"Kindred spirits are not
so scarce as I used to think.
It's splendid to find out there
are so many of them in the world."
— LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY,
"ANNE OF GREEN GABLES"
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The Lorelai's made their way to Luke's diner after the atrocious dinner in Hartford. Each girl had an arm wrapped around the other as they walked side by side.
"So, nice dinner at the grandparents' house," Rory said sarcastically.
"Oh, yeah, her dishes have never been cleaner."
"You and Grandma seemed to have a nice talk," Rory commented, the two of them stopping at the front door to Luke's.
"How much did you hear?"
"Not much. You know, snippets," Rory lied and shrugged.
"Snippets?"
"Little snippets."
"So basically everything?"
"Basically, yes. Even that part where you got snarky about Grandma not needing us, I don't think she understood what you were trying to say, though."
"And what do you think I was trying to say?" Lorelai asked, and she reached for the front doorknob, swinging the door open.
"That she preoccupied herself with another young mom and wee 'lil babe instead anyways," Rory shrugged as she walked into the diner.
Lorelai sighed, pausing behind her daughter for a minute. If Rory heard her, maybe Avonlea and Rachel did, too, and she didn't really mean what she said. Sure, there was some truth to it, but she didn't want to feel like she was holding a grudge against Rachel or Emily, or even Avonlea, for it.
Standing at the counter wiping it down with a towel was Luke's busboy and waiter. He looked up when he heard the bell ring, walking over to them with his head slightly tilted to the right with confusion etched into his expression.
"Didn't you guys go to some fancy dinner in Hartford today?" he asked when he got to the table, taking the front pocket of his flannel.
Atlas Cohen happened to be the third member of Rory Gilmore's friend group and certifiably the only boy allowed within ten feet of Lane Kim without Mrs. Kim running after him to cut his head off—but it was only time that granted him that privilege.
Mrs. Kim hated him when they all had met in elementary school, but year after year, he wasn't going anywhere, so she let up just about the same amount as she did with Rory and Lorelai—meaning not really at all.
Rory just sighed as she glanced up at him.
"Did you at least decide whether you'll be actually going to Chilton?" he asked her.
"I can't let a perfectly good plaid skirt go to waste."
Luke walked all the way over from behind the counter as well, stopping in front of them and next to Atlas.
"Wow!" Lorelai gasped. "You-you look nice. Really nice."
"I... had a meeting earlier at the bank," he shrugged. "They-they like collars."
Lorelai chuckled.
"Maybe Rory will, too, soon. Y'know, since she's going to a fancy rich people school with a uniform and won't be worried that she missed out on some guy with an oversized leather jacket," rambled Atlas, chuckling at his own poorly delivered joke. When no one else laughed, he asked them, "Are you gonna order or what?"
"Coffee, in a vat," Lorelai stated.
Luke frowned in disappointment.
"I'll have coffee, too," Rory chimed in. "And chili fries."
"That's quite a refined palate you got there," Luke said. He patted Atlas' arm and said, "Make sure you check on other tables and don't just talk Rory's ear off, okay?"
Atlas puffed his cheeks out and nodded, but once Luke was back behind the counter, he looked back to his friend.
"Okay, and how did that dinner go, then? How's mysterious cousin Avonlea and her mother Rachel?" he asked.
"I don't think Avonlea likes me much," Rory admitted with a deep inhale and exhale. She folded her hands over the table and pressing her lips to a thin line. "So, I guess going to school with her will be interesting. I wonder if she'll just pretend to not know me."
"Oh, please. Avonlea was starring at you with wide eyes the entire time. I just think she's spent too much time with my mother and her mother to know it's okay to speak up at the dinner table," Lorelai reassured her daughter.
"Wait, why wouldn't people at school know you're related, do you and her not have the same last name?" Atlas asked.
Rory shook her head. "She's not a Gilmore, and we're not really cousin-cousins, her grandma is my grandma's cousin."
"But Avonlea's three quarters Filipino, and according to Rachel, Filipinos don't actually do the whole second and third cousin thing, everyone that isn't their sibling in their same generation is just automatically their cousin," Lorelai added.
"Is she pretty?" Atlas asked, and Lorelai grimaced in disgust at his question while Rory whacked his arm. "What? You have Mr. Leather and Lane's mother keeps trying to set her up with future doctors. Sooner or later, I'll be the only person here single. Apart from the flannels and the hats, I'm trying to not live life like Luke."
"Hehe," Lorelai chuckled, amused. "Live Life Like Luke could be the name of his reality show."
"That show would get no ratings," Atlas blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
"Cohen! Dishes, sink, now," Luke said, overhearing their conversation in his not-so-big diner.
Atlas jumped at the command and immediately started moving while the Lorelai's laughed.
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Breakfast at the Gilmore residence was quiet other than the sound of Richard's newspaper pages flipping or utensils hitting the dishes.
The girl was surprised that morning to see that there was champorado in little bowls next to the rest of the very American breakfast they were enjoying. Champorado was a Filipino chocolate rice porridge, and one of Avonlea's favorite sweet dishes.
She glanced over at her mom when they sat down, but Rachel just shrugged.
"I hope that tastes about right," Emily said. "We had the new cook try to make it, I doubt it'll taste like your father's, Rachel, but I thought Avonlea would like to start the new day with one of her favorites."
Avonlea's lips curled at the corners and she took a spoonful, placing it into her mouth while everyone watched. It honestly wasn't bad at all.
"It's good, Grandma," she smiled at her, nodding her head. "Really, really good."
Emily's thin lipped smile returned to her face, proud of herself.
"Today marks an important occasion, Avonlea. I hope you really take Rory under your wing since she'll be new. Introduce her to those friends of yours: Paris, Madeline, Louise..."
Avonlea certainly could introduce Rory to that trio. If there was any girls she was friends with, she would probably pick those three. They weren't necessarily super close, not the way Madeline and Louise were, but they hung out at school and sometimes after school.
She liked to study with Paris, but it was obvious that their dynamics were starting to change ever since started at Chilton. They used to all be very focused on their grades, but slowly, Louise started to notice boys and boys started to notice her. Paris was feeling the academic pressure and her need to be on top, and Madeline was the easy going social butterfly. She probably could be friends with a butterfly.
But the person she was closest to growing up was not those three, but Emily wouldn't have known that.
Then, Emily added a fourth name, "and that Tris girl you're always with that I haven't met yet."
"That wh—" Avonlea questioned, her eyes furrowing in confusion. When did she ever call Tristin a girl? They had been friends since elementary school, and she certainly never called him a girl.
She would've thought that since he was the only one she never brought home to meet any of them that he must have been a boy.
She was stopped by her mother cutting her off, "I'm sure Avonlea will definitely take good care of her cousin."
Avonlea looked at her mom to see her stern facial expression. It wasn't like Avonlea was going to leave her to fend for herself, but it felt all so pressuring that they voiced this expectation of her.
"Of course," she nodded, looking down at the table and moving her bacon around with a fork.
┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °
Emily dropped Avonlea off instead of the driver. She wanted to be there when Lorelai talked to Headmaster Charleston.
When Avonlea got out of their parked car, she wanted to make a bee-line for her locker.
"Where are you going young lady?" Emily asked her. "You'll be coming with me so you can then give Rory a tour."
Avonlea exhaled and got any frustration out of her body, putting on her best fake smile and turning to face Emily.
"Of course," she agreed. "To the headmaster's office we go."
The headmaster's secretary looked like she was already in retirement, and her attitude towards students and parents were anything but the attitude a school secretary should possess. But Avonlea guesses it doesn't matter to have personality at these rich schools.
Avonlea was sitting in the headmaster's office on hiss brown leather couch next to Emily when she heard Lorelai's anxious ramblings about naming Rory after her from the secretary's desk, before the two of them were escorted inside.
"Ms. Gilmore, I'm headmaster Charleston," Hanlin Charleston greeted, standing up and going to shake Lorelai's hand.
"Hi, wow," she said, shaking his hand. "It's really nice to meet—" Lorelai turned her head to where Emily and Avonlea were sitting. She did a double take, like she had missed them the first time and processed after what she had seen. Flatly, she added, "Mom."
Emily uncrossed her legs and stood up while Avonlea offered up a small wave, her wide eyes just taking in the situation. Emily walked towards her daughter with a proud smile.
"Um, ex—" Lorelai didn't even finissh her sentence when she walked towards her mother. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to wish my granddaughter luck on her first day of school," Emily explained, walking straight past Lorelai towards Rory. She grabbed Rory's arms and sasid, "Rory, you look wonderful in that uniform!"
"You didn't have to come all the way out here, Mom," Lorelai said, and then motioning to Avonlea, she added, "Or drag Avonlea over with you."
"This gave me a chance to make sure that Hanlin here takes good care of Rory, and make sure Avonlea is able to find her to give her a tour of the school. I made sure they have the same class schedule."
Now that was news to Avonlea, whose eyelids fluttered open and shut several times at the news.
Oh, boy.
┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °
If Avonlea didn't think the meeting was already awkward enough, it ended up with Lorelai taking off her coat to reveal a pink tie-dye shirt, jean shorts, and cowboy boots.
Emily sure got a kicker out of that.
The headmaster wanted to talk to Rory after Emily and Lorelai left to gauge her future goals at the school, so Avonlea had to wait outside for a bit. She was standing in the hallway, peering into the main office of the school when she watched the student assistant pick up the file that was dropped at her desk and hand it out a window.
Avonlea squinted, having an idea of what was happening. She left the building and rounded the corner where the window was, and low and behold, there were her three friends who her Grandmother wanted her to introduce Rory, to.
"Lorelai Gilmore," Paris read out loud.
"Nice stripper name," Louise remarked.
"Formerly of Stars Hollow High school..."
"Where's that?"
"About half an hour on here, forty in a bus," Avonlea commented, making her presence known. "Pass the haystacks and follow the cows."
The three girls looked up with a fright, but they relaxed when they saw who it was.
"Av, you're a Gilmore, aren't you?" Madeline asked.
"Her last name is Basilio, of course she's not a Gilmore," Louise retorted.
"But you do live with Emily and Richard Gilmore," Paris concluded, holding up the file. "Is this girl related to you?"
"We're cousins," Avonlea confirmed. "What are you doing?"
"I need info on this girl—"
"Rory."
"—and see if she's any threat to my chances of being valedictorian when we graduate. I'm already competing with you, and now that you guys are related..." Paris trailed off.
"She had perfect attendance and a 4.0 GPA at her old school, and wants to go into journalism. She's you," Avonlea commented. "Hurry up and read whatever you need to, I have to give her a school tour."
"Oh, wait, Avonlea!" Paris called out when she started to walk away, and she looked back at the crouched girl. "When's Tristin coming back?"
How Paris managed to find time to worry about him when she was worried about everything else was beyond Avonlea.
"Today."
She saw the way Paris lit up, and with that, she walked back towards the office.
┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °
In class, Paris was sat in the front of the room. Madeline was behind her, and to her left, Rory. Behind Rory was Louise. Avonlea sat on the other side of the room next to an open chair. She stared at it and shook her head. She told Tristin not to be late.
Paris was answering their teachers questions, being the only one who was raisng her hand even if other people knew the answers, too.
The classroom door opened, and Avonlea sunk back in her seat when she saw her blond walk through the door.
"Ah, Mr. Dugray," their teacher greeted him.
"Sir," Tristin said, grabbing his late pass and handing it over.
"Nice to have you back. I hope your grandfather's better."
"Much better, sir."
"Good, take your seat, please."
Tristin nodded, and his gaze immediately shot across the room to Avonlea. His eyelids dropped just in the slightest and a smile formed on his face. As he walked to his seat, he saw the newest face in the room, and his eyebrows knit together in confusion and intrigue.
He took his seat next to Avonlea, leaning over to ask, "Who's that?"
"Rory," Avonlea said back. "It's her first day."
Tristin had his mischievous smirk as his eyes didn't leave the back of Rory's head, so Avonlea reached over to pinch the underside of his arm.
"I told you not to be late."
"Sorry, Anne." But the tone of his voice showed he was anything but sorry.
┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °
Avonlea and Tristin always knew each other through out elementary, being the same grade at the same school. But it wasn't until fifth grade when the class started to read Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables," that he started talking to her.
When the class learned that the fictitious town that Anne Shirley lived in was called Avonlea, everyone immediately made the connection to the Filipina sitting right next to Tristin.
Tristin being, well, Tristin, decided it was his newfound job to nickname her "Anne" and tease her about the book.
"Oh, c'mon, Anne, we're kindred spirits, aren't we?" he would ask her, following her around the halls.
"More like you're Billy Andrews," she said with an eye roll.
"Ouch. I was going more for a Gilbert Blythe vibe, yanno, I tug on your braid hair, you break a slate over my head, and we live happily ever after."
"You mean first I ignore your for the entirety of high school? Because that sounds amazing."
"And then happily ever after?"
She scowled at him, but somehow, despite the fact that he was definitely making a pass at her back then, they ended up becoming the best of friends.
As she grew older, she thought that if anyone else had said what Tristin had, she might not have taken it the way she did. But there was no denying she found him attractive, but despite his flirtatious attitude, their friendship grew to be strictly platonic as the years grew by.
On his side of it, at least.
Or so Avonlea is convinced. It's okay, they're the best of friends.
And Avonlea agreed with him, in all honestly. Once they hit high school, she started to think that maybe they were some kind of kindred spirits with one another. He tried so hard all of the time to be the perfect son for the perfect Dugrays. He was highly competitive and had some of the top grades. Because of his good looks and charm, he also happened to be seen as the school flirt or sometimes even the bad boy.
But Avonlea knew he didn't want to be the perfect son, and that was why he acted out sometimes.
When Avonlea would get in trouble with her mom, Tristin became her shoulder to cry on. He really matured the summer before they hit high school, which happened to also be the summer tensions with Avonlea and Rachel got worse.
Past his ego and the facade he had at school, only Avonlea knew he was an excellent listener and could make a fantastic cup of coffee.
Avonlea and Tristin, the best of friends.
┆ ° ♡ • ➵ ✩ ◛ °
a/n: i've been trying to include little snippets that show Richard and Emily both do care about Avonlea regardless of how she feels about their situation or how they got to where they are.
I also made an edit on my TikTok that basically explains this entire scene with Tristin ahahaha go watch it on dsprsos.wp