Gilbert ran to Green Gables. What had Anne done this time? Taking a dare and walking a ridgepole! Was she completely out of her mind?! Was she hurt? He didn't know by how much, he just had to make sure she was okay. He knocked on the door out of breath still trying to catch his breath when Marilla answer.
"Miss Cuthbert." He said still breathing heavily. "Anne? Ridgepole?" was all he managed to get out.
"Gilbert, did you run all the way here?" She asked.
"Yes Ma'am." He said quietly "please just tell me she's alright?"
Marilla smiled. She thought for a moment this boy was now over 14 and would be turning 15 in 2 months. She'd already trusted him far enough to study away from the porch with Anne, she knew they probably went by Barry's pond and there was always people there, she never saw the danger of it. "she's lying the parlour with Matthew, why don't you go and see for yourself." He nodded his head politely Marilla let him.
He gently opened the parlour door, first he saw Matthew. "Mr Cuthbert." He nodded politely. Before she could see him she knew the voice.
"Gil!" She said in surprise. "You're here." She said.
"Of course I am you ninny." He told her sitting down on the floor in front of the sofa she was lying on. "What have you done this time?" he asked her.
"Josie dared me to walk the ridgepole and I fell off." She said smirking at him. "Well now I say it to you it sounds stupid but it wasn't at the time!"
"She dared you huh?" he replied then chuckled. "Oh Anne when are you going to learn?"
"What would you have done if it been Charlie or Moody?" He squirmed a little. He didn't want to admit it but he would have done the same. "You see you would have done the same thing."
"But Anne, I'm older then you and it was an unfair dare I bet, knowing Josie."
Anne sighed. "Oh Gil, I'm afraid I'll miss the beginning of school. I'll miss our lovely new lady teacher."
"Well, I can't help with telling you about the teacher I'm sure the others will do that for me, but I could ask for work for you, I can come round and help you with them."
"But Gil, you could be getting ahead with your own work, you could beat me outright" She admitted,
"No no, that won't do at all will it? Its no fun if I beat you because I'm ahead, I want to beat you because I'm smarter." He mocked.
"Oh you've asked for it this time Gilbert Blythe! Very well we shall do that… and see how much you like it when you are beaten by a GIRL!"
"You're on!" He said smiling.
"Hallo Miss Stacy." Gilbert said after lessons the first day back.
"Hello dear," She replied then looked at him "Now wait a minute I can get this right, Gilbert right?" she asked.
"Yes Miss Stacy." He replied.
"Good, excellent, what can I do for you Gilbert?"
"Well you see, Anne Shirley is missing because she has casted her ankle. I was wondering if I could take her work for her? I can help her catch up on her lessons."
"Anne Shirley… yes her and your name were top of the class according to Mr Phillips."
"That's right Ma'am." He replied. "We have a friendly rivalry you see, she and I and if she falls behind I won't have anyone to challenge me. Please may I take her work to her until she is better?"
Miss Stacy smiled. It certainly seemed as though the two of them were top of the class for everything. "Do you really think yourself that far ahead of anyone else that they couldn't catch up? If you spend all your time running round getting Anne's work and catching her up won't it affect your studies?"
"Its not like that." He said meekly. "See my father got ill when I was younger, I was a head at that point on my fourth reader by the time I was ten but then my dad got sick and we were away for three years, I barely got any studying done as you can probably imagine but then I came back to school Anne and I both started on our fourth readers and now we are both onto our fifth readers but we've studied most of it together. I should want her to fail so I can win but I can't bring myself to want it. I don't find it as fun to win without her. I'd rather be average with her then be the best without her and anyway it won't affect my studies. We're more than capable of doing this together this way."
"We?" Miss Stacy questioned. If she wasn't mistaken she thought this boy had a crush on this Anne Shirley. "Well I would hate for one of my students to fall behind so early on in the year. But if I sense you are not excelling Gilbert I will stop sending her work through you."
"Yes Miss Stacy, thank you Miss Stacy and you won't have any need to."
She handed him the readers she had set aside for Anne. "Now she seems to be a little behind in her geometry, if you could get her to focus on that…"
She saw a smile spread on Gilbert's face "Wish me luck on that one, she hates geometry, every time we study it again we have to start from the beginning and work our way up… I'll do my best." He said. "Thank you Miss Stacy."
