𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀

2. The Independence Inn

 I looked out the window of Lorelai's jeep. I was now seeing things that I had never seen before. The city became small farm towns. Ten minutes had gone by when Lorelai spoke.

"I know that this is all moving very fast, but I want you to know that you'll have a better life out from under my parents roof." I wanted to believe her, but I had lived there as long as I could remember. It was my home.
"Where will I go to school?" I asked, shifting in the front seat to look at my mother.

"I've registered you for Stars Hollow High. And tomorrow, when I get all of your stuff from my parents house, I'm going to your old school to get transfer forms." I nodded. She seemed to have it all worked out.

"Where's Rory?" I asked.

Lorelai froze. "She's at home, but she doesn't know you're going to be living with us."

"Oh."

"You have to understand, Lucy, that none of us were expecting this. I just woke up a few days ago and said to myself: 'I want Lucy back'. I didn't think it would happen." She squeezed my hand.

"Where will I sleep?" I asked, ignoring what she had been saying before.

"Well, that's a little more complicated, but I think there is enough room in Rory's room. Her books will just have to try not to take up all of the space."

I laughed. Then I saw that she was serious. "You're serious?"

Lorelai nodded. "She loves her books. So anyway, you'll be going to Stars Hollow High and Rory is going to Chilton. I'm sorry that you can't go, but I've already asked for my parents to pay for Rory."

"It's fine," I reassured. "I need a break from the big, fancy schools anyway."

"Here we are!" My mother said, pulling into a crowded parking lot.

"Is this your house?" I asked, amazed. She laughed.

"Of course not! This is my work. The Independence Inn! You can come in if you like."

"Sure," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. The inside of the Inn was nice. Very modern, but fancy.

At the front desk, there was a man with a very annoyed look on his face.

Lorelai walked up to him, I followed.

"Do you not notice the phone is ringing?" The man looked at Lorelai and back to the phone.

"People are being particularly insufferable today, so I have decided not to answer until they stop being so," he explained in a thick French accent.

Lorelai sighed. "Well, I'm feeling pretty insufferable today, so if you don't answer the phone, you're fired." Then she walked to talk to a maid.

I looked around at everything. In the center or the room, a small woman was playing harp. Another woman watching her sat up and started to walk away.

"I'm sorry, is my music not worth your money? Drop at least a dollar—two since you were so rude."

"Della! Stop forcing the guests to tip you!" Lorelai said from another room.

I went behind the counter to where a reservation book was laid out on the counter.

"Don't touch that!" The French man ordered. "Lorelai, who is this Rory look alike touching our book." I quickly pulled my hand away and my cheeks started to flush.

"Omg, I didn't introduce you! Lucy, the angry French man is Michel and Michel, this is my daughter, Lucy."

"Oh my, another one."

"Don't listen to him, Lucy," Lorelai said, flashing Michel an angry look. "Let's go meet Sookie!" She led me to the kitchen.

"Sookie!" Lorelai said, exasperated. A woman with pigtails was lying on the floor with her hand cut, her hair burnt, and her apron ripped. This woman was very clumsy.

"Sookie, what happened?" Lorelai knelt down to help her up.

"I don't know. I set something on fire then fell backwards—the—then hit the knife rack!"

"Sookie! You have to be more careful. We'll never be able to open our own inn if you're too dead to do it!" She wanted to open an inn? One of her own? That's definitely ambitious.

"Who is this?" Sookie asked as Lorelai lifted her up.

"Sookie, this is Lucy—Rory's twin."

Sookie laughed. "That's a funny joke! This is just Rory with different hair, right?" 

I forced a smiled, touching my hair. It seemed that Lorelai had never told anyone about me.

"I'm Lucy, nice to meet you!"

"I must have hit my head or something," Sookie murmured as her cooks helped away towards her car.

"Do you want to go home?" Lorelai asked me. I hesitated.

"I'm kind of hungry," I started. I hadn't eaten since lunch at school. I checked my watch. Which was about two hours ago.

"Well I have the best place to go!" Lorelai said as we got back in the car.

"Where?" I asked.

"It's a surprise!"