Chapter 2 - The game begins

On that famous autumn afternoon in 1891, when Anne had dared Gilbert to walk home with her in front of that pest Josie, the children were not yet aware it was the beginning of something, the beginning of a game that would get them hooked.

They walked side by side through "the haunted woods" that Anne had renamed this way. The young redhead didn't feel like having a conversation with him at the moment, she was just running her hands nervously over her ginger braids, while looking around.

"Hey... are you planning to give me the box when we reach your house?", the young boy asked worriedly.

"Of course, did you think I wasn't keeping my word? You accepted the dare so it's only fair."

"Gotta say it was relatively easy."

"Oh… easy to walk with me? I thought Diana was the only one who could handle it."

"I can too. And to tell the truth, you helped me get rid of Josie."

Anne laughed, " It was really too easy for you."

When they finally arrived in front of Green Gables, the redhead ran to get her precious metal box.

She came back out of breath, and hastened to hand the item to Gilbert. He couldn't help but smile, already thinking about the next dare he could challenge her to.

The two kids didn't know why they had started this game yet, was it a strange way to build a bond? Or was it just a competitive game?

This question would remain unanswered for many years, and perhaps that was the real danger of this innocent game that had the potential to be the cruelest.

However, what Anne didn't know was that when the young boy returned to his home, he had to act as a kind of nurse at his father's bedside, because his dad was indeed seriously ill. In his misfortune, this was not even the worst thing. He was probably going to be an orphan, his father was the last survivor of his family. His mother had died giving birth to him, and his brothers and sisters had all been taken away by the disease. This family was probably the unluckiest in Avonlea, and the young redhead didn't know it yet.

When Gilbert walked home, he couldn't help but think that this little girl with the red braids and the carousel box were probably the most exciting things that had come into his life. Maybe this game of dares would brighten his daily life after all.

On a school day, a Wednesday morning like any other, it was the spelling bee. Mr. Phillips' class was now accustomed to having Anne and Gilbert as finalists. They were undoubtedly the two brightest students in the class. The young girl was able to compete with the dark-haired boy, although the latter was older and had fallen behind in the school program because of his father's illness. But he was still without a doubt the most intelligent kid according to the teacher.

This exasperated the redhead, she could not stand the smugness of the young boy, he was so convinced to win this round, and even Mr. Phillips was convinced. Except that she had forgotten one detail: Gilbert had not yet chosen her next dare. And it was exactly for this reason that he was smiling so big, and that at times he glanced at the metal box which was placed at his desk.

Mr. Phillips paid no attention to the two children's little game, but that was probably because he hadn't heard about it yet. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked over to the board where the finalists of the contest were standing, he looked at the girl with his usual strict air, "You, new girl, spell out the word Orphanage for me."

He hadn't even managed to remember her name yet, it was a simple name yet, she thought. And on top of that, he was making fun of her by asking her to spell that word, was he even aware of how mean he was?

Instantly, the whole class laughed out loud, everyone except her friend Diana, and her rival, Gilbert, who was probably still too focused because of the competition.

Billy Andrews, undoubtedly one of the people who loved to insult Anne the most, began to make barking noises. He used to do that when he wanted to make fun of her, there hadn't been a day when he hadn't done it since she had joined the Avonlea school.

The girl could feel her eyes turning wet, but she was determined never to shed a tear in front of that stupid Billy Andrews. So she bit her tongue to hold back the tears.

The teacher with the moustache ordered the class to be absolutely silent, and the pupils obeyed at once, "So you've lost your tongue?" he asked, looking at the girl.

Gilbert realized that it was perhaps the moment, he was not yet sure about the dare, but he met Anne's eyes, then he mimed with his lips: Game? Then his gaze shifted to Mr. Phillips' stick, as well as to Billy's hands.

Anne's eyes widened as she realized what he was asking her to do, and she looked again at the young dark-haired boy, to make sure she wasn't mistaken. He nodded.

In turn, the young redhead mimed with her lips: Game.

While the teacher was losing Patience, she walked over to his desk, and picked up his stick.

"Miss Shirley! I never allowed you to move, put my stick down!"

But Anne didn't listen to a word, there was only one thing that mattered in this moment, she wanted to take this dare, she couldn't lose, she felt like an excitement inside her, yet she knew it was wrong, but she had to do it. She finally arrived in front of Billy's desk, and not without a hint of remorse, she whipped the young blonde's hands with the stick. The blond boy let out a slight cry of pain.

The whole class was scandalized, as for Gilbert he smiled, she had done it, he thought.

"Anne Shirley! This is intolerable behavior! Come to the blackboard now!"

The girl had no intention of obeying, so she ran toward the exit door.

"Anne Shirley!", the teacher continued to yell.

Without delay, the young boy with brown curls began to run to join the latter, in passing he grabbed the carousel.

"Mr. Blythe! I didn't-"

Gilbert looked back at Mr. Phillips one last time before leaving the classroom, "...allowed you...blahblah.", then stuck out his tongue at the man with the mustache.

Outraged noises and laughter resounded through the classroom, the teacher couldn't understand why his best students were now also the most brazen.

A few moments later, Gilbert found Anne perched on her majestic oak tree in the middle of the wheat field. He had only known the girl for a short time, yet he felt as if he had known her forever.

She seemed to be somewhere else, watching the clouds, and then all of a sudden she said without even looking at the young boy, "This is your entire fault! I want my box back now. "

" Well…well...here's your box.", he threw it, the box also played a slight melody as it rotated on itself, Anne caught it in the air with a smile on her face.

"You better be wary of your next dare.", she said with a haughty look.

Gilbert wasn't sure yet if he was frightened or excited at this idea, but the confirmation that the game was definitely up started making him more enthusiastic than ever.