YEAR : 1991
Macie walked down the large stone halls of Chilton toward her next class. She tried to focus on reaching the room but instead, she could feel the eyes of her classmates upon her. The hallway seemed to go on forever, the hypnotising black and white checkered tile floor loomed in front of her, as she attempted to distract herself. The whispers of her classmates echoed around her, bouncing off the cold marble walls surrounding her.
She looked up at them, watching as they instantly turned away, pretending as though they hadn't been talking about her. Nausea bubbled inside her. All Macie wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. She missed her old school, but most of all she missed her friends.
She finally made it to the classroom, fighting the tears bubbling in her eyes. The young girl quickly slumped into the desk at the back of the classroom, burying her head in her hands.
"Hey there," The voice was soft and seemed to have come from the seat across from her. Macie sniffled, turning to face the voice. The young girl beamed up at Macie. "I'm Bailey," She introduced, fiddling awkwardly with her blue glasses, "It's lovely to meet you." She grinned brightly.
"I'm Macie," She acknowledged, still glum, "although you probably already know that," Macie sighed, slumping her head back into her arms.
Bailey simply ignored her comment, "Did you really grow up in London?" She questioned, clearly excited at the thought. Macie gave a small nod, "That's so cool!" Bailey giggled, "You have to tell me all about it after French class, okay?" She insisted, opening her French folder.
Macie finally smiled up at the girl, "Of course," she nodded, watching as a tall, thin man hurried into the classroom, placing his books to the left of the teacher's desk.
"Bonjour Classe," his thick French accent boomed, instantly silencing the talkative classroom.
"Bonjour Monsieur LeMarshall," Macie listened as the students greeted him half-heartedly, before turning back to their friends almost immediately.
"Attention," His dominating voice silenced the class once more, "As you're all aware, we have a new student joining us this year... Now..." He announced, his eyes scanning the desks instinctively for the unfamiliar student. "Ah, Macie," He declared, marking his page, "Have you studied French before?" He asked, taking the attendance of the remaining class.
Macie gave a small nod, "Oui, Monsieur LeMarshall," she answered, mimicking his thick French accent. Her mother had taught her French and Italian as a child, believing language was one of the most important life skills, regardless of what Macie wanted to become in the future.
"Eh bien," He grinned, sitting down at his desk, "Our summer break homework was introductions... would you be able to introduce yourself to the class?" He questioned, curious about her French ability.
"Now?" Macie asked nervously, feeling the eyes of her classmates upon her once more.
The teacher nodded, placing the attendance back on his desk, "Oui, it doesn't have to be anything elaborate," He smiled up at her comfortingly.
Macie gave a small nod, "Alors... Je m'appelle Macie Gray. J'ai onze ans et j'ai deux frères aînés. Je décrirais ma famille comme nucléaire parce que j'habite avec mes parents et mes frères tous ensemble. J'ai une bonne relation avec mes parents, nous sommes très proches. Cependant, Je vois mes grand-parents tout le temps. Je ne pourrais pas imaginer la vie sans ma famille. De plus, nous avons un petit chien qui s'appelle Flash. Il est adorable et..." Macie trailed off, her breath catching in her throat as the class continued to stare at her in shock.
"C'était incroyable," The teacher nodded, slightly in shock over her immaculate French. "Now, can everyone please hand in their remaining holiday homework and we will continue with our self-introductions," He announced, diverting the classes attention back to the front and away from Macie.
Bailey leant over, tapping Macie's shoulder softly, "That was amazing," she giggled, making Macie smile brightly. "Now, I mean it, you have to tell me everything at Lunch!" The young girl giggled, readjusting her glasses.
After lunch, the school day seemed to come around a lot faster than Macie expected. She had made friends with a number of girls in her year, but Bailey Crowe was her new best friend. The pair had exchanged emails and house numbers and planned to sit together in classes and at lunch the following week.
Macie wandered towards the bus waiting down the road for her, waving back at Bailey as she waited for her mum to arrive. "Good afternoon, Miss," The bus driver, an old man, with white hair and a kind smile greeted.
Macie beamed up at him politely, "This goes to Stars Hollow right?" she questioned, tracing her fingers of the map beside the bus entrance.
The older man nodded, "I'll let you know when we arrive," He chuckled, as he watched her take a seat beside the window. "It's about a half hour drive."
Macie rested her head against the glass, the glowing sun rays lulling her softly to sleep. Macie hadn't realised how long she'd been asleep when she felt a soft tap brush against her shoulder. The young girl rubbed her eyes, looking up to see the old bus driver, "We're in Stars Hollow now," His deep yet comforting voice sounded.
Macie's eyes widened, she hadn't meant to fall asleep, she merely closed her eyes for a few minutes. "I'm so sorry," she apologised politely. Collecting her school bag, she bid the driver farewell before jumping off the bus onto the grass of Stars Hollow.
Macie trailed through the streets of Stars Hollow, swiftly finding her way to Miss Patty's School of Ballet. Miss Patty had been sitting in the corner, observing as her ballet students practice their new routine when Macie peered through the gap in the open door. The young girl watched as the ballerina's executed each point to perfection, reminding her of classes in London.
"Oh Macie, dear. Come here my girl," Miss Patty yelled over the music, gesturing for Macie to join her. The young girl wandered over to the lady, still watching the dancers intently. Miss Patty embraced the girl tightly, "How are you, my dear?"
"I'm good, thank you," Macie replied kindly. "How have you been, Miss Patty?" She questioned politely.
"The usual," Miss Patty chuckled, "Are you hungry?" She asked, calling out the two girls towards the back who's toes were out of time with the rest of the group.
Macie stifled a small nod, "Yes, a little,"
"Okay," Patty nodded, "Head over to Luke's for something to eat," She continued handing the girl some money. Macie placed her school bag down, skipping along the street towards 'Luke's diner'.
Macie smiled brightly when she saw the yellow 'Luke's' sign dangling from the corner building, across from the Town Square. She slowly opened the door, pulling her body onto the red stool underneath the counter.
The young girl glanced around the room, there was a wall to the right of the entrance lined with shelves of old mechanical and hardware parts while the counter faced the windows on the right-hand side of the room. The kitchen appeared to be quite small, sort of crammed in a small back room behind the counter and just above, shelving with what seemed like hundreds of different mugs in each pigeonhole.
A scruffy looking man, with a baseball cap and blue plaid shirt, walked towards Macie, "Are you lost?" He asked initially, slightly confused. He hadn't seen her before.
"No sorry," The young girl felt her body tense, as she fiddled with the sleeves of her jumper awkwardly. "I'm eh new." She whispered, her voice barely audible.
Luke watched the expression on the young girl's face change instantly, "I'm Luke," He introduced, feeling somewhat bad for coming across rude when he was simply confused.
"I'm Macie," She smiled up at him, still clearly nervous.
"Well, Macie, would you like a milkshake?" Luke questioned, returning the smile. He watched as the girls face instantly brightened.
Macie nodded eagerly, "Can I have chocolate if it's not too much trouble?" She asked hopefully.
Luke grinned at her politeness, "Of course." Macie fidgeted with the sleeves of her uniform, her eyes still wandering around the diner, it's unfamiliarity enchanting her imagination.
"Hey, Luke," The young girl whipped her head around at the sound of young ladies voice. The woman had deep chocolate brown hair like her own and bright blue eyes. Macie's eyes trailed to the little girl standing beside her. "Rory and I are starved," She complained melodramatically, as she took a seat at the counter next to Macie. The young girl couldn't help but giggle.
"One chocolate milkshake," Luke smiled, sliding it in front of Macie, who thanked him politely. "Why can't you have Macie's manners?" He complained, causing the young girl to stare up at him confused.
The woman turned to Macie, "I'm Lorelai and this is my daughter Rory," she introduced, smiling at Macie brightly.
"I'm Macie," she giggled, her stomach for once free of nervous butterflies, "It's lovely to meet you both," She replied, astonished by how comfortable she felt around Lorelai.
"I haven't seen you around much? Are you new?" Lorelai questioned as Luke prepared their burgers and fries.
Macie nodded, "Fairly... I just moved to Connecticut over the summer break," The young girl explained, taking a long sip of her chocolate milkshake.
Lorelai raised an eyebrow, "You go to Chilton? How is it?" The woman asked Macie, eagerly changing the subject, "I really want to send little Rory there when she's older," Lorelai grinned at Rory causing the young girl to blush and avert her gaze. "She's such a bright kid."
"Well, it was my first day there actually," Macie explained, taking another sip of her milkshake. "I mean... I was quite nervous at the start but then I met a girl in my class and she was very nice to me."
Lorelai nodded her head as Luke handed them their meals. Macie gathered some money from her pocket and handed it to Luke as he passed. "I have to get going, my parents are picking me up from Patty's." The young girl smiled, waving Lorelai, Rory and Luke farewell as she left the diner, wandering back towards Ms Patty's School of Dance.
Translation:
Alors... Je m'appelle Macie Gray. J'ai onze ans et j'ai deux frères aînés. Je décrirais ma famille comme nucléaire parce que j'habite avec mes parents et mes frères tous ensemble. J'ai une bonne relation avec mes parents, nous sommes très proches. Cependant, Je vois mes grand-parents tout le temps. Je ne pourrais pas imaginer la vie sans ma famille. De plus, nous avons un petit chien qui s'appelle Flash. Il est adorable et..
So ... My name is Macie Gray. I am eleven years old and I have two older brothers. I would describe my family as nuclear because I live with my parents and my brothers all together. I have a good relationship with my parents, we are very close. However, I also see my grandparents all the time. I could not imagine life without my family. Plus, we have a little dog called Flash. He is adorable and ..
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