Chapter 4: Deer Hunters

Rory started off at Chilton OK. At least, that was the terminology she had used with Luke. Apparently, she already earned the wrath of one girl after accidentally destroying her project on the Roman viaducts, and there was this boy whom kept calling Rory, 'Mary.' Luke was so distressed by this last bit of information that he made Rory point the little punk out before school one day. "His ass is grass, princess... don't you worry..." the diner man muttered darkly. "Let me know if it happens again."

The classes were extremely competitive and Rory was working harder than she ever had in her life. Luke was surprised to find her crying one evening in the closed diner, even after he gave her pie. Pie always made her feel better.

"What's wrong, princess?"

"I got a D on my first English assignment. I suck!"

"You do not suck! What was it on?"

"Shakespeare. And there's a test on Saturday!"

Luke frowned. "Who gives tests on a Saturday?"

"Mr. Medina."

"OK. What do we have to do to get you an A on that test?"

They studied non-stop. The only break either got was for Parent-Teacher night that Thursday. Mr. Medina discussed some of the authors they would be studying. As he did, Luke and Rory could feel the other parents' and students' eyes on them.

"Take a look at what just breathed in the door!" hissed one father, wrinkling his nose at Luke's flannel.

The mothers were only slightly more approving. "Oh, I'd like to unwrap that..."

Rory heard this and, frowning, kept a possessive hand on Luke's arm. Then Mr. Medina asked the parents to stand up and say whose parent they were and what they did for a living. Most were rich CEO's, company presidents. And they were all the biological parent of someone. Luke stood up bravely at his turn.

"My name is Luke Danes. I run Luke's Diner in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This is my... daughter, Rory Gilmore. I mean, she's not my biological daughter, but I have known her since she could crawl. She's mine in all sense but blood. Her mother left her to me when she died. The father... is out of the picture."

Rory could feel the other parents' snooty judgement on Luke as he sat down. So, even though the kids were expected to sit quietly, she stood up. "And he's the best father ever!" she announced. "Luke would give the clothes off his back to me if he could, and he has! To keep me warm. He's fed me ever since I was in a highchair. He's the closest thing I have to a father!" Her eyes blazed around the room, daring anyone to pass further judgement.

"What a unique and inspiring story!" Mr. Medina restored order.

Rory woke up late on the day of the test. Luke offered to drive her to school, but she took his truck alone. Unfortunately, she ran into a deer. Well, actually, the deer hit her car while she was stopped, which made Rory even later for the test.

Mr. Medina would not let her take it. Furious, Luke stormed Chilton and berated both Mr. Medina and Headmaster Charleston. "We have done nothing else outside of our work at the diner for days!" he stressed. "Do you want to kill her? Rory's a great kid, and she has hopes and dreams. She made a mistake! That's all! One mistake doesn't deserve this kind of failure!"

"We treat failure very differently than your kind do, Mr. Danes," the Headmaster said. "Rory must conform to the rules."

"My kind? Conform to the rules?" Luke's veins were popping in his head. "How dare you! At least Rory is humble, unlike you snooty brown-nosers! I know what you think of me! That I don't belong here! And you're right - I don't. But she does! I have to give her a chance in life! I'm the one paying her way here, and if it kills me, I will continue to do so!"

Luke's protests fell on deaf ears, and he was thrown out of the office. He made sure to tell Rory that none of this was her fault, and he loved her regardless.