The Lorelais' First Day at Kindergarten

By: Alyson Tierney

Disclaimer: I do not own Lorelai or Rory Gilmore, or any other character associated with Gilmore Girls the way it is seen on television. Those characters and other related things and ideas belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB Network. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes, and will return them when I am finished.

Author's Note: As per readers' requests, I have been trying to think of storylines that could have happened when Rory was younger. I had a phase a few years ago when I really liked to write children; mostly in preschool and early elementary years, so I went and read one of those stories for inspiration and came up with this. I hope you guys like it, and review as you think is right! Thanks!

CHAPTER TWO

"Mommy! Mommy! Come on, I don't want to be late, and all the good books be taken!" Rory exclaimed as she pulled her mother down the road towards Stars Hollow Elementary. Unlike the high school, which was located in the center of town, the elementary school was set a few blocks back, so the small children wouldn't be subject to a lot of auto and pedestrian traffic. Rory pulled her mom into the building excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, sweetie, I still need my arm at work today." Lorelai said, trying to get her daughter to slow down. She finally did, as they approached the Kindergarten classrooms.

"Which one is mine? Red, green, yellow, or blue?" Rory asked, beginning to hop up and down with excitement.

"Red, like the strawberry." Lorelai said, smiling.

"And the apple!" Rory added, "And the fire truck!" Lorelai smiled as Rory tugged her into the red-themed Kindergarten room. She loved how Stars Hollow Elementary had color coded rooms instead of numbered rooms, so the children would be less confused. Rory would be in the Red class her whole way through elementary school, so all she needed to know was her color and her grade, which Lorelai thought was a great idea on the principal's part.

They entered the classroom, which was truly red-themed, with red carpet, walls, curtains, and small chairs. There were games and toys against the walls and a reading corner. "Look! Books!" Rory squealed.

"This looks like so much fun, doesn't it?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah!" Rory exclaimed, hopping up and down.

"Wow, this is an excited little one." An older woman said, walking towards the two, "Hi, I'm Miss Doyle, the teacher."

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Lorelai Gilmore, and this is my daughter, Lorelai Gilmore...." Lorelai smiled, and shook the teacher's hand.

"But I'm called Rory!" Rory piped up, grabbing onto her mother's leg and smiling up at the teacher.

Miss Doyle got down so she could talk to Rory, "Hi, Rory, I'm Miss Doyle, your teacher."

"Hi, Miss Doyle!" Rory said, smiling, "Do you have Green Eggs and Ham?"

Miss Doyle laughed, "A reader, huh? Yes, I do believe we have that book."

"Yay!" Rory said, gleefully, hopping up and down, bumping Lorelai.

Miss Doyle smiled, "Well, you can put your backpack on a hanger over there. Your mommy can stay as long as you'd like her to, and soon we'll have a good morning song, okay?" she asked Rory.

"Okay!" Rory said gleefully, as the teacher walked away to greet another child. Lorelai got down on Rory's level and peered into her daughter's excited face. She could just feel her resolve fading as she smiled at her daughter.

"No! I don't wanna go to Kindergarten! I want to stay home with Mommy!" a little blonde girl wailed as she and her parents entered the room. The little girl sobbed as her parents hung her backpack and knelt to soothe their daughter. Lorelai watched them, and then turned back to Rory who was looking at her mother with an exasperated 'puh-lease' look on her face.

"Rory, do you want Mommy to stay for a little while?" Lorelai asked, half hoping the answer would be yes.

Rory rolled her eyes, "No, Mommy, you go to work. I'm a big kid now! I'm in Kindergarten!"

Lorelai bit back tears as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "Mommy loves you, baby." She whispered into Rory's ear. Rory squeezed her mom back, but then pulled away as a Korean girl and her mom walked in.

"Here you are, Lane, the red room. Your backpack goes over there, and Mama will be back later to pick you up." The woman said, pushing her daughter into the classroom and then walking off. The little girl looked back at her mother's retreating form, a sad look on her face.

Rory looked at her mother for a second and then walked towards the little girl, "Hi, I'm Rory." She greeted her.

The little girl smiled shyly, "I'm Lane."

"Hi, Lane! Do you like books?" Rory asked.

Lane nodded, "Yeah. My favorite is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, because it's almost a song, but Mama doesn't know that."

"I like that book, too!" Rory exclaimed, "You wanna go see if they have that?

"Okay!" Lane said, agreeably. Rory took Lane's hand and they went to hang up their backpacks side-by-side, and walked over to the reading corner. They looked to be talking excitedly about the selection of books, and each picked one, settling down to read with each other. Lorelai smiled, still trying to bite back tears.

"Is that your daughter?" The woman who'd brought her sobbing daughter in asked, standing next to Lorelai with her little blonde girl nestled in her arms.

"Yes. Rory." Lorelai said, smiling.

"Maybe my little girl could read with her and the other little one?" The woman asked.

Lorelai nodded, "Of course!" They walked over to the reading corner, and Lorelai knelt down, "Hey, you two? Can this little girl play with you?"

"Yeah! Hi, I'm Rory!" Rory said, smiling up at the little girl.

"I'm Lane!" Lane piped up.

The woman knelt down with her daughter, "This is Lindsay." She introduced her.

"Hi, Lindsay! Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?" Rory asked.

Lindsay nodded, "Yeah. My mommy made them for me once."

"Come and sit here!" Rory offered, patting the pillow next to her.

Lindsay looked up at her mom, who nodded, "You'll be okay, and Mommy will be back in a little while." Lindsay's mother reassured her. Lindsay smiled a little, and sat next to Rory.

Lorelai reached out and twirled one of Rory's pigtails around her finger. Rory looked back, "Mo-om!" she groaned, rolling her eyes, "Would you go already?"

Lorelai still was trying to keep tears back, and pulled her daughter into another hug. "Last chance to escape?" Lorelai whispered into her daughter's ear, almost wishing she'd take the bait, but knowing full well she wouldn't.

"Mom! Go! I'll see you later!" Rory exclaimed, pulling away. She sighed dramatically, "My mommy won't go away!" she announced to her new friends.

"I can help you push her out the door." Lane offered.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Lorelai said, giving her daughter a quick kiss. She slowly backed away towards the door, Lindsay's mom following her.

"They'll be okay." Lindsay's mom said, as they stood near the door watching the three girls.

"I know they will." Lorelai smiled, and then extended her hand, "Lorelai Gilmore."

"Theresa Lister." Theresa smiled back and shook Lorelai's hand, "Nice to meet you. I've got to be off to work, but I'll see you when it's pickup time?"

Lorelai nodded, "Pickup time." She echoed, and watched as Theresa headed out the door. Lindsay didn't even look up, still engrossed in the book with Rory and Lane.

Lorelai sighed, tears filling her eyes. Her baby was starting Kindergarten, and would be occupied 2 ½ hours a day now. True, it did give her extra time for work, but she wished she could be with her baby more. She watched as other parents left the room, and Miss Doyle gathered everyone for a good morning song. Rory glanced up, still seeing her mother there and smiled, waving to her. Lorelai waved back and blew a kiss, which Rory returned. She backed out the door, shutting it behind her and sighed.