vigorously. "She's out with her boyfriend. I don't know when she'll be back." Then she slammed the door.
Rory shook her head in bewilderment. Was everyone at Yale going to be like this?
In any case, her last chance at companionship was gone for the night. She briefly toyed with the idea of going to the dining hall for ice cream, but realized that late night junk food binges wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun without Lorelai. She missed her mother so much it hurt, but couldn't bring herself to call and admit that she wanted to come home after a mere six hours at college.
Jackie still wasn't home when she got back. Rory quickly changed into her pajamas, plucked her copy of Jane Eyre off her bookshelf, and climbed into bed, hugging Colonel Clucker to her. As she read on, the ache inside her began to go away as she became immersed in Jane's adventures. She fell asleep on page 167, hoping that the rest of her days at Yale would be better than her first.