❝𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑. 𝚆𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚜.❞
— 𝙴𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝙳𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌. 𝟷𝟾𝟻𝟿

Lorelai shook Thea awake, "Hey. You're not sleeping through the noise."

"I was," Thea replied. "Then you woke me up."

Lorelai asked, "How are you sleeping through it?"

"Very easily," Thea said. She rolled over and covered her head with a pillow.

"Hey!" exclaimed Lorelai.

"Go bother Rory," Thea said.

"Wow, you're cranky," Lorelai said.

"Because you woke me up," Thea replied.

"Because of the noise," Lorelai said.

Thea got out of bed, irritated, "I'm up! I'm awake! Are you happy now?"

Lorelai left the room, probably to wake Rory up too.

While Thea was making coffee, she heard Lorelai yelling, "Rory! Thea!" and hitting the front door, because she somehow locked herself out.

She left the kitchen and opened the door, with Rory following.

"I'm officially annoyed," Rory said.

Lorelai said, "Oh! Well, don't blame me, blame Lu—" She pointed to the porch rail, "He was right here."

Thea said, "Yeah, okay." Rory went outside to guide Lorelai back inside the house.

Babette said, "Get her back to bed, you two."

"He was banging on the..." Lorelai started.

"Sure," Thea said.

"I know," Rory replied.

"It was something on the porch," Lorelai explained. "It was broken."

"Sure was," Thea stated.

"I know," Rory replied.

"I'm not crazy," Lorelai said.

"Keep telling yourself that," Thea added.

"He was banging on something," Lorelai defended herself.

"Yeah," Thea replied.

"I know," Rory replied, opening the door, pushing Lorelai inside and closing the door.

During lunch, Craig took out some construction paper and a picture of what looked like a meadow of daisies out of his backpack. He also took out some oil pastels.

Georgia asked, "What are you doing?"

"It's a thing for art," Craig said. "We have to recreate a picture that we picked out, and I'm recreating this meadow."

"Oh," Liberty replied.

"Yeah, it's an Emily Dickinson quote my mom read to me, 'There has been frost enough. We must have summer now, and whole legions of daisies,'" Craig explained and pointed at his artwork. "Whole legions of daisies."

"I like that quote," Thea said.

Todd asked, "What is that guy doing?" He was watching as a guy, farther down the table, squished an apple.

"It looks like he's crushing an apple," Lane said.

"He's not breaking the skin on it," Aiden replied.

The guy stood up and threw the apple, hitting another guy on the back of the head with it, causing the apple to explode.

A fight broke out between the two and the lunch detention teacher tackled one of the guys like he was on a NFL team.

Thea, Rory, Lorelai, and Max walked down the street. Lorelai and Max were carrying small bags as they headed to Max's first town meeting. Lorelai had her arm around Max's.

Max asked, "Okay, we've got food, drink, reading material, chocolate covered espresso beans. Have I left anything out?"

"I think that covers it," Rory said.

Lorelai told Max, "You're such a good provider."

"I try my best," Max replied.

Thea asked Max, "Are you sure you want to go to a town meeting? They're kind of boring and the only entertaining thing is watching Luke and Taylor arguing."

"Your mother has been talking about these town meetings for months. I've got to see one for myself," Max told her.

"They're still boring," Thea said.

"They're never dull," Lorelai countered.

"And if you're lucky, you'll see some crazy lady throwing french fries at the people she disagrees with like last time," Rory told Max.

Max looked at Lorelai, "So were they cold?"

"No, I was just full," Lorelai replied.

"Ah, oh, oh, I forgot," Max started. He took something out of the bag and handed it to Rory. "One for Thea..." Rory passed it to Thea.

Thea was surprised that Max actually remembered her and got her a Ring Pop.

Max passed a Ring Pop to Rory, "One for you..." he passed one to Lorelai, "and one for you."

Rory sniffed her Ring Pop, "What are these?"

"They're Ring Pops," Thea told her. "It's edible."

"Max, that's very sweet, but we're not eight," Lorelai said, removing her arm from Max's.

Thea thought it was funny, because Lorelai and Rory sometimes acted like they were eight.

Lorelai asked, "What did you get?"

"Blue raspberry," Thea told her.

"Grape," Rory replied, "Yours?"

"Red," Lorelai answered.

"So, cherry," Thea pointed out.

Rory told Lorelai, "Trade you!"

"Yes!" Lorelai replied as she and Rory swapped Ring Pops.

They got inside the barn right as Taylor was speaking, "Enough, enough of this arguing. It's time to put this to a vote. All those in favor..."

Rory hid behind Thea, who asked, "What are you doing?"

"All those opposed?" Taylor asked and Lorelai raised her hand. "Lorelai, you don't even know what we're voting on."

In a mock Southern accent, Lorelai said, "Yeah, but I'm a-gin it!" She pointed at Taylor.

"All right, the nays have it," Taylor stated. "Let the record reflect it." He looked at the bags, "Lorelai, I hope that's not food in those bags. Food is not allowed at town meetings."

"No, Taylor it's not. It's, um, diapers for the little ones," Lorelai told him, ushering Rory and Max to some chairs.

Thea went to sit next to Aiden, who looked bored. She whispered, "Anything good?"

"No," Aiden whispered back.

Taylor asked, "The what?"

"Dorsal fins and Cucamonga," Lorelai said.

Taylor asked Miss Patty, "What did she say?"

Lorelai whispered something to Max, who seemed confused at the fact that Thea went to sit somewhere else.

Taylor said, "All right, I'd like to open the meeting up for miscellaneous issues."

"I have an issue," a man said, raising his hand.

"Who are you?" Taylor asked.

"The town troubadour," the man said, standing up.

Taylor asked, "The what?"

"You've seen him, Taylor, with his guitar," Babette said.

Taylor stated, "Right, the guitar."

"Yes, he plays on all the street corners," Miss Patty said.

Luke corrected, "He loiters on street corners."

"We're two peas in a pod, Luke," Taylor told him.

"Scary thought, Taylor," Luke replied.

"Nightmare fuel, actually," Liberty added.

"Terrifying," Aiden said to Thea.

Thea took Aiden's hand to play a game of thumb war.

"Go on honey," Babette told the troubadour.

"Thank you," the troubadour told her. "I've been the town troubadour for six months now, and I think I've done a pretty good job and then—" He pointed to another man, "He shows up."
The other man waved his hand, "Hey."

"And there's no room for a second troubadour in Stars Hollow," the first troubadour continued.

"Clearly," Morey piped up.

"This is hands down the silliest thing I have ever heard," Taylor stated.

"Hear them out, Taylor. It can't hurt," Lorelai stated. Taylor looked at the white bag that Lorelai was holding. "These are not fries. They are farfignugen sugen dugen."

Max started chuckling at that.

Thea won the first thumb war round.

"I opened the floor for issues of substance," Taylor stated. "This does not qualify."

"Don't be uncool, Taylor. Music is substance," Morey told Taylor.

"Watch out Morey," Taylor warned, pointing. "After that anatomically explicit epithet your wife yelled at me earlier, you're both on probation."

Thea whispered to Aiden, "Did she call him a dick or an ass?"

"The c word was dropped," Aiden replied back, winning the second thumb war round.

"Whoa," Thea replied.

Aiden nodded, "I know."

"All I'm asking is that the town troubadour laws be enforced," the man stated, trying to get back on point.

"There are no town troubadour laws," Taylor pointed out.

Thea won round three.

"There ought to be something," Miss Patty said.

"I've got the town handbook right here," Kirk stated.

Thea asked Aiden, "Since when has there been a town handbook?" Aiden shrugged.

Taylor said, "I don't get this, people. This man is practically a vagrant. I mean, where do you even live? What do you do for a living?"

"I don't want people to know those things," the troubadour replied.

Taylor asked, "Why not?"

"Because that's part of being a troubadour," the man stated.

Taylor asked, "What is part of being a troubadour?"

The troubadour stated, "The mystique!"

"Oh, this is absolutely ridiculous," Taylor said. Thea kind of agreed, which was scary. To the second troubadour, Taylor asked, "Do you subscribe to this troubadour mystique?"

"I run a Kinko's in Groton," the second troubadour said.

Thea asked, "What the hell is a Kinko's?"

"It's a postal delivery service," the second troubadour told her.

"Oh," Thea replied, feeling stupid.

"You see, that proves it!" The troubadour exclaimed, "He doesn't respect the code. You're not supposed to talk. You're not supposed to run a Kinko's. You're supposed to speak through your music. That's the whole point."

Taylor asked, "What is your scam, buddy?"

The troubadour asked, "My scam?"

Taylor started, "Because if you are using the fine people of Stars Hollow to make a quick buck—"

"He's not scamming anyone because he doesn't accept money," Sage said. "I tried giving him five dollars, but he gave it back."

"I agree with Sage," Miss Patty said to Taylor. "I tried giving him money as well."

"He may not now, but he will," Taylor replied. "This troubadour act is a money making scheme. Why else would he be doing it?"

The troubadour sat down, looking frustrated.

"Maybe he loves playing music so he's doing what he does because he wants to, Taylor," Aiden stated flatly.

Rory stood up, "And it's because sometimes you have something you need to say but you can't because the words won't come out or you get scared or you feel stupid, so if you could write a song and sing it then you could say what you need to say and it would be beautiful and people would listen and you wouldn't make a complete idiot out of yourself, but all of us can't be songwriters so some of us will never be able to say what we're thinking or what we want other people to know that we're thinking so we'll never get the chance to make things right again ever."

Thea had a funny feeling that Rory was talking about her situation with Dean. She was also tempted to say, 'Deal with your shit in private like the rest of us.'

Rory had gone over and put her hand on the troubadour's shoulder, "So, give this guy a license."

"I agree," Thea said, standing up. "He needs a license. Stars Hollow is an accepting place."

"I agree too," Sage said, getting up. "He's entertaining, I'll give him that."

"I agree as well," Aiden said.

Liberty got up, "I agree. The town needs a troubadour, Taylor." She glared for emphasis.

Luke didn't seem happy, but he got up, "If Libby wants a troubadour, then it'll be fine with me."

"Give the town a troubadour, Taylor," Georgia added, getting up.

There was applause and the ones standing sat down.

"In the interest of not talking about this subject for another second, I hereby designate Mystique Guy over here the official town troubadour. And no other troubadour may usurp his territory, meaning this other guy," Taylor stated.

Thea honestly felt bad for the other troubadour. Maybe he could've gotten another part of town or something.

"So, Rachel left again," Liberty said to her friends during lunch.

Thea frowned, "I thought she wanted to be serious with Luke again."

"She did, but she thought Luke had feelings for Lorelai, and she asked me about it and I didn't want to lie to her," Liberty admitted.

"I'm sorry, Libby," Georgia said.

"It's fine," Liberty replied. "I think she would've left anyway."

Sage frowned, "Really?"

Liberty nodded, "She loves to travel. Being in Stars Hollow would've eventually suffocated her since it's a small town."

"I get it," Craig said. "I lived in a bigger town and even Stars Hollow feels a bit suffocating. I don't like people knowing all my business. Especially how two girls found out I was in juvie somehow."

Todd asked, "For what exactly?"

Craig looked uncomfortable, "I lied about an alibi and refused to turn someone in."

Thea was surprised, "Really?"

Aiden asked, "What happened?"

"I was ten-years-old and my sixteen-year-old babysitter murdered her boyfriend with two other girls. I thought lying about where I was and not saying anything would impress the cool older kids," Craig explained. "I just thought it would impress them by lying. So I got six years, because I did confess to everything, especially knowing that she and her friends planned on killing him."

In a high-pitched tone, Georgia asked, "Why did they do that?"

"He was abusive and dumping him was out of the question, since he threatened to kill her. So it made sense for her to kill him first," Craig explained. "Due to my age, they figured I was manipulated into covering for her." He shrugged, "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I just lied and refused to turn her in."

"Hey, we all were dumb at ten-years-old," Thea said. 

"That's true," Todd said. "I once tried to staple my lips together."

They all looked at him weirdly.

Sage deadpanned, "Yes, Todd. That is comparable to aiding and abetting a murderer."

Thea asked Aiden, "Do you ever think about your mom?"

They were doing homework together.

"Too much," Aiden said, looking uncomfortable. "Sometimes I wonder why she did what she did."

"Because she's a creep," Thea said.

"Yeah, but still..." Aiden said. "I mean, sometimes I wish my dad didn't kill her, because that way I would get answers eventually."

"Maybe you wouldn't," Thea replied.

"Yeah, but there was a small chance that she would've given me answers," Aiden said.

Thea really didn't want to argue with him, because he had a point. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for getting mad," Aiden said. "You have a point too. Maybe she would've told me, maybe she wouldn't. But sometimes I wish he didn't kill her because I did want him to be there for me too."

"Understandable," Thea said. "Do you talk to your friend?"

"I still do, over letters and phone calls," Aiden said. "Just not as much as we used to, but he says that he feels like I'm the only one he could talk to over what happened to him."

Thea nodded.

Aiden asked, "Why?"

"Just wondering," Thea said. "Wondering how you were handling it, that's all."

"It's something that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life," Aiden said. "Especially since she's my mother. And I was a kid. I was four-years-old when she started doing it."

Thea didn't know what to say.

"I was eight when my dad found out," Aiden replied. "I was a kid."

Thea held her arms out and Aiden went into them and started crying. So Thea just held him.

During class, Thea went to use the restroom, however, when she left the restroom, she spotted a woman – in her early twenties, standing in the hallway. She had a visitor's pass on her shirt.

Thea asked, "Can I help you?"

The woman stepped up to her, "I'm looking for Frank's classroom."

Thea, confused, asked, "Who?"

The woman smelt like whiskey, "Frank's classroom. He teaches here."

Thea asked, "What's his last name?"

"Loughty," the woman replied, sounding a little agitated. Thea went to the classroom and knocked on the door. Sage was at the front to solve a math problem. Mr. Loughty was clearly checking out Sage's ass and Sage clearly knew judging from how annoyed he looked.

Mr. Loughty asked, "Can I help you?"

Thea wasn't sure how to explain, but the woman shoved her way past Thea.

Mr. Loughty looked terrified.

The woman yelled, "I'm pregnant and you're the dad!" Mr. Loughty seemed to have paled. "I've been trying to call you to tell you but you haven't returned my calls in three weeks! That was the last time we had sex!" She started to cry, "Why haven't you returned my phone calls? Am I not attractive to you?"

Considering how the teacher was checking out his underage students, probably not.

Thea looked at Sage who looked at her. He looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

Thea looked at Todd, who was just smirking.

Mr. Loughty looked like he had gotten over his shock and looked like he was going to reply. However, the woman took off her shirt and threw it at him, then removed her bra as well, yelling, "How can you not want this body? I'm the sexiest woman you'll ever fuck!"

Sage averted his gaze and Thea went to go find a security guard, although a part of her wanted to relish in the perverted teacher's humiliation.

After school, the incident that happened in Mr. Loughty's classroom was all anyone could talk about.

Sage was laughing maniacally over the situation, feeling like it was some kind of justice. So, he decided to head to the Inn to tell Sookie what happened.

However, when they walked in the inn, there was a ton of daisies covering the lobby.

Thea asked, "Is it just me or did my vision turn yellow?"

"Not just you," Sage said, looking at the—

"Whole legions of daisies," Thea said.

"Yeah," Sage replied. "I'm going to talk to my mom real quick." He kissed Thea's cheek and went to the kitchen, nearly tripping over a vase of daisies on his way.

Thea found Lorelai and went to her, "What's up with the legions of daisies? Is the inn hosting horticulturists?"

"I'll tell you and Rory at the same time," Lorelai told her.

Which means that Thea will find out in about two weeks. No surprise there. Glad to have this conversation. "Yeah, okay."

Lorelai asked, "What was that line about the daisies again?"

Thea replied, "Legions of daisies? It's a quote from Emily Dickinson, 'There has been frost enough. We must have summer now, and whole legions of daisies.'"

"I like it," Lorelai said. "I wish I thought of it." She took a small bundle of daisies and handed them to Thea. "Here, take these daisies and give them to your friends. We need to distribute these daisies before Michel has an aneurysm over them invading the lobby."

"Okay," Thea said, taking the bundle and going into the kitchen.

Sage was telling Sookie about the incident.

Thea spotted Jackson and grimaced slightly. Jackson averted his eyes.

Last week, Thea went into the kitchen at Sookie's home, wearing a white tank top (no bra) and boy shorts to get a glass of water. Jackson entered the kitchen, wearing a tank top and boxer shorts.

They agreed to never speak of that incident again.

Thea handed Sage a daisy, "My mom is saying that I have to give these away."

Sage took the flower, "Thanks?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go give these out," Thea told him.

Sage nodded, "Okay." He kissed her and Thea left the kitchen and the inn to hand out some daisies.

After passing the daisies off to her friends, she went to go find Aiden, but he had found her first.

"Here, have a daisy," Thea told him.

"My dad is getting released from prison on the twelfth of June," Aiden told her, looking breathless.

Thea smiled, "That's great."

"I have to tell the others," Aiden said, looking really happy.

And Thea was happy to see him so happy. He kissed her and took off.

It felt like no news was going to top that.

Until Thea found out later that Max had proposed to Lorelai (with a thousand yellow daisies), but since she hadn't given an answer to his proposal, Aiden's news was still better.