Mum seemed to think that we were still really close. We used to be, but that changed when I went to Chilton. We grew apart, because I wasn't becoming who she wanted me to be. She would always goes on about how society moms were so pushy and bad mothers, but she was just like them—pushing me to be just like her. So, I didn't think they would really mind if I went off to boarding school, but they like to think we are some kind of tight-knit family, which we are not. As I entered the room it went silent.

"Kevin, can I talk to mom and dad alone for a second?" He nodded and left.

"Oh Rory, I'm so sorry about what I said to you earlier. I didn't mean any of it. I just thought you would like to go to the party since you don't get out much and it would be a good opportunity to meet some of the people your own age. Your brother could introduce you to some of his friends. That's all I meant, I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought you would like to go shopping like we used to when you were little.." She let the sentence hang in the air as if it was my fault we didn't do things together anymore.

I took a deep breath and ignored her rant. "Mom, dad, I know that you've been worried about me since I started school at Chilton. I know you think that I don't fit in and that I don't have enough friends and it's true. Ever since I got to Chilton, I've been finding it really hard to fit in. I keep on finding it really hard to live up to yours expectations and—now—Kevin's reputation. I've found that ever since I got there, I've been labeled as Kevin's twin sister and I hate it!" I was on a roll and no one could stop me. The words just kept flowing from my mouth, the words I'd been trying to vocalize all year. "No one makes the effort to get to know me and if they do, it's only because they want to get to know him. Do you have any idea what it feels like to feel invisible to the whole world, by you and dad? You guys don't even notice if I'm here or not!" It felt really good to get it out in the open I could see their shocked and hurt expressions, but I carried on anyway, not caring what happened next. "I didn't get home until after six tonight and you didn't even realized I wasn't here. I'm not saying this to upset you; I'm saying this because I've decided that I want to go to Chatsworth boarding school in California at the beginning of next year." I breathed after using all of my air to finish my rant.

My mom frowned at me. "But Rory, none of what you've just said is true. Of course your father and I notice you and miss you when your not here. It's just that tonight was a bit hectic with Kevin's football game." Her voice was soft and unsure, cautious of what she said.

I sighed loudly. "Mom, this isn't the first time its happened. That's not what this is about, anyway. I want to go so I can finally be me."

"I understand that, honey, but I think your father will agree with me when I say that you can find yourself here and that you don't need to go all the way to California. So no, you can't go." She came over to hug me, but I stepped back—I was livid!

"You're not listening!" I screamed, tears flowing out of my eyes from anger. "I can't do that here, because I'm so over-shadowed! I'm not happy here, mom!"

Her face flushed crimson at my outburst. "You're not going, and that's final!"

I was about to jump in again and start screaming when dad started to talk. "Look, Lor, you know as well as I do that she isn't happy here. She shuts herself in her room and does nothing. I think this could be good for her, she may need this." He finished and I beamed at him, but mom still didn't look convinced.

"I can't believe my baby wants to go away and leave me here, why Rory? I know that sometimes it may seem like we pay more attention to Kevin, but we love you both equally."

"But, if this is what you really want, your father and I will talk about it."

I cheered mentally and smiled graciously. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me. I can't believe it, I'm finally going to be able to get away." And as an after thought "Oh yeah, and here's the campus brochure. I've already emailed the school, but you should probably give them a ring." I lunged forward and latched onto their necks, giving them a squeeze. I let go and beamed up at them, and they returned small smiles.

As I made my upstairs, my mind was on a natural high. I actually got them to let me go to boarding school! I didn't think I had ever felt so happy, my prayers had been answered. At the beginning of next year, I would be starting a whole new school and making new friends. And this time, I was going to be a social butterfly. No more sitting in my bathroom reading. Now, I needed to build my confidence, but I decided to start that when I actually got to the school. I giggled and jumped in place. I was so excited. Suddenly, I heard a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in."

Kevin inched the door open and poked his head inside. "What was that all about? I could hear the screaming from the other side of the house. Are you in trouble?" he asked a troubled expression on his face. When he actually remembered I was here, he was actually quite sweet.

"Yeah it was great; you are looking at a Chatsworth school girl, no more Chilton uniforms!" I was beaming, I knew it, but that smile left my face when I saw his devastated expression. My heart fell and I realized that I would actually miss him when I left, making the whole situation bittersweet. However, Kevin had to understand that I had to do this for myself.

"Why, I thought you were starting to fit in. Maddy was telling me about how you two were becoming good friends." I scrunched up my nose, trying to figure out why she would have said that. "Why do you want to leave Chilton? How far away is that school? I've never heard of it."

"You haven't heard of it, because it's kind of in California."

"Oh yeah, that would explain it." He turned towards the door. I waited for it to click. He turned around and stared at me with wide eyes—it finally dawned on him. "CALIFORNIA? Are you kidding me? They're letting you go? Are you crazy? You can't just leave; we'd hardly ever get to see you!" His voice was high and loud, obviously outraged at the situation. "You're my twin! What am I going to do without you here?" He lowered his voice towards the end, almost to a whisper.

I sighed and pulled Kevin over to my bed. He sat next to me, almost pouting. "Look, I know it's a big decision and it's really far away, but I feel like this is the best option for me. I'd finally be able to break away from the 'Gilmore-Hayden' name. It's a good chance to be able to be my own person. Plus, it's not like I'd never see you, I'd see you on the holidays and you could always come and visit me!"

"Yeah, I guess, but I will miss you, sis."

"Well, don't try and get rid of me that quickly. We still have the whole summer before I've got to go. That's like three whole months, that's ages. We can spend the whole time together when summer vacation starts." I smiled up at him, I hoped we would spend the summer together, but knowing him, he would probably go off with his friends. But, if he wanted to spend time with me, I wasn't going to discourage him.

"Yeah, we'll just have to spend more time together, just the two of us." He winked at me.

I smiled, happy that I was able to resolve the situation. "Well, I'm going to go to bed now. It is a school night, and you're probably exhausted from all that exercise, aren't you? So I'll see you in the morning, night" He smiled, patted me on the shoulder, and left my room. When he shut the door, I looked around my room and realized how much I would miss it. I got out my Ipod listened to it while getting ready for bed. I decided to focus on my next issue, how was I going to sneak back into the house tomorrow to pick up all the clothes? I'd need to put them away before mom or dad got home. I decided I could skip school—it would only be one time, it wouldn't be a big deal considering my spotless record. I decided to go to school—as per usual—and then I'd sneak back, spending the rest of the day sorting them out and putting them in the back of my closet. I wasn't going to wear them until I get to my new school. I switched of my light and smiled. What a day it had been—so much drama and excitement, but I fell asleep relishing in the fact that I could get through the rest of the week, knowing that it would be my last!

I woke up to the blaring music I had set to wake me up early. I listened for a while to Simple Plan and then I eventually switched it off. I dragged myself out of bed—stumbling around my room, trying to locate my school uniform. It was on the floor and I made a face, realizing it was seriously wrinkled, but I really didn't care—I was still on a high from last night, I still couldn't believe I was going.

I was feeling a bit daring, so I rolled up my school skirt—it was noticeable, but not too obscene. It was just the right length. I walked into my bathroom, combed my hair, and then went downstairs—still singing.

Luke was in the kitchen and looked quite worried at happy disposition. "Are you alright, Rory?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Why yes, I am Luke, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just that I heard you having a fight with your parents yesterday. It's also six-thirty and you're not usually up until at least seven-thirty, that's all. But if you say you're alright, I have no choice but to believe you. Now, what do you want?"

"Oh, I'll just have two cups of coffee, please." I sat there for a little over half an hour before dad came in, he said a quick, 'hello' and stumbled off to work. Having already finished my coffee, I got up and made myself another one. There was nothing better than coffee, nothing at all. After a while, a very tired Kevin stumbled in. He couldn't even mutter coherent sentences. Oh well, its not like I really wanted to talk to him. BEEP,BEEP, Martin was here. I inwardly groaned at the prospect of another day at school, but then I remembered by plans for later on, so I smiled. Kevin and I meandered out to the car and piled inside. We started to drive and I realized that we weren't going the normal route to school.

"Hey, Martin, is there traffic or something, because we're not going the normal route to school?" I asked, peering out the window to see if I recognized where we were going.

"Oh no, we're not, Kevin here asked me if I could pick up Tristan. It seems he was having a bit of car trouble last night. It's only a little bit out of out way, it shouldn't inconvenience us that much."

My face flushed at the idea of being in such a confined area with my crush… and my brother. As we neared his house, I shook Kevin—who had fallen asleep.

"What, what, are we there yet?" I rolled my eyes. I couldn't figure out why he was so tired. He had gone to sleep at the same time I had. Then I decided that he was probably on the phone, talking to Madeline, all night.

"No, you big baby, we're not there, we're getting Tristan, remember?" He looked at me, obviously oblivious to the plans he had arranged. The car door opened and in stepped a mess of sandy-colored hair, attached to a well-toned body, covered by an awful school uniform.

"Hi Kevin, Rory." He nodded at me.

"Hey, Tristan, how are you? Looking forward to school?" He gave me a look clearly telling me that he was not looking forward to school. "Yeah, well, you're not going to get much out of Kevin, I think he was up until the early hours talking to M-a-d-e-l-i-n-e."

He gave a grunt in reply, noticing Kevin's comatose state. "Yeah I can tell. He really doesn't look refreshed and bushy tailed. Kevin gave him an evil glare, momentarily opening his eyes. Tristan shrugged. "What, I'm sorry man, but it's true, so, Rory, what about you, looking forward to school?"

I mimicked the look he gave me earlier, clearly telling him that I was looking forward to school just as much as he was—less, probably. "No, but then again, I've only got four days left in this Hell hole until I'm FREE forever, I cant wait…"

"Wait did you just say 'free forever?' A summer isn't forever, trust me." He gave me a weird look, like he was trying to figure out if I was sane or not.

I laughed at his funny expression. "Yeah, I know, I'm not an idiot. I know summer is only a few months and it doesn't last forever. I meant, I wont be going back to Chilton again." He gave me another weird look. "Jeez, you're slow, I'm changing schools. I'm going to Chatsworth in California." His face was priceless, I thought he might have looked a bit sad, like he was going to miss me, but then I remembered who I was dealing with He wouldn't miss me, we hardly even talked to each other. I shook my head, trying to dislodge my fantasy.

"Wow, Chatsworth, I can't believe your parents are letting you go to that. It's so far away, they'll hardly ever see you. I hear it's a good school, though, apparently it has some of the wildest underage parties you can get. It's practically where trouble was invented. I would love for my parents to let me go. Are you sure you're going to fit in there?" I glared at him, but maybe he was right, I hadn't heard about that, all I heard was that it was a, good prestigious school and it was all the way in California.

I must have looked worried, because Tristan smiled apologetically. "Look, don't worry, Ror, I was just joking. I'm sure you'll fit it." He put his hand on my bare thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He quickly realized where his hand was, so he removed it—like I had burned. He smirked, noting the unusual length of my skirt for today. "Well, Rory, I think your skirt is a bit too high if you ask me, I don't think Kevin here would like that very much."

"Yeah well, I don't care what Sleepy Head over here thinks." I motioned to the sleeping form beside me. "Besides, it shrunk in the wash, that's all. Now, quit bothering me." When we arrived at the school, I climbed over Tristan, finding myself in an awkward position. "You better wake up Kevin; it looks like he's dead to the World." I hoped out of the car, leaving a bewildered Tristan. While I was walking towards my locker, I thought about how I was going to leave at lunchtime. The morning went by very slowly. It felt five hours longer than it usually was. After math—and before lunch—I headed for my locker, reached in, got the rest of my books, and carefully left school. I tried to casually stroll out of the gates, when I heard someone calling my name. It was Tristan. I groaned, needing to get out of the eye-sight of any teachers or school officials. I carried on walking, when I felt him right behind me, I twirled round so that we were facing each other.

"Yeah, what?" I asked, frustrated at his timing. I couldn't figure out what he wanted.

"Oh, I was just wondering where you're going."

"Home," I answered quickly, "anymore questions? No? Good, I'll see you later, then." I carried on my walk leaving Tristan confused for the second time that day. The walk took about ten minutes. I thanked God it wasn't too far, exercise really wasn't my thing. Then I had to wait a half an hour to catch the bus, which was a very tedious task. I swore at myself for leaving my Ipod at home. The bus ride itself didn't take too long, but the next problem was still unanswered. I had to figure out how I was going to get home from the bus stop. I managed to finally get home, which was a chore. As I approached my house, I saw a van parked in the driveway, about to unload. My clothes had arrived..

"Hello, may I help you?" I asked, flashing him my smile. It was a middle-aged man with hair falling out. He looked like a bit of a builder, not very attractive.

"Yes, we're looking for a Miss Gilmore-Hayden. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?" He was looking me up and down it made me feel sick. I decided that he probably had a fat wife at home, so I couldn't really blame him for his pedophilic feelings.