Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden Chapter 3
High School Graduation
On graduation night, Rory and Steph were invited to all the cool parties. Paris had made an enemy or two her Senior year. The competition was fierce. Rory and Steph were going to drag Paris to the parties. When it was time for Rory to give the valedictorian speech, she looked out over the crowd. Both sets of grandparents were sitting there smiling back at her. Burt no Lorelai, No Chris, No baby sister Gigi.
She was determined not to let that bother her. She smiled at the crowd one more time, hoping to at least see Logan, but she couldn't find him either. She opened her mouth and let the memorized Valedictorian speech fly out. Everyone sitting in that audience, though by just looking at her, there is a spoiled Trust Fund Baby. If only they knew.
After the ceremony, they were taking pictures. Grandpa approached her, hugged her neck, slipped her an envelope, and told her how proud he was of her then slipped her the keys to her new red convertible BMW. Her grandma hugged her neck, took millions of pictures, and apologized for Lorelai not being at her graduation.
Her Papa did the same as her Grandpa. Told her how proud he was of her, slipped her an envelope with her new black American express card. He told her to be sure to see him to sign all the paperwork before she left for Europe. Then he apologized for Chris not being at graduation. Her Gran-Mère hugged her tight. Told her she would not apologize for her parents not being at graduation. She told her that was their loss if they could not see what an amazing young lady she has become. This made Rory smile. Her Gran-Mère always told it like it was. She knew she had all four of her grandparents behind her, but she knew her Gran-Mère knew how special she was.
When Stephanie and Rory got to the parking lot, they could not believe it. They both had new BMW convertibles, Rory's was red and Stephanie's was black. Paris got a new Mercedes, it was black also. The girls said their goodbyes and drove off only to meet up at the coffee shop to make plans.
At the first party, they made their rounds, greeting everyone and putting on their society smile and greeted all the parents of their friends. The second party was at the Yacht Club. No parents allowed. The three girls walked in with their shoes in their hands ready to party. They made it over to the bar only to find Finn bartending. This was a surprise to them. Stephanie automatically looked for Collin. They had flirted some last summer when she was in the Hamptons for a week.
Rory grabbed her drink. She saw Steph make eye contact with Collin. That was it, She would not see her anymore tonight. Rory looked around the crowd. Paris was already hooking up with some guy Rory didn't recognize. Rory stood at the bar and looked over the crowd. There was Logan. He was dancing with someone. She started over to say hey, but when she looked back, he was in a lip lock with the girl he was dancing with. Oh, well.
The next morning she woke to a text from both of the parents. She didn't even open them. She showered and went to the main house to eat breakfast with her grandparents. They enjoyed a nice conversation at the breakfast table. She and her Gran-Mère talked, Her Papa was reading the paper, nodding and agreeing with them when asked.
Her Papa put his paper down and asked Rory if she could be home this afternoon by 4:00. He wanted her to meet with the lawyer and sign the papers. She told him that was no problem. She kissed them both and headed back to the pool house. She was texting Steph to see what happened with her and Collin last night. Paris texted her that she was on the way over, she needed to borrow her purple shell necklace to go with her swimsuit, Jamie is taking her sailing. Who's Jamie, Rory wondered? Rory sat on the couch, surfing the channels on TV, waiting for Steph to text back.
She heard a knock on the door, which was strange. Paris usually just walks in. She yelled come in, only to turn to look at the Paris that was not Paris. It was Logan.
"Hey," He said shyly. Rory did not answer. She went back to channel surfing. He walked in and took a seat beside her. She looked over at him. She had butterflies in her stomach. Why did she do this to herself? He was not interested in her like that. All she was doing was hurting herself. She smiled at him. She would not let him see the hurt.
"I looked for you after graduation yesterday," Logan said. Her head shot up and she looked him right in the eye.
"I didn't see you, maybe you had some blonde plaster to your side and I just couldn't see you," Rory said, smiling the whole time.
"I was there. I saw you last night at the Yacht club too," He said.
"Yeah, you had some girl plastered to your side again. Would have stopped by to say hey, but you looked too busy for me." She had to throw that last zinger in. Logan was the only one that Rory confided in about Lorelai and Chris and their selfish ways never having time for her.
"I texted you last night, asked you to meet up with me after the party, never heard from you," Logan told her. She looked at her phone. She started to say she hadn't received a text from him when she saw the unread text.
"I'm sorry. I was ignoring my parent's calls and texts. Yours must have come in during that time." She told him.
Rory and Logan hung out for a while until Paris arrived. Rory asked about Jamie. Paris explained that Jamie was the guy she told Rory about last summer. She met him while she was in Washington DC interning.
After Paris left, Logan asked Rory to go for a drive with him. She told him she had a meeting with her papa and his lawyers at 4:00. She would be available after that.
Steph, Colin, Finn, and Logan picked Rory up after she met with her Papa and the lawyer. The group headed to New York. The five of them, sometimes 6, if Finn could get a date, spent most of the summer between New York, Hartford, and The Hamptons. Rory and Logan grew closer together. They did not make it official, but anyone with eyes could tell they had it bad for each other.
Logan was afraid of commitment. He had fun his freshman year at Yale. He wanted to continue to not be tied down. Although he did not date at all that summer, he would still tell anyone that would listen that he and Rory were just best friends.
Rory didn't think Logan was the type to be in a committed relationship, at least not yet. She also wanted the freedom to have fun. She was worried about seeing Logan with all the girls at Yale that she has been hearing about.