She stepped off the bus, facing a sign in front of her. Welcome to Stars Hollow, Population 9,973.
You're definitely not in Hartford anymore. she thought.
She looked at her surroundings. Kids running around chasing each other, a balding man with a beard yelling at a young boy he called Kirk, two women, one blonde the other brunette, huddled close together talking, people walking by, a scene she wasn't used to seeing. There was grocery store called Doose's, a post office, a building with a sign hanging over the doorway saying William's Hardware, a Miss Patty's Dance Studio, and a little ways down was a little bakery named Weston's.
She looked at the little bakery. She was hungry, and she could really go for some coffee about now. She had little money, but figured she'd be able to buy a cookie and a small coffee. She walked in the direction of the bakery, stares following her. She kept her head straight ahead, not determined on showing how nervous, how scared, she was.
Maybe they aren't used to new people. It is a small town, after all.
She entered the bakery and walked over to the counter where a nice looking old lady stood behind.
"Hello dear, how may I help you?" the lady asked.
"Um," she said, looking up at the menu. "I'll have a chocolate chip cookie and small coffee please."
"Coming right up." the lady behind the counter said and reached her tongs under the counter, pulling out a cookie. She placed it on a napkin, then turned around and poured some coffee into a cup.
"Here you go." the lady said, handing over the cookie and coffee. "That'll be $1.50."
"Thank you." she said, digging through her wallet and handing over the money. She began to head over to a table when she turned back around and walked back up to the counter.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I was wondering... do you know if anyone around here is looking to hire someone?" she asked the lady.
The lady looked over her and then looked down. The young girl in front of her was carrying an overnight bag in her hand.
Poor girl. Looks like she ran away. Or maybe she was kicked out... She can't be older than sixteen. She must really need some help.
"Hmm.. let's see... I think Mia from the Independance Inn is looking for a new maid."
"Really? Could you give me directions there?"
"Of course dear, what is your name?"
"Lorelai. Lorelai Gilmore."
"Are you new here?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Well Lorelai, welcome to Stars Hollow, and my name is Fran. Fran Weston. But you can just call me Fran."
"Nice to meet you Fran." Lorelai said, giving a shy smile.
"Same to you dear. Now, to get to the Inn, you just go down Peach..." Fran gave Lorelai directions, writing them down for her in case she forgot. "... and then you should end up at the Inn."
"Thank you so much."
"Anytime. Come by again if you ever need anything." Fran said and smile at her.
"I will." Lorelai said, returning the smile.
She walked out of the bakery, eating her cookie and drinking her coffee on the way. She pulled her jacket a little closer to her; it was a little chilly outside. It was mid-October and winter was on its way. She walked down the streets, observing everything around her. The trees leaves were birght, vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow. Two teenage girls sat in a gazebo in the middle of town, talking. Dogs barked and children giggled. She tossed her empty coffee cup and napkin in a trash can on the side walk and continued on her way.
A few minutes later, she found her destination. She took a deep breath before heading into the Inn. When she entered, she stood in the lobby for a minute and looked around her. She nervously walked up to the front desk and a woman with a name tag that said 'Mia' stood behind it looked and up at her.
"Hello, how may I help you?" Mia asked.
"Hi, um, a lady named Fran from Weston's said you might be looking to hire a new maid." Lorelai told her.
"Here, lets go into my office." Mia said, walking behind the desk, placing a hand on Lorelai's back, and leading her into the office.
Mia gestured for the young girl to sit in a chair in front of her desk before going behind it and sitting down. Lorelai sat down in the chair and placed the bag on the ground.
"What's your name sweetie?"
"Lorelai Gilmore."
"And how old are you?"
"Sixteen."
Mia nodded, looking at the girl and then at the bag down on the floor beside her.
God, there's no way she or anyone else in this town is going to hire a sixteen year old runaway. Lorelai thought to herself.
"Do you have any experience as a maid?"
"Um, no, not really. But I used to help out my mother's maids sometimes." she said.
Mia nodded again, looking back down at her bag. She looked into the girls bright blue eyes and couldn't help herself from wondering...
"Honey, where are your parents?"
Lorelai looked down at the floor, playing with her hands. "I ran away..." she said very quietly.
Mia looked at the girl again. She wondered what had happened to this girl to make her runaway, but she felt it wasn't her place to ask. She really didn't think this young, unexperienced girl was cutout for the job, but she couldn't turn her down. She couldn't say no to a homeless child.
"How soon will you be able to start?" Mia asked her.
Lorelai's head shot up, suprised. Was this woman really going to hire her? "Uh... anytime. Now, if you want."
Mia smiled at her. "How about tomorrow? You can work from four to nine."
"I can work early than that if you'd like."
"Lorelai, are you in school?"
Lorelai looked at the ground once more and shook her head.
"Well, how about I make you a proposition? I'll hire you as long as you go back to school."
"Oh, thank you. Really. This is a big help." Lorelai said, smiling.
"You are very welcome." Mia smiled back at her. "And I assume you have nowhere to stay, do you? You did say you ran away, correct."
Lorelai nodded her head.
"Well, there's a potting shed out back, if you'd like to stay in there. It's not much, but I bet with a little sprucing up we can turn it into a nice, comfortable little home for you."
"That would be great, thank you."
"Of course. Here, I'll show you to it."
Mia led Lorelai out to the back and into the potting shed. The place needed a good cleaning, but at least it was a place to stay.
"Here, I can take you shopping for a few necessities."
"Oh.. um... I don't have much money."
"That's ok dear, I can help you."
"Oh, no, really, I couldn't..."
"Don't be silly, take it as a... a welcoming gift." Mia said and smiled at her.
"Ok, then. Thank you." she smiled back.
Mia took Lorelai around town shopping and giving her a tour along the way. They came back and spent the last half of the day cleaning the potting shed, turning it into a new home for Lorelai. When they had finished, the place didn't look half bad. There was a little bathtub with a pink curtain shower in the corner of the room, a two seater couch, not very comfortable, but a couch all the same, in front of a coffee table at the front of the room. Then there was a bed Mia happened to have had as an extra and had give to Lorelai in the back corner of the room, a sink, refrigerator filled with groceries, and small kitchen table.
"Well, Lorelai, I better get going. You will enroll in school tomorrow right?"
"Yes ma'am." she nodded.
"Good. You should probably wake up at seven. School starts at eight-thirty and you might want to get a head start so you can enroll."
"Ok, and thank you, again. You've been a major help to me."
"It was my pleasure." Mia said and smiled at her. "I will see you tomorrow at four."
"Tomorrow at four." Lorelai said, nodding.
Mia waved goodbye walked out. Lorelai turned around and faced the room. It was a lot different from the home she had come from, but it was a home none the less. She was living in an entirely different world now. This was not a place of high society, where husbands worked important jobs, wives stayed at home organizing parties and planning events, spoiled brats crashed porche's two hours after getting them knowing daddy would be there to bail them out of trouble. A place where big, huge houses in gated communities were seperated from the lower class, where maids weren't hired, you weren't forced to attend perposterous events, such as coming out balls, forced to live the lives of your parents... no, that was the place she had run away from, the life she had run away from. And this is where she ended up, Stars Hollow.
Well, welcome to your new home, your new life, Lorelai.