Lorelai lies the bed half awake desperately trying to latch onto a little more time she can get away with not moving.
"Lorelai!" Emily screeches. She enters Lorelai's bedroom "Oh my God your not even up yet! You have less than an hour before school starts! Lorelai are you listening to me, we need to be out of the door in 30 minutes Lorelai!"
A groggy Lorelai responds "muuum"
"Get up Lorelai, this is your first day of highschool and your not even awake yet"
"Muuum" Lorelai pulls her duvet over her head, but Emily pulls the other end right off the bed and dumps it on the floor "Hey!"
"Get up, and get dressed young lady. If I don't hear movement in the next five minutes then I'll be back. Do you understand me Lorelai. Lorelai!"
"I'm up I'm up"
Emily exits the room.
In the dinning room, Emily sits at the table holding a mug of coffee and is making list upon list about why to fire the maid this time. Lorelai enters in her new uniform and sits grabbing a muffin from the pile.
"Mum can I have some coffee" begged Lorelai
"No" replied Emily in that condescending tone of hers, she looks up at her daughter, "What is wrong with your hair. Did you forget to run a brush through it or were you going with the dragged through a hedge backwards look?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, it's very in this year we are all going as members of bananarama" Lorelai retorted sarcastically.
"Well your not going to school looking like you just climbed out of bed. You better bring a brush down with you when you go up to wash your face"
"Mum, I've washed my face"
"Well it's still dirty"
Lorelai sighs "Okay. Where's dad?"
"He went into the office"
"Oh, I thought he was going to go in late" Her voice had an air of disappointment.
"I don't know what to tell you Lorelai he got a call and left."
"Ok fine, whatever"
Emily, seeing the disappointment on Lorelai's face "He'll pick you up and take you to the club for a soda after school. Now go and get your hairbrush and we can sort out that hair"
"Sure mum" A small smile etched into the side of Lorelai's face almost unnoticeable, but still noticed by Emily.
"Your uniform looks great by the way"
"Thanks" Lorelai left, now with a satisfied smile on her face.
They later pulled up outside Lorelai's new school.
"Wow" says Lorelai, "It looks like the Stanley Hotel"
"When did you watch The Shinning?"
"Oh, ermm" Lorelai fished for an excuse
"We'll discuss it later, we need to talk about something more serious anyway"
"What now" Lorelai rolled her eyes,
"Lorelai this is a new school, new friends, a new start so for goodness sake don't blow it" Emily looked intensely at her daughter, "Your future rides on how well you do in this school, and so does your happiness. Therefore, if I get another call that you've broken the rules your going to be in more trouble that your smart mouth has ever got you in before. Do you understand?"
"Yes mum"
"Remember this your representing the family here. I don't want a repeat of last year"
"Mum, it's not that big of a deal"
"Not that big of a deal, Lorelai, you actually need to focus this year"
"Ugh"
"I'm serious Lorelai. If I you get into any trouble at all"
"Come on mum, give me a break, everything will be fine"
"Remember we have the meeting at 10 o'clock, do not be late. This is important"
"Okay, I'll be there"
"Good, now I'll meet you there, I have a quick phone call to make"
Lorelai and Emily exit the car, Lorelai found her way into the building and Emily spotted a pay phone. She dialed Richard, his secretary picked up.
"Hello, you've reached Richard Gilmore's office how can I help you" says Margie Richard's secretary.
"It's Emily, can you put Richard on please"
"Of course one moment Mrs Gilmore" after a moment,
"What's the matter Emily? I'm in the middle of work" Richard asks.
"You need to pick Lorelai up from school"
"What do you mean I need to pick her up"
"Richard please. She wants you here to be there for her on her first day of school and you bailed this morning"
"But I'm busy Emily, I have to work"
"I know Richard but she's your daughter"
"I had an urgent matter that "
"I've already promised her"
"You can't just spring this on a person"
"She is your daughter so for crying out loud pick her up from school and take her to the club"
"The club!"
"Goodbye Richard"
"Emily!?" She hangs up, and entered the school.
"Lorelai" Emily yells out, down the long hallway, the place was packed with confused freshmen. Lorelai turns around to look at her mother,
"Yeah" She sighs as Emily walks over to her
"10 o'clock remember, please don't be late and no funny buisness"
"Alright" Lorelai was ushered into a room with the other students and Emily turned to follow the parade of parents entering the cafeteria.
It was 10:05, Lorelai pushed open the large double doors, a bookshelf covered an entire wall. There was a large fireplace on the opposite side and directly opposite her stood a wooden desk where an older man with grey hair sat. Her mother sat opposite him with her back turned away from Lorelai, who could already tell she was mad.
"Sorry I'm late" said Lorelai
"That's okay Lorelai, it's a big school" the headmaster replied "besides it gave your mother and I a chance to catch up, I haven't seen her in ages"
"Well Albert, you and Matilda should definitely come to dinner one day."
"We would love that Emily"
"Lorelai this is headmaster Barrett"
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sir"
"It's good to meet you. I think the last time we met you were about 7 at the Christmas party, you were completely beside yourself with those apple tarts."
"They were good" Lorelai looked to her mother who was avoiding eye contact.
"That's the main thing. Now Lorelai I have heard you have quite the reputation for witty jokes. That will need to stop while your here. I don't tolerate disrespectful behaviour, do you understand?"
"Yes Sir"
"Good , I'm sure Lorelai wants to get back to class and I have another appointment" said Mr Barrett
"We should go, but I'll call Matilda, bye now" Emily said
"That sounds excellent goodbye"
"Mum, look I'm sorry" they had entered the hallway
"Didn't I ask you, explicitly not to be late"
"Yes you did"
"Then you better have a reason for why you were"
"I'm sorry it's just"
"Just what Lorelai"
A door creeks open and a teacher comes out and walks down the hallway.
"I need to go mum"
"Your father will pick you up after school outside the park opposite"
"Okay"
After school Lorelai crossed the road to the park, and waited . Without a watch or a way to contact her father Lorelai had no idea where he was. As the minutes grew on she sat on a bench where she could see the entrance and began to watch the passers by, she laughed when people fell into the nearest pothole and made up the conversations people were having. For some reason this occupied her time nicely and she soon forgot who she was waiting for.
Back at the house Emily was wondering where Richard and Lorelai were, it was almost 5 and they should be back by now. She entered the kitchen and ordered the maid, to finish the desert and make the salad. As she finished her instructions the phone rang, hoping it was Richard to tell her they were on their way back she picked it up
"Hello, Richard?"
"Ah Emily good, I thought I would let you know, I've got a meeting soon so I don't think I can pick Lorelai up"
"You didn't pick her up!"
"Oh Emily please it's hardly anything to get frantic about"
"Lorelai finished school an hour ago"
"What do you mean it's was 3, you still have an hour Emily"
"No it's 5"
"Oh dear, damn the time difference. She didn't come home?"
"No I thought she was with you"
"I'll call the school she's probably there"
"No Richard you deal with your precious meetings, I'll find Lorelai" Emily slammed the phone down and turned around and yelled at the maid "for goodness sake put the sorbet into the cocktail glasses" she marches out of the kitchen, the house and into her car.
She drove and drove scouring the streets looking for Lorelai walking home. When she arrived at the school, got out of the car and looked around. Lorelai spotted her and emerged from the park. A wave of relief washed over Emily's face which she quickly hid and told Lorelai to get into the car.
"So where's dad?"
"He got held in a meeting. Didn't think to tell me until 10 minutes ago"
"Are you ok"
"I'm fine"
"Are you sure"
"Yes, I just want to get home"
"Okay"
They sat in silence for the rest of the journey and when they pulled up the pristine driveway Richard opened the door with a stern look on his face.
"Lorelai thank goodness, come in"
"Well thank you so much for inviting me into my own home Richard" remarked Emily sarcastically.
As they walked into the house Richard responded saying "Emily it's been a long day I need to finish something, excuse me" Richard turned and left
"Lorelai go upstairs and clean yourself up for dinner"
"Yes mum" She looked between her parents.
Emily watched and waited till Lorelai had ascended the stairs before she turned and marched into Richard's office.
"Emily, I was just about to make a phone call"
"Richard stop working"!
"I need to finish this"
"You don't seem to care about any of us it's just work work work"
"Emily how dare you"
The voices slowly faded as Lorelai lay on her bed trying to listen in on their argument. Bored, she gets up and pushes down on a part of the floor borders, it sprung up and she took out a shoebox hidden inside. Opening she takes out the latest 'teen beat' magazine and tries to distract herself from her parent's arguing. When this fails she grabs her Walkman from the top door of the vanity, takes out the innocent tape and replaces it with one from the shoebox, plugs it in and places on the headphones. Settling back down with her magazine, she still couldn't get comfortable. So pulling the headphones off she stared around the room. She'd never felt comfortable here, it was all to her mother's taste. Her eyes rested on the phone and she picked it up, dialed a number and it began to ring.
"Hi Chris, it's me"
"I'm good, dad forgot to pick me up from school so now the two of them are down there arguing like Lucy and Ricky"
"It I haven't seem mum this annoyed at dad since the ice cream fiasco of 76'"
"Don't laugh Chris, this is serious"
There is a knock on the door
"One second Chris" Lorelai looked up at the door "come in"
A timid maid enters
"Mrs Gilmore told me to inform you that dinner is being served"
"Okay thanks Angela, tell mum I'm on my way"
The maid leaves closing the door behind her
"Sorry Chris I've got to go I've not even changed yet. I'll keep you updated on the craziness though"
"Of course, I'll call you later"
Hanging up the phone she leaps out of bed rushing to the dresser, she pulled out some random clothes and ran into the bathroom.
From downstairs Emily yells, "Lorelai where are you"
"I'm coming mum"
"Lorelai get down here now, your dinners going to get cold"
"Okay, one minute"
"I'm coming up there"
"Don't come up here, I'm coming down"
The door opened and Emily comes in just as Lorelai emerges from the bathroom adjusting her top.
"What on earth are you wearing, and why is this room a mess"
"I was just trying to decide what to put on"
"Your going to deal with this later. Come on your food is getting cold"
The two leave the room. Lorelai let out a sigh of relief that her mother hadn't noticed the magazine on the bed. They go downstairs and sit at the table. Lorelai looks at the salad on her plate.
"Were you using the phone?"
Lorelai looked up surprised at her father's words. "Umm yeah "
"You need to tell me when you're going to do that. Just because we have two lines doesn't mean the connection isn't terrible if someone else is using the phone"
"I'll tell you in the future dad"
"For goodness sake Richard do we need to inform you when we use the shower as well because it messes with the taps?"
"Emily I was simply saying-"
He is cut of as Emily says "oh Richard I'm going to cut this up, is that ok or will it interfere with your ability to do so"
"Emily, come on your a behaving like a child"
From the distance of Richard's study a phone rang and he rose to answer it.
"Richard we are eating dinner it can wait"
"No Emily it cannot wait"
Richard left the room to go to his study.
Emily sighs and rolls her eyes before turning to Lorelai "who were you calling"
'Oh great, here we go again' Lorelai thought, "oh just Christopher"
"Again? What's going on between you too"
"What do you mean mum we're just friends"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Okay"
Lorelai separates her green lettuce from the red and Emily looks at her in disappointment.
"What are you doing?"
"Sorry? Oh, I don't like the red lettuce"
"It's the same as the green"
"No it's not"
"What was wrong with that green piece"
"It was stuck to the red"
"So?"
"So there in cahoots together I can't eat a traitor"
"You are an impossible child"
"Thank you" Lorelai finishes with an smug smile before going back to her food. Emily continues to watch her daughter pick away at the salad.
"Your father had better be back soon we have sheep's heart for main"
"Sorry what!? Heart, that's disgusting"
"You'll at least try some"
"muuum, no"
"Lorelai,"
"I'm not eating it"
"Then you don't get dessert"
"You can't do that"
"Your going to sit here your going to eat what has been cooked for you and your going to like it"
"Muuum"
"Your eating it that is final"
Lorelai sighed and collapsed back into her chair
They sat is silence the rest of the dinner, Lorelai ate half the sheep's heart before her mother gave in but Richard still didn't emerge from the study. While Emily was upstairs, Lorelai asked the maid to heat up the leftover food and she took it to his study.
When Lorelai was younger she used to love running in here and hiding under the desk, or staring at all the books but now the doors would send her into a nervous wreck. She only ever went in there to be told off for something or other. Eventually she knocked on the door.
"come in"
"Hi dad"
"Oh Lorelai, what are you doing here"
"You never came back for dinner so figured you would be hungry"
"Thank you" he said softly.
"Your welcome"
"What on earth is this!?"
"Sheep's heart"
"Honestly some of the things your mother comes up with"
Lorelai laughed "are you two ok?"
"We're fine Lorelai, just married, it's what happens"
"I don't think I want to get married"
"Don't tell your mother that, she'll have a heart attack"
The phone next to Richard began to ring, he turned from Lorelai and picked it up
"Ah Floyd, no your not interrupting anything, how can I help you?"
Lorelai looked down, she felt that pain she always felt when her father put work over her. Sad, angry.
"One moment Floyd" She felt a glimmer of hope, "Lorelai, did you need something else?"
"No" Lorelai lied the hope fading.
"Good" Richard turned back and began to talk on the phone.
How could she feel so alone while being surrounded by people. She didn't know the answer but she knew she didn't belong.