"We're going to Chilton!"
--☆--☆--☆--
When Lorelai Gilmore received her mail that afternoon she instantly let out a squeal of pure joy and excitement. She practically ripped open the two letters, another rush of joy filling her.
Lorelai jumped into her Jeep doing a quick round of shopping before speeding off towards the Independence Inn, the place she's worked since she ran away from home at sixteen. From the parking lot she could hear the commotion going on in the kitchen, where her best friend Sookie St. James, womanned the kitchen.
Lorelai ran in, screaming her best friend's name. "Sookie!" The woman turned with such speed that she managed to hit the man behind her with a frying pan. "O-Oh, it's here. It happened. They did it!" Lorelai spoke excitedly.
"Okay, I'm gonna need a little bit longer sentence."
"The Chilton School. Rory and Cassie got in."
"Oh my god!" Sookie immediately started clapping her hands together. "Oh my god!"
"I know! Look," Lorelai lifted the acceptance letter, allowing Sookie to see it as she read it outloud. "Dear Ms. Gilmore, We are happy to inform you that we have two vacancies at Chilton Preparatory starting immediately. Due to your daughters' excellent credentials and your enthusiastic pursuit of their enrollment." Lorelai lowered the letter, "I offered to do the principal to get them in. We'll be happy to accept them, once the first semester's tuition has been received."
"This is very exciting," Sookie practically jumped with joy as she and Lorelai shared a hug.
"Is something burning?"
"My bangs, earlier," Sookie informed her. "Go on, go on."
"This is it. They can finally get into an Ivy League and get the education I couldn't. And get to do this thing that I couldn't. Then I can resent them for it and we can finally have a normal mother-daughter relationship."
"Mom?" Rory's voice traveled in from the other room causing both women to attempt to drop their smiles as the Gilmore twins walked into the kitchen. "You're happy," Rory observed.
"Yeah," Lorelai nodded with the same bright smile on her face.
"Did you do something slutty," Cassie asked her with an almost knowing look. One that made Lorelai a little worried.
"I'm not that happy," Lorelai told her then she and Sookie started laughing. "Here," she handed a brown bag to each of her daughters.
"What's going on?"
"Open it."
Both girls opened the bags pulling out matching blue plaid skirts. They looked at their own skirt then at each other's, still not understanding what was going on.
"We're gonna be in a Britney Spears video?" Rory guessed.
"You're going to Chilton!" Sookie yelled, accidentally letting the good news slip.
Rory stood frozen with excitement, she couldn't believe it, she'd been dreaming of Chilton since she sent in that application. However the face worn by her sister didn't exactly scream excitement, it was more like confusion and a little bit of fear. Cassie had dreams as big as Rory's, but Cassie was in no way as academically inclined as her sister.
Yes her grades were good and her test scores were high but that wasn't a hard thing to achieve at Stars Hollow High. Cassie knew she could do well there, but she didn't think she wasn't ready for a place like Chilton.
"Mom?" Rory was the first to speak, since all words seemed to be stuck in Cassie's throat.
"You did it girls, you got in," Lorelai held up the acceptance letter and both girls could breathe again.
"How did this happen?" Cassie asked, finally finding her voice. Of course, the question was more directed towards her.
She couldn't believe this. She couldn't believe that Chilton accepted her. When she submitted her application she just did it so Rory would stop telling her to do it. But she did it. She got in.
Rory's eyes widened with fear for a moment as she looked at her mother. "You didn't, with the principal, did you?"
"No, honey, that was a joke. They have two open spots. You're gonna start on Monday," Lorelai told them.
"Really?"
"This isn't some kind of cruel prank?" Cassie asked, with a worried look on her face..
"It's real."
"Oh my god," Cassie laughed, still in a bit of shock from the news.
Cassie knew for a fact that Rory would get into Chilton but she couldn't lie she was worried that Rory would be attending the school without her. Yes, Cassie was smart but Rory completely dedicated her life to ensuring her grades achieved perfection. That was one of the many things that Cassie admired about her sister.
While Rory envied how popular her sister was she didn't realize that Cassie wished there were parts of Rory she inherited too. Cassie often wished she shared the looks Rory got from their mother and the humor too. She wished she was smart like Rory, then she wouldn't have to try to be good at so many things just to keep up with Rory.
"I don't believe this. Oh my god, we're going to Chilton!"
Cassie and Rory both let out the girliest of squeals as they ran to their mom, the three of them sharing a hug. Lorelai squeezed her girls tightly, she loved seeing them this happy. Part of her was worried that they wouldn't be able to have such an experience since she ran away from home, but they did it. And they did without having a trust fund.
"Sookie, we're going to Chilton!" Rory moved over to her mother's best friend, embracing her in a hug as well.
"I'll make cookies!" Sookie said as she switched hugs from one twin to the other. "Protestants love oatmeal."
"I have to call Lane," Rory said with a bright smile.
"I need to call-"
"All your boyfriends?" Rory teased.
Lorelai looked over at her youngest daughter with a worried expression. "I don't have a boyfriend," Cassie said quickly, causing her mother to let out a sigh of relief.
"Not right now," Rory muttered quickly, earning a light punch to the arm.
Cassie grabbed Rory's arms and the girls started walking towards the door but then Rory turned around. "I love you," She said, giving her mom another hug.
"I love you," Lorelai said, wrapping her arms around her older daughter. She reached forward grabbing Cassie, pulling her into the hug too. "I love both of you."
"Love you too Mom."
The twins pulled away, smiling at their mom before they shared yet another squeal and walked out of the kitchen.
--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--
Cassie was surprised by how sad she became telling all her friends that she wouldn't be returning to school on Monday. She loved her friends, sure not all of them were her ride or dies but they did well for high school friends.
However her dampened mood quickly dissipated when she tried on her Chilton Preparatory uniform for the first time. Cassie was changing downstairs in Rory's room, despite her room being upstairs across the hall from Lorelai.
When the twins were younger their differences outweighed their similarities. While Rory was much more independent and more adult-like, Cassie required a little bit more attention. On their first day of preschool Rory happily engaged with the teachers within five minutes of dropoff all while Cassie was crying in the background clinging to Lorelai's leg.
However as the girls grew up they changed a lot. Cassie became more open and adventurous while Rory happily stayed in her bubble with her books and studies. But naturally there were some things that stayed the same. Rory was practically an adult by the time she turned ten, being so level minded and responsible. While Cassie happily took after her mother and played the role of the teenager in their house, which is how she ended up in the bedroom upstairs.
After a few too many occasions of her sneaking out of the house to go meet up with friends when she wasn't supposed to, Lorelai decided it was in her best interest to make sneaking out a little bit harder for her daughter. However, watching as Cassie moved her items from one bedroom to another made Lorelai remember all the times her parents struggled to keep her contained inside the walls of her childhood home.
"Cassie."
The younger Gilmore turned around, realizing that both she and Rory were dressed in their skirts. They both smiled seeing the blue plaid skirts they had on. Even though neither of them said it outloud both girls were glad they'd be attending Chilton together.
Even though they had their differences Rory and Cassie Gilmore were still best friends. They couldn't imagine a world without the other one in it, and frankly they didn't want to know such a world.
"We look like nuns," Cassie observed as the two of them took in their reflection.
"We're going to a fancy private school, Cassie."
"That doesn't mean we can't look good," Cassie reminded her with a cheeky smile.
Rory rolled her eyes playfully. "Come on. Let's show Mom." The twins walked out of Rory's room, heading straight for the front porch. "Mom! So what do you think?" Cassie did a quick twirl, while Rory stood perfectly still.
"Wow, don't you girls look smart," Sookie gushed.
"Okay," Rory laughed.
"No more wine for you, Sookie," Cassie added with the same awkward laugh.
"Mom?"
"You look like you've been swallowed by some kilts," Lorelai told them honestly.
"Fine, you can hem it. A little," Rory said pointedly. "Only a little."
"Or she could hem it a lot," Cassie suggested as the four women headed back inside the Gilmore house.
"No. I don't want it too short."
"Well I do," Cassie told her, only to earn herself a pointed look from her mother. "Fine, not too short."
"You are my daughter," Lorelai said, almost like she's just now realizing it.
"I can't believe tomorrow's our last day at Stars Hollow High," Rory said, altering the subject slightly. "Today, I was so excited, I dressed for gym."
"You're kidding!" Lorelai gasped.
"She did, for a minute I thought I needed glasses," Cassie teased.
"And I played volleyball."
"With other people?"
"And all this time I was avoiding group sports?" Rory stepped onto a small podium to allow Lorelai to get a better look at the skirt so she could make it the right length.
"Yeah?"
"Was very smart 'cause I suck."
"Well, yeah, you got that from me. Any athletic ability Cassie got was pure luck," Lorelai said, winking at her younger daughter.
"Where's your pate?"
"At Zsa Zsa Gabor's house," Lorelai answered with a hint of confusion.
"Right," Sookie laughed as she grabbed her purse, pulling it around her shoulder. "I'm going to the store because there's nothing. You feel like duck?"
"Duck?" Cassie questioned.
"Only if it's made with chicken," Lorelai said before her daughter's confusion could grow.
"I'll be back!" Sookie yelled, waving a hand before walking out the front door.
"Alright. This will give you an idea," Lorelai told Rory after she pinned up part of her skirt. "Go see how you like it."
"Okay," Rory smiled, then hopped down before running in the direction of her room. She stopped seconds later, turning to look at her mother and sister. "I love being a private school girl."
Lorelai laughed and Cassie watched as her mother's gaze landed on an old picture that was taken in front of her grandparents house. Moments later Lorelai snapped back into reality as she gestured for Cassie to take Rory's place on the podium.
What Cassie wasn't aware of was the phone call Lorelai had with someone at Chilton academy that afternoon. She didn't know that Lorelai was struggling to figure out how she was going to pay for Chilton; she could barely pay for one, let alone two.
"Mom?"
"Yeah babe?"
"Is something wrong?"
Ever since she was a child Cassie has had this magic gift where she could always tell when someone was feeling off or down. Cassie paid attention to everything, body language, ways of speaking, and the looks people had in their eyes. Cassie was a firm believer that the eyes never lied, she could always tell what someone was feeling just by looking at their eyes.
"Of course not," Lorelai smiled but Cassie could see the look in her eyes. "I am so proud of you, you know that right?"
"Yeah," Cassie nodded, "I know."
"You may not have my eyes but you look just like I did in my school uniform," Lorelai told her as she finished pinning Cassie's skirt up. Lorelai stood up, smiling at her daughter. "You girls are growing up too fast."
"Mom you're getting corny," Cassie warned her.
"I'm allowed to be."
The living room grew quiet for a moment and Cassie knew this was the moment to say the words she's been wanting to say for as long as she could remember.
"Thank you, Mom, for everything," Cassie said to her.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean everything," Cassie answered. "For taking care of us, and giving us everything we'd need and more. Thank you."
"Now look who's getting corny," Lorelai smiled looking at her youngest daughter.
"I mean it Mom, thank you."
"Oh honey, you don't have to thank me."
"Maybe not, but... I still want you to know how grateful I am to have you as my mom."
Lorelai couldn't lie, hearing those words coming from Cassie made her tear up slightly. She stepped towards her daughter, wrapping her arms tightly around her. Cassie happily accepted the hug, and squeezed her mom with just as much force.
Despite all that she's gone through Lorelai wouldn't change anything. She had two beautiful, amazing daughters. She wouldn't give them up for the world.