A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews so far! Judy- I went back and fixed the errors that you pointed out. *Hopefully* there are no more. Thank you so much for taking the time to point them out to me! And to imagANNEation- I have made this chapter substantially longer (it has 1,755 words!), so hopefully it will be satisfactory. Enjoy!
Gilbert woke up bright and early to prepare for the school day. He was to teach six classes everyday: three science classes and three mathematics classes. The curriculum at Kingsport Ladies College, he had discovered, was already set in stone. He would be teaching geometry for the final month of school in mathematics. In science, he was to finish up the unit on cellular division and then teach abut the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems to conclude the human anatomy unit of the second semester. Thank goodness the previous teacher had finished covering the reproductive system before her illness, he thought to himself, as he would not like to teach that to a group of wishy-washy Pringles.
Gilbert put on his nicest suit and groomed himself for the day. His quickly memorized his schedule, which was three science classes in the morning followed by three math classes in the afternoon.
Though he had not seen Anne since she ran away from him yesterday, Gilbert was hoping that she would accept his apology for whatever he did (even though he had no idea what he did). Because of Anne's behavior, he was feeling down that morning, especially after getting his hopes up after the kiss. He then walked down the road from the boardinghouse to the school, which only took about three minutes, and found his classroom, which was directly across the hall from Anne's.
The classroom contained several rows of desks, a main desk for the teacher, and a chalkboard at the front of the classroom. After reviewing his lesson plans for the day several times, he sat at his desk nonchalantly, not quite sure what to do with himself.
A few minutes later, Anne wandered her way into Gilbert's classroom, clutching books to her chest. Her hair was up in a bun with two strands of curls framing her face. Gilbert thought to himself that she looked absolutely stunning.
"Hello, Anne," Gilbert said, a smile creeping up on his face.
"Hello, Gil. I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry for storming away like that yesterday," Anne admitted. "I just...I was overwhelmed by my feelings...that's all."
"It's okay, Anne. I wasn't offended or anything," Gilbert lied. In fact, he had been offended when Anne left, as he had no idea what he had done to cause her to storm away in such a manner. But of course he would never inform her of such things.
For a moment there was silence. Anne shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wondered if she should tell Gilbert what she was too afraid to tell him the day before.
"I have never had feelings for anyone but you before. That's why I ran away. I was scared."
"So it's true then?" Gilbert said optimistically. "You do have feelings for me?" His eyes twinkled with hope.
"Yes, I do, Gilbert. I was thinking about it last night. I was such a fool for not realizing it earlier."
"You weren't a fool, Anne. It just took some time for you to realize your feelings."
"Can we take it slowly, though, Gil?" Anne whispered as she moved closer to him. "I just don't want to rush into things quite yet."
"Of course, Anne," Gilbert reassured her, despite the fact that he wouldn't mind rushing things, considering how long he had waited. But, he reminded himself, everything was new to Anne, even if he had been in love with her for years. He reached for her hand, held it, and leaned in slightly, but was interrupted by the ringing of the bell. Voices could be heard as students shuffled into classes.
"Every time there is something that interrupts us!" Gilbert grumbled.
"Meet me at the bridge across Kingsport Lake at lunchtime. I'll be waiting," Anne beamed, her eyes glistening.
"Okay, Carrots," Gilbert said with a deep chuckle. Anne snorted at the joke as she regrouped herself for the school day.
Gilbert retreated back to his classroom across the hall to find Katherine Brooke standing in the classroom, clutching a large box in her arms.
"Hello, Ms. Brooke," Gilbert greeted.
"Mr. Blythe," Katherine Brooke said stiffly with a smirk.
"What is in the box?" Gilbert asked, gesturing at the large package.
"It is a light microscope that was donated by Kingsport Ladies College's most prominent family. It is is of the same caliber of microscopes used in the most technologically advanced scientific laboratories in the Maritimes. I am sure that it will come in handy in your genetics lesson on mitosis for today."
"I'm sure it will," Gilbert replied.
"Have you any experience using a microscope, Mr. Blythe?" Katherine questioned suspiciously. "One with such little experience may not be capable of using such advanced equipment."
"There is no need to doubt one's capabilities because of age, Ms. Brooke. I actually have used that exact same microscope frequently in my Molecular Biology course at Dalhousie in my studies to become a doctor," Gilbert stated candidly. He was already growing tired of Katherine Brooke's attitude.
"Well, I hope that you are as trustworthy as you portray yourself to be," Katherine said pompously as she placed the box, along with the updated science lesson plan, onto Gilbert's desk and waltzed out of the room as if she was the Queen of England.
Soon, a group of sixteen girls made their way into Gilbert's classroom. They did not closely resemble Avonlea girls, Gilbert observed. They did not come from hardworking, farming families who lived in the beautiful Canadian countryside. Instead, they came from the wealthiest families in the region and were spoiled with riches and luxuries. This would take some getting used to, he thought to himself.
As Gilbert was lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the snippets of conversation coming from the students of Kingsport Ladies College.
"...looks as handsome as a king..."
"...is in love with Ms. Shirley..."
"...must come from money..."
"...can't be a farm boy..."
But the most important discourse was between Jen Pringle and Myra Pringle.
"We should play the exact same tricks on Mr. Blythe as we did on Ms. Shirley!" Jen stated. "I have already put the snake in his desk; I did so right before class started. I reminded the entire class to introduce themselves with funny names as well, even though silly old Emmeline would never participate in any tricks."
"Emmeline sure does spoil everything with her 'goodness'. But I do have another box of firecrackers!" Myra chimed in.
"Very good," Jen praised. "But this time, we must avoid catching the school on fire with them. They are for show and scare only."
The two girls took their seats right next to one another in the very back of the classroom so that they could further plan their pranks.
Yes, Gilbert Blythe was the biggest source of gossip that morning for the girls of Kingsport Ladies College, who had never had a male teacher before throughout their time at the institution.
After the final bell rang, Gilbert cleared his throat, attempting to quiet down the class. When the girls didn't stop talking, he picked up a ruler that was propped up against a wall and banged it against his desk, which silenced the class.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," Gilbert stated out of pure habit. The girls began giggling at his mistake.
"...um, I mean...good morning...ladies," Gilbert stumbled, recognizing his error. The girls seemed to find this comment even more humorous, as they snickered even louder at their teacher.
"I would like to get started by telling you a little bit about myself," Gilbert began. "I come from Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island- the same place as Ms. Shirley is from. In fact, I have known Ms. Shirley ever since I was a child when she moved to the Island when she was eleven." Did Gilbert really just make the story regarding his life be about Anne? Well, then again, Anne was his life. But he didn't want the girls at Kingsport to suspect anything between them. "Anyway," he continued, "I am currently studying to become a doctor at Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax. I just finished up my first year there, and I have three more years until I graduate. This is a good segue into what we will be discussing today in science, actually. Today, we will be looking at plant cells under a microscope and identifying different stages of mitosis to give you a visual representation of what you learned with Ms. McKay. This microscope just arrived to the school, thanks to the institute's generous benefactors."
"My parents were the ones who paid for the microscope, you know," Jen Pringle interrupted, fluttering her eyes at Gilbert.
"Well, miss, it is...nice...to know such unwarranted information," Gilbert monotonously mumbled.
Jen Pringle smiled superiorly at the proclamation.
"Now, I suppose I should take attendance and learn each and every one of your names," Gilbert said as he pulled out his class list. "Pringle, Myra C?" Gilbert asked, looking up his sheet to the class. When no one said, 'present', he remembered something Anne had told him about the students pretending to have funny names. "Oh, that's right," Gilbert said, "I have the wrong attendance list. Here is the right one. Let's see. Is Wilma I. Ball here? What about Alice B. Heind?"
All of the girls burst out laughing, except Myra and Jen Pringle. He had ruined their master plan! But how could he have known?
Of course, they thought. Anne Shirley must have warned him.
"Are these not your names then?" Gilbert asked the class. "Well, then," he began, after receiving no response, "I assume that the prior list must be correct. So, Myra, are you here?"
"Present," Myra groaned, upset that her teacher had spoiled her prank.
Gilbert continued to go down the class list until he had named all sixteen girls- a process which took nearly half of the class period. "I am in for one hectic month!" Gilbert thought to himself. Anne had not lied to him at all. The Pringles were very stubborn, indeed.