The three Gilmore ladies were relaxing on their front porch the night before their first day at Chilton. Tori was sitting in front of her twin so she could paint her nails while their mother was working on Rory's toes.

Rory took a small break from painting to squirts some whipped cream into her mouth.

"That's nice." Lorelai teased her eldest.

Rory grinned, "Thank you." She mumbled.

"Don't move, please." Their mother requested when Rory began to shift.

"So, why are you insisting on doing this?" Rory asked their mother was she moved on to Tori's other hand.

Lorelai shrugged, "Well, because you two starting private school tomorrow."

"Yeah mom," Tori laughed and grinned, "but she's going to be wearing shoes. Nobody's gonna see her feet."

Their mother nodded and smirked, "Okay, but everybody knows that private school girls are bad, and bad girls always wear red nail polish."

"There!" Rory exclaimed and screwed the cap back on the polish, "All done, Tor."

Tori pulled her hand and started blowing on her nails, "Thanks, sis."

There was a small lull in the conversation.

"Are you two nervous?" Lorelai questioned, breaking the silence.

"About what?" Tori asked, looking up from her nails.

"About starting Chilton."

"Well, I wasn't until I heard about all those bad girls." Rory joked causing them all to snicker.

They were all silent again until Lane came running up waving a CD in the air, "Guys, guys! New CD - XTC, Apple Venus Volume 2."

Lorelai jumped up and squealed, "Oh, woo, nails done!" and began following Lane inside.

"But you only finished half my toes!" Rory called to her mother, exasperated.

"Who cares? You're gonna be wearing shoes anyway!" Lorelai yelled back as she entered the house.

Tori chuckled at their scatterbrained mother and moved to take her previous seat, "I'll finish them for you, Ror."

Rory smiled at her twin, "Thanks." She was quiet for a moment before asking, "Are you nervous?"

Tori shrugged as she continued working on her sister's toes, "A little, but my excitement outweighs it."

Rory nodded, "Me too."

Tori took a moment to look up at her sister and the two shared an enthusiastic smile.

The next morning Tori woke up an hour earlier that her sister so she could make herself look presentable, she was starting at a new school and she had to make sure she looked amazing for her first day. By the time Rory woke up she had already showered and fixed her hair and makeup.

Tori slipped her uniform on and made her way into the kitchen to get a pop tart while Rory got ready.

Her twin walked into the kitchen not long after and grabbed her own breakfast.

"Is mom awake yet?" Tori asked her sister not bothering to look up as she continued to eat and read her book.

Rory sighed, "I'll go make sure." She said as she left the room and headed up stairs.

"Mom!"

Tori heard her sister exclaim and sighed, "Guess that means no." She mumbled.

After a few minutes Rory came down the stairs and entered the kitchen, "She was still asleep!" she exclaimed.

Tori smirked as she grabbed their mom's purse and keys, "I figured." She stood from the table and the two walked into the living room to wait for their mother.

"This sucks! This sucks! This sucks!" Lorelai cried from upstairs.

"It's 7:18!" Rory yell up the stairs.

"Oh, for the love of God!" Their mother exclaimed back.

Lorelai raced down the stairs in a pink tie die shirt, blue jean shorts, and brown cowgirl boots.

"It's 7..."

"Don't even think of finishing that sentence!" Lorelai cut her eldest daughter off.

The two girls stopped and started at their mother, looking over her outfit.

"What?"

"Nothing." Rory shrugged.

"We just didn't know the rodeo was in town." Tori smirked at her and the girls snickered.

"All right, that's it." Lorelai snapped, and grabbed a picture from the desk by the front door, "I'm bringing the baby pictures." She started out the door.

"No!" Rory cried chasing after their mom.

Tori followed suit, exclaiming, "I'm sorry!"

"We love the rodeo!"

"The rodeo rules!"

"Mom!"

The ride to Chilton was filled with anxiety and nervous energy, and when they finally arrive, the three of them sat in the car and stare up at the building in wonder.

"I remember it being smaller." Rory frowned, nervously.

Their mother nodded, "Yeah. And less. . ."

"Off with their heads." Tori finished, looking out at everything in awe.

Lorelai nodded again, "Yeah." She tilted her head and peered up at the building, squinting her eyes.

"What are you looking at?" The twins questioned simultaneously.

"I'm just trying to see if there's a hunchback up in that bell tower."

Tori snickered at her mother's reply, but she had to admit that she was quite nervous about this. A part of her desperately wanted to ask her mother to turn around and take her back to Stars Hollow High.

"So, how do we look?" Rory questioned, unknowingly snapping her sister out of her fearful thoughts.

Lorelai turned and smiled proudly at her daughters, "You both look great."

"Really?" Tori questioned fiddling nervously with the hem of her shorter skirt.

Their mother turned and placed a comforting hand on her youngest daughter's knee, "Really. You are amazing kids. You have earned this." She smiled proudly, "You two just go in there and show them what smart really is. I love you. Just call me if you need me."

Tori sighed and smiled as she reached for the handle, "Thanks mom, love you too." She was about to open the door when Rory spoke up.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. Call me if you need anything." Their mother shot them a wicked grin, "I'm great at making up dirty cheers."

"You have to go in with us." Rory exclaimed causing two sets of eyes to stare at her in shock.

"What?" Tori questioned loudly, she didn't want anyone to see her mother dressed like that walking into school with her.

"Rory, come on." Their mother pleaded.

But the elder Gilmore sister was hearing none of it, "You have to meet the headmaster."

Tori groaned and waved her hand in their mother's direction, "But look at her, Rory!"

Lorelai frowned at her youngest, a bit offended, but agreed, "I can't meet anybody who does anything in there dressed like this."

"Mom!"

"No," She shook her head, "I look like that chick from that movie about the cousins... what's the name of it?"

"The Dukes of Hazard." Tori offered sulkily, already knowing Rory was going to get her way and they were going to have to walk through their new private school with 'Daisy Duke'.

"This is our first day. You are not getting out of going in there with us. Period." Rory enforced, not letting either of them off the hook.

Both mother and youngest daughter let out matching groans as they all exited the jeep. On their way towards the building, two women walking by stopped and stared at Lorelai's outfit.

She smiled and nodded at them, "Good morning."

The women shared a look, then walked away, not even bothering to greet her back.

"Oh, well, we're gonna be the best of friends." Lorelai commented sarcastically as she threw on her long black coat, trying to hide her outfit, "So, where do we go?"

Rory pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and checks it, "Uh, the Ambrose building."

"Which is?" Their mother asked as they look around at all the big stone buildings surrounding them.

"The big, scary one." Tori offered sarcastically crossing her arms.

Lorelai threw her hands up and mock glared at her daughter, "Oh, great. Thanks for the input."

Tori just smirked in reply and shrugged, "Just trying to be helpful."

"Lost?" A well dressed man asked as he approached them.

"Oh, yeah." Lorelai answered, "Uh, we're looking for the headmaster's office, the Ambrose building."

He nodded his head and pointed to the building they were standing in front of, "Ah, okay. Well, this is it right here. You just go inside, down the stairs, make a left and the headmaster's office is at the end of the hall."

"Great. Thank you." She smiled appreciatively.

"You're welcome."

Rory grabbed Tory and Lorelai's arms, ready to pull them away towards the building, but the man extended his hand for a shake, stopping them.

"Um, I'm Ian Jack. My daughter Julia goes to school here."

Lorelai shook his hand, "Hi. I'm Lorelai Gilmore. Um, these are my daughters, Rory and Tori."

"Your daughters? Really?" He questioned in disbelief, something Lorelai was used to by now.

"Yup."

"Wow, that's great." He stuttered awkwardly, "Uh, I mean, daughters are a great thing."

"We're big fans." She answered sardonically with a smirk.

"So, is your husband here? I'd love to meet him." Ian offered, covertly.

"I'm not married." Lorelai informed him, obviously flirting back, "I'd love to meet your wife, though."

"I'm divorced."

"Shame."

"Yeah."

The two teens shared a look and rolled their eyes at their mother before Rory finally spoke up, "Excuse me. We really gotta. . ."

"Right!" Lorelai seemed to snap back to reality, "We gotta go meet the big guy, and I gotta, uh, get back to work." The three of them finally start to walk away.

"Oh, where do you work" Ian asked drawing Lorelai back towards him.

"At an inn." She answered, "The Independence Inn. I run it."

"Really?"

"In a different outfit, of course." She teased.

Ian laughed at her lame joke, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Lorelai. Good luck in school, girls. I'll tell Julia to look out for you."

Rory smiled nicely, "Great..."

"...Thanks." Tori finished with a smirk.

The man eyed the two girls curiously for a moment before waving goodbye to the three, "See you."

As he walked away Lorelai stared after him, smiling to herself, "What a nice, nice man." She spoke up dazedly.

Tori smirked up at her mother. "You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah." She grinned back at her youngest.

"Do you want me to get you a mirror?" Rory questioned rudely, her nerves were starting to get to her.

Lorelai's smile faded, "I'm back. Let's go." And they were finally able to make it inside the Ambrose building.

The Gilmore girls walked into the Ambrose building and followed Ian's directions, leading them to stand right outside the headmaster's door.

"You ready?" Lorelai asked turning first left then right to look over at her girls.

Both shook their heads simultaneously, "No."

Their mother nodded and looked towards the door again, giving them a moment before asking again, "You ready now?"

There was two deep sighs from her both sides of her, "Yes." They answered this time.

They pushed open the double doors and stepped into the entrance room immediately heading for the secretary working at her desk and Lorelai cleared her throat, "Um, excuse me."

The secretary looked up at them quickly, and the three of them jumped back slightly, startled.

"Oh! How. . .wow, hi. I'm Lorelai Gilmore." She stuttered out, "These are my daughters, Lorelai Gilmore. . .'cause I named her after me; and Victoria Gilmore, also named after me." Lorelai began to ramble, "I was in the hospital all whacked out on Demerol."

Seeing the secretary's blank face, she cleared her throat, "Never mind. Um, but we call them Rory and Tori. It's short for Lorelai, and Victoria but they'll answer to either one, or even 'Hey, you' depending on the. . ." Rory nudged her as Tori let out a groan of embarrassment, "Uh, is the headmaster here?"

The secretary stood up, "One moment." She ordered and walked through the door behind them, letting it shut as she entered.

Lorelai ducked down and whispered, "See, that's what happens when you go to bed with your makeup on." And Tori snickered at her mother's comment while Rory just rolled her eyes at their immaturity.

A moment later, the door re-opened and the secretary came back through, "Headmaster Charleston will see you now."

Tori leaned over and whispered to her mother, "Sounds like a trap, I say we turn back now, before it's too late."

Lorelai smirked at her youngest daughter's wit but didn't bother answering her back, "Great, great. Thanks." She said in reply to the Secretary's words. And the three walked into the headmaster's office.

Headmaster Charleston looked like a less cheerful, beardless Santa Clause. As he stood to shake Lorelai's hand, Tori noticed he had a certain presence about him that let you know he was in charge.

"Ms. Gilmore, I'm Headmaster Charleston." He greeted.

Lorelai smiled back "Hi, it's really nice to meet. . ." She trailed off as she looked around the room and saw her mother sitting on the couch, "Mom, what are you doing here?"

The twins turned sharply at their mother's words and stared, shocked at the sight of their grandmother.

Emily stood up and walked over to them, "I came to wish my granddaughters luck on their first day of school." She smiled at both girls, "Rory, you look wonderful in that uniform! And Tori, my goodness you look positively radiant."

Tori blushed while Rory smiled happily, "Thank you, grandma."

Lorelai chuckled anxiously, "Uh, you didn't have to come all the way out here, Mom."

"Well, this gave me a chance to make sure that Hanlin here takes good care of our girls." Emily smiled at her granddaughters.

Lorelai nodded towards the headmaster and stated, "You're Hanlin."

"Hanlin Charleston." He concurred.

"Hanlin's wife and I are on the symphony fundraising committee together." Tori's grandmother informed them with a smile.

"Wow, that's great." Lorelai smiled falsely.

"Your father and I are golf rivals." Headmaster Charleston added, not seeming to notice the tension between the two elder Gilmore women, "We're still fighting it out to see which one is worse."

"Oh, yes. We're all old friends." Emily agreed with a smile.

"Well, there's nothing like friends. Especially if they're old . . . ones." Lorelai trailed off with a strained smile.

"Well," Headmaster Charleston began as he returned to his seat, "would you like to take off your coat and have a seat?"

The twins' eyes widened at his words and stared anxiously up at their mother who was also looking a bit nervous, "Oh, no. No, I'm fine."

"I'm afraid they were a little overzealous with the furnace this morning. It's quite warm in here."

"I like it warm." Lorelai declined politely.

Emily rolled her eyes at her daughter's odd behavior, "Lorelai, take off your coat and sit down. You don't want Hanlin to think you're rude."

Tori sighed in resignation as her mother reluctantly removed her coat. Emily Gilmore and Headmaster Charleston looked on in disbelief and aversion while her two daughters looked away, embarrassed.

Tori leaned towards her sister and whispered, "You're the one who demanded she come with us." Rory didn't reply, choosing instead to elbow her sister softly.

Lorelai smiled, embarrassed, "Laundry day." She said simply, hoping to move on from this situation.

"Hanlin, did you know that Tori has a 4.5 grade average?" Emily began proudly, trying to divert the conversation away from the current awkwardness, "And Rory is not far behind her with a 4.0."

"I'm sure he does, Mom." Lorelai drawled, rolling her eyes.

"These are very special girls." Emily said to Hanlin smiling at both her granddaughter, "You take good care of them."

"We'll do our best, Emily." He assured the eldest Gilmore with a smile.

"Oh, God. My girls are not gonna be a problem." Lorelai promised, "They're both totally low maintenance, well Rory more so than Tori; but they're both like a Honda. You know, they're just easy, just. . .." upon noticing the weird looks she was getting from everyone in the room, Lorelai drifted off and cleared her throat, "nice office."

"Well, I don't think we should take up anymore of your precious time." Emily interjects, trying to take the focus off her bumbling daughter. She collected her coat and pure, "Hanlin, it was lovely to see you. Give Bitty our love." She requested as she placed a parting, friendly kiss on the elder man's cheek.

Hanlin smiled and nodded, "Tell Richard I'll see him at the club Sunday."

Emily moved towards her granddaughters, "Have a wonderful day, Rory." She kissed her cheek before moving to her youngest granddaughter and doing the same, "And Tori I expect a call later, I want to hear all about it."

She gave one last smile at the occupants of the room before turning to her daughter, "Do you need a ride or is your horse parked outside?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes at her mother as she moved to shake the headmaster's hand, "It was so nice to meet you." She then turned to her two girls and bent down to kiss their foreheads, "Have a great day."

As she turned to leave the headmaster spoke up, "Oh, you don't want to forget your coat."

Turning back, Lorelai gave an amused smile, "Oh, no, 'cause that would be embarrassing." She retrieved her coat and followed her mother out of the office.

After their mother and grandmother had left, Headmaster Charleston informed the girls that he would be taking a moment to speak with each of them individually. With Rory being the eldest, she had gone first while Tori had waited in the front office with the scary secretary.

She hadn't been sitting out there for too long when the door was opened and her twin stepped out, "You're turn."

Tori stood up and moved towards the entrance. Before going in, she turned to Rory, "Should I be scared?"

Her sister gave a nervous shrug and a small nod as she sat down in Tori's vacated seat.

Gulping nervously, Tori entered the room and closed the door behind her. She walked over to Headmaster Charleston and took a seat across from him.

The room was silent for a moment as he looked through her transcript folder. Finally after what felt like forever he spoke,

"Much like your sister, you're obviously a bright girl, Miss. Gilmore." Headmaster began.

Tori smiled politely, "Thank you."

"You both have excellent grades, the teachers like you, in fact I have a very glowing letter of recommendation from your art teacher here, but that is where the similarities seem to stop." He continued as he looked up at her curiously, "While your sister had little to no social activities, it says here that at your previous school you were on the cheerleading team, the school year book, and you were teacher's assistant in your art class. That is quite a fair bit of social activities to be involved in while attending AP classes and keeping your grades up."

Tori blushed, "Thank you headmaster, I also volunteer at the local dance studio in my hometown, teaching the younger children ballet."

He nodded his head, "Good, this is all very impressive. So, what are your aspirations?"

"I want to go to Yale and study Architecture" She informed him with a bright smile.

"On your way to being. . ."

Tori shrugged and crossed her legs nervously, "I want to become the best me I can strive to be, while doing what I love," She took a breath, "My goal is to graduate from Yale and move to New York to begin working for the Gensler Architect firm."

"Really?" He questioned, intrigued.

She nodded, "Yes sir."

"You know, Andrew Cohen, the CEO of Gensler Architecture is an old friend of mine. We went to Cornell together." He chuckled at Tori's wide eyed look, but moved on, "Why do you wish to be an architect?"

Tori stopped for a moment to think about how she wanted to word her answer, "The sight of old buildings is fascinating. Just looking at something to strong and sturdy and knowing that a hundred years ago someone was standing there and seeing the same building I am today is amazing to me. One day I want someone to be staring up at a building I designed and have it inspire them the way I have been inspired."

She smiled anxiously, "I've always enjoyed architecture and I have always had an artistic eye. I love drawing and painting, and the thought of designing something beautiful that millions of people can appreciate for years to come is an exciting notion."

Once she had finished her little speech, Headmaster Charleston sat staring at her with a blank look for a moment before giving her a small smile and a nod, "Well I can certainly see your passion for this particular field and I think you will do rather well in achieving your goal."

Tori grinned at his praise, "Thank you, Headmaster."

"I've known your grandparents for quite some time." He began.

"Yes sir."

"In fact, I was at a party at their house just last week where I had the most delicious lobster puffs I've ever eaten. I'm very fond of them." His smiled disappeared and he became serious once more, "None of this, however, will be of any benefit to you. Chilton has one of the highest academic standards of any school in America, as I just recently informed your sister."

Tori nodded in understanding.

"You may have been one smartest girl at Stars Hollow, but this is a different place. The pressures are greater, the rules are stricter, and the expectations are higher. If you make it through, you will have received one of the finest educations one can get, and there should be no reason why you should not achieve all your goals. However, since you are starting late and are not used to this highly competitive atmosphere, there is a good chance you will fail. That is fine. Failure is a part of life, but not a part of Chilton. Understand?" Hanlin finished, waiting patiently for her to respond.

She swallowed nervously, "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, take this to Miss James in the administration office across the hall." He said handing her a folder.

Tori grabbed the folder and stood up, "Oh," she suddenly said, regaining the headmaster's attention, "You're right, the lobster puffs are too die for." she smiled at him one last time and left the room.

Rory stood once she saw her sister exiting the office, "How was it?" She asked after the door shut.

Tori took a deep breath, "Terrifying." She informed her twin as they made their way to the administration office.

Once they made it to the correct room, both girls walked up to the woman at the desk and set down their folders.

"Hi excuse me," Rory spoke up, "We're looking for Miss James."

"Name?" the woman questioned, her tone sharp.

"Lorelai Gilmore. But I go by Rory."

"Mhm," the woman turned to Tori then, "and yours?"

"Victoria Gilmore."

Miss James handed both girls each a piece of paper, "Fill this out, please." She then took the girls' folders and walked over to another desk placing the folders down.

Once they had both finished filling out their paper and turned it in, Miss James handed them so more paperwork. One such piece seemed to be a map of the school.

"Here's the dining room, the science hall, and the theater." She pointed out several locations on the map, "Here's your locker number, and here's your schedule." She handed them some more information "Here's the rules of the school and the Chilton Honor Code. Here are the words to the school song, which must be recited upon demand. This can happen at any place, and any time. If you do it in Latin you get extra credit. Do you have any questions?" she asked finally?

"Uh, not at the moment." Rory answered, unsure.

"I have one." Tori questioned, and once she had the woman's attention she asked, "Is it only extra credit in Latin, or can I get extra credit for saying it in French?"

Miss James simply stared at her, unblinking, "No, only in Latin. If either of you have any more questions, you can make an appointment to see your guidance counselor, . He handles everything but bulimia and pregnancy. For that, you'll have to go to the nurse or Coach Rubens. Welcome to Chilton girls."