A Friendly Little Encounter

Oh, right. Rory hadn't introduced herself. She rarely did. That was a habit she'd need to get into. "Right. Sorry. I'm Adr-- Rory. Lorelai. I usually go by Rory. It's nice to meet you, Rayne."

Lorelai reached over to shake Rayne's hand with a firm grip. Two shakes and Rory pulled back to recline again. "Do you usually come out here to read during lunch break?"

"Same. I'm not a big fan of sitting around a bunch of people. I used to do it back home, but — things changed." She nodded and took a strip of food from her tray to pop it into her mouth.

"You in high school?"

"Same. Going on to college. Not sure with what, though. I came from a different dimension, so I'm still getting my bearings. You plan on going to college? I hear it's free here, so I guess the only reason not to is time constraints."

Rory nodded, stifling the urge to ask how Rayne didn't already have an idea. She'd had her college life planned since twelve-years-old. Well then, most of that had been because Rory needed to get a good job. A good scholarship for her family. But the point was, Lorelai had always been driven.

"That's nice. It's weird not having to get scholarships here."

Actually, it made Lorelai a little tilted. She'd worked hard for good scholarships and now none of that mattered. All that time wasted. Countless hours worrying and studying and trying.

"Yeah? Why's that? Probably because taxes are extra here so colleges are free. That's how it normally goes."

Rory sighed, not particularly at this situation, but what it made her remember. Home.