Samantha sighed in discontentment as she sat in her extremely dull etiquette class. After her what Emily had referred to as, "hysterical episode," the girl's grandmother had enrolled her right back into the banal lectures. Guess what they were learning this week? The table rules. Coincidence? Samantha doesn't think so.
"Dos and don'ts of the dinner table," the teacher started. Samantha suppressed an eye roll.
"Do be on time," the teacher said, shooting a small glare at Samantha who was "accidentally" late to class. Samantha gave her a sickly sweet smile.
Lorelai snorted from her place leaning against the doorway of the room. When Emily Gilmore found out that Lorelai's inn was holding an etiquette class, she didn't hesitate to enroll Samantha into the class. Based on the memorable dinner from last week, the girl obviously needed some refreshing.
"Don't show up hungry."
At this, Lorelai and Samantha exchanged a bewildered glance. Didn't you come to dinner to eat?
"Do dress appropriately." Samantha nodded to herself. She did that. But she did have on ripped stockings and some mud on her dress from playing tug of war with Archie. Oops?
"Don't bring up sensitive topics." This, Samantha agreed with. She nodded her head vigorously in response.
Topics such as religion and politics should be avoided," she continued, Samantha still nodding along. Maybe this woman does have some sense, she thought.
"However, topics such as school, weather, and pets are great conversation starters. Announcement are great discussion starters. Like someone is moving schools great talking point" she stated, giving Samantha a pointed look. This lady definitely knows her grandmother.
Samantha didn't even try to suppress her frustration as she threw her head back and groaned in frustration.
"Do practice self control."
Samantha banged her head against the table. This was going to be a long day.
~:~
Samantha shot a glare at her grandmother, who was sitting next to her in Hanlin Charleston's office. Otherwise known as Headmaster Charleston, aka her principal. Somehow the ten year old got roped into being part of Rory Gilmore's welcoming committee to Chilton. She was not happy.
Samantha's head snapped to the door when she heard his secretary say, in a morbid tone, "The headmaster will see you now."
She is so creepy. It's like the woman came straight out of a Dracula movie. Samantha furrowed her eyebrows slightly when she saw Lorelai's choice of clothing, a long, black coat that covered her entire body. A little cryptic but okay.
"Wow. Hi. It's so nice to meet yo--" Lorelai started as she walked into the headmaster's office with Rory. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the two Gilmores sitting on the couch.
"Mom. Samantha. What are you two doing here?" Lorelai questioned, as the two women gracefully stood from the couch.
"We came to to wish Rory luck on her first day of school," Emily answered excitedly as she walked over to her oldest granddaughter.
Samantha followed awkwardly, sending an apologetic glance to Lorelai, as her grandmother gushed about Rory's uniform.
"I tried to stop her. I really did," Samantha muttered regretfully as she stopped next to Lorelai.
"It's okay, hun. I know more than anyone that Emily Gilmore cannot be stopped,"Lorelai whispered back, obviously annoyed at her mother, as she wrapped an arm around Samantha.
Samantha tuned out the dreadfully boring conversation the headmaster and her grandmother were having about some DAR fundraiser. She tuned back into the conversation when she heard Lorelai decline to take off her coat. This should be interesting.
"Lorelai take off your coat and sit down. You don't want Hanlin to think you're rude," Emily scolded.
Lorelai let out a sigh of expiration, before reluctantly taking off her coat. Samantha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, when she saw her grandmother's horrified expression. Then she looked at Lorelai's outfit and, suddenly, she understood. Lorelai was all decked out in a zebra print tie-dyed shirt, extremely short jean shorts, and to top it off, cowgirl boots. Samantha mentally facepalmed. Please let this all be a dream.
"Laundry day," Lorelai whispered sheepishly, like that would explain that monstrosity of an outfit she was wearing.
Hanlin turned to face Samantha, one of his brightest students.
"How are you related to her again?"
Samantha's face paled. She could feel all eyes on her. This was not good. She had an image to uphold here. She couldn't let cowgirl over there stomp on it with her leather clad rodeo boots. So she did the only logical thing she could think of.
Without missing a beat, Samantha responded, deadly serious, "I have no idea who that is."
Without another word, the girl whirled around and went to the cafeteria.
~:~
At breakfast, Samantha sat with her group of friends who were gossiping about the crazy woman who waltzed into Chilton wearing a rodeo outfit. Samantha failed to mention that the crazy woman was her aunt. That was a little fact she was definitely keeping to herself.
"I can't believe she would go out in public like that," Suzie whispered with a giggle. Suzie knows everything about everyone. It's why her hair is so big, from all the secrets it holds.
"Right! I'd hate to be related to her," Samantha whispers back, making the table of ten-year-olds erupt in giggles.
The youngest Gilmore freezes when she hears the terrifying sound of cowgirl boots echoing behind her. Her face pales, and she visibly tenses up. This cannot be happening. Please please let it be Pennywise, or Darth Vader, or even Slappy the Dummy. Anyone but the cowgirl herself --Lorelai Gilmore. She feels a sharp tug on her braid.
"Kid what the heck? Why did you pretend you didn't know me?"
Samantha quickly masked her expression to clueless, before turning around to face her pissed off aunt.
"Do I know you?"
"Samantha--"Lorelai started exasperatedly.
"Samantha, oh my gosh! The crazy lady knows your name," one of the girls interrupted, clearly scared for her friend. If only she knew.
Samantha turned towards them and put her index finger to her head, spinning her finger slowly as she pointed at Lorelai, with the other, while mouthing the word, "CRAZY." Lorelai rolled her eyes before reaching out to grab the girl. In response all the girls at the table started shrieking loudly. The two closest to Samantha grabbed her hands and ran out of the cafeteria, dragging the clumsy, stumbling, mess of a ten year old behind them. Leaving behind a shell shocked Lorelai Gilmore.
~:~
Samantha laughed as she walked out of school arm and arm with her best friend, Lucy Brown. Archie was, as usual, being a pest. He was walking in front of them, which would be fine, but the moron would stop abruptly, causing the girls to ram into him. He found this hilarious, the girls however did not. The two girls groaned in unison when they crashed into Archie's back again.
Lorelai Gilmore shook her head with amusement from where she was sitting on the hood of her jeep near Chilton's entrance, waiting for Rory to get out of school. The Gilmore was currently watching her youngest daughter and a brown-headed girl yell at a mischievous looking brunette boy.
"Archie it wasn't funny the first five times and it's not funny now!" Lucy groaned in frustration.
"Well it's not like you have your own late night show," Archie shot back, with a smirk. His arrogant smirk was wiped off his face with Samantha's next comment.
"Well at least people would watch hers."
Archie huffed, rolling his eyes in disdain, before stomping over to his mom who was waiting for him and Lucy. The said girl high-fived her best friend before giving her a quick hug and following her brother. Samantha's good mood disappeared as she saw her friends run up to their mom, giving her a bug hug. The youngest Gilmore watched with wet eyes as all the moms greeted their kids, asking how their days were, doling out hugs. Samantha struggled to blink back her tears knowing she would never have a mom to pick her up.
Meanwhile, Lorelai tilted her head to the side in concern as she saw how quickly Samantha's mood shifted when her friends left. Then like flipping on a light switch, it clicked. Samantha is having to watch all these kids getting picked up by their moms while she doesn't have anyone. Lorelai felt the guilt eating her up inside, knowing that was her fault. She put her coffee cup down before slowly walking towards Samantha.
Lorelai stopped in her tracks midway when she saw a familiar car pull up in front of Samantha. Richard Gilmore stepped out with a grin reserved only for his youngest granddaughter, arms wide open. Lorelai felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as she saw Samantha's face light up before the girl ran straight into the arms of the person Lorelai left all those years ago. Samantha hopped into the car, leaving behind a heartbroken, regretful mess of a mother.