Hi Folks!
Thanks for all the stunning reviews last week with it being one of my favourite to right it was particularly satisfying! Just so you all know I added a little to the end of the last chapter. Its not tons and its right at the end, i put it there because it made sense to put it there and not here.
This was a fun one to modernize. I wanted to include some of the original stories because they are so fun to do! So I hope you all like it!
love Carrots x
"Student council in session." Gilbert said hitting the gabble on the table the first day back at school. He turned to Anne and smiled "I love doing that." He said as she gave him a chuckle. "Right item first on the agenda." He said looking at it. "Ah yes, the town council has asked for the high school students help." He said with a smile. "They would like the students of the school to help with the repainting and repairs to the town hall." Gilbert said looking up to the group.
"Why do they want our help?" Josie asked.
"We're the future of the town." Anne replied. "It makes sense that the high school should want to give back to the community."
"The football session is out until March." Gilbert said. "I bet we could use the indoor pitch to host a charity game. Write to local people, maybe fathers against sons, we could sell tickets $2 a ticket the stadium seats 200 that will be $400."
"We could put on a talent show." Charlie suggested. "The hall is even bigger 500 seats $5 that's a good $2,500."
"Plus there would be no harm in taking the bucket for the band sheet music, raising funds is always hoot." Josie added.
"We better look at catering for the events too." Anne suggested.
Gilbert nodded his head "Right…" he said "Joseph you getting this?" he asked.
"Catering, got it." Joseph finished.
"I think we're off to an excellent start." Gilbert said with a grin to his student council. "Lets see how it goes. Item two, the yearbook…" he said looking at Jessica. "How's that shaping up?" he asked her.
"The early deposit is paying off, we're getting 10% off the total bill at the end of the year." Jessica said.
"That's good, ten per cent more into the school funds at the end of the year."
"and another 20% off for the +80 copies we need." She continued. "If we sell them at $20 we break even at 78 copies."
Gilbert smiled "then the more people we get to buy the yearbook the better, we should aim for a promise to pay from at least 100 of the 120 pupils. So we need those reply slips in by the end of the month." He acknowledged.
"We've put out the ballot for the bests worse, biggest and most likely too, old favourites everyone likes to see… Best Dressed, Best Smile Best Couple, best bum included, worse dress worse attempt at man bun, etc, full list is here," She said handing round a piece of paper, "we need a student profile on both you and Anne." She said to Gilbert with a smile to Anne.
Gilbert groaned and Anne looked uncomfortable. "Can we at least give it together?" Anne asked.
Jessica smiled "That would-be fun have a joint interview, I think we can work round it." She said.
"Well its something at least." Gilbert replied. "Good work keep us updated. Item three, student teacher classroom assistants, there's been very little uptake on the offer this year for students to go to the middle school and help out in the classroom the middle school teachers are asking for us to drive the recruitment. It good help for them and it looks excellent on our resumes for college." Gilbert said with a smile. "so what can we do to encourage it?"
"we could do it ourselves?" Anne offered up. "All the student council do it, it'll seem cool all of a sudden."
Gilbert's bottom lip protruded "I'll tell you the truth I just never thought of doing it." He said honestly "If your game I am." Gilbert said with a smile to Anne. "Charlie? Josie?" Gilbert said.
"Hm, well as long as it doesn't take up all my time." Charlie said.
"Its an hour a week" Gilbert said with an eye roll.
"I'm in." Jessica said.
"and me." Joseph added.
"This is a good start." Gilbert smiled.
Eventually council was adjourned and Josie looked on Anne arm. "That's a pretty bracelet." She said looking at the pearls. "Did you get it for Christmas?"
"No." Anne said with a smile to it. "It's the bracelet my corsage came on, doesn't Gilbert have good taste." She said playfully nudging him.
"I doubt they're real." Josie said without a piece of malice but with a sweet laugh.
"I wear them to remind me of my best friend, not for the monetary value. That means more to me then a single pearl."
Josie looked confused as she walked away, Anne didn't see the wide eyed look from Gilbert's eyes as she followed.
She'd just called him her best friend.
And he meant more to her then pearls.
"Anne, Thea is lost!"
"Thea! Lost!" Anne looked at Davy, who was swinging on the yard gate, and detected merriment in his eyes. "Davy, do you know where she is?"
"No, I don't," said Davy stoutly. "I haven't seen her since dinner time, cross my heart."
"I only went out the front door to deal with the milk orders for next week, when I came back David said Thea was gone and he didn't see her leave." Marilla said coming out the house.
"I didn't its true," avowed Davy.
"She must be somewhere around," said Anne. "She would never wander far away alone . . . you know how timid she is. Perhaps she has fallen asleep in one of the rooms."
Marilla shook her head.
"I've looked, my room your room, Rachel's and David's, both the bathroom, the front and back rooms downstairs."
A thorough search followed. Every corner of house, yard, and outbuildings.
"Gil please come over, Thea's lost and we can't find her anywhere. I'm about to go look for into the woods, I'm so scared for her Gil please help?" was Anne's plea via text message to him.
Anne continued her search through the orchards and the Haunted Wood, calling Thea's name. Marilla took a candle and explored the cellar. Finally they met again in the yard where Gilbert pulled up in his car.
"Tell me what I can do to help?" Gilbert offered jumping out of the car.
"Where can she be?" said Anne miserably giving Gilbert a hug as he came to them "Thanks for coming so fast."
"Maybe she's tumbled into the well," suggested Davy cheerfully.
"There's no need to sound quite so happy about it Davy." Anne said to him almost trembling.
"She . . . she might have," whispered Marilla.
Anne, feeling faint and sick, went to the wellbox and peered over. The bucket sat on the shelf inside. Far down below was a tiny glimmer of still water. The Cuthbert well was the deepest in Avonlea.
"I knew I should have got a grid over this." Marilla said. "I always liked it as it was for historical sake." She sighed.
In the meantime Gilbert had ran to the back of his car bringing out a rope and a lot of rope climbing gear. "Is that well deeper then 100 meters?" he asked.
"no, its um…" Marilla said trying for a moment to do the maths. "Oh 250 feet."
"Okay…" he said with a nod doing the maths on his own "So that's about 75 meters. He tied the rope round the nearby tree. "Davy I want you to keep an eye on this rope, when I tug it like this, I want you to help Anne help get me out, got it?" he asked.
"Sure." Davy exclaimed. As Gilbert clipped on his metalwork.
"How do you have all this?" Anne asked him.
Gilbert laughed and looked at her "little bit of adrenalin can do you a world of good sometimes Shirley." He said with a wink.
"Gil its dangerous!" she said looking down the well.
He strapped on a headlight "Just call me danger mouse!" he said. "If Thea is down there I'll be able to get her."
It was a good half an hour later Gilbert came back up being tugged up by Anne and Davy.
"Good news is she's definitely not down there." Gilbert confirmed.
Marilla sighed in relief then looked at Davy again. "Are you sure you don't know where she is?"
"I've told you a dozen times that I haven't," said Davy, with an injured air. "Maybe a tramp come and stole her."
"Nonsense," said Marilla sharply. "Anne, do you suppose she could have strayed over to Mr. Harrison's? She has always been talking about his parrot ever since that time you took her over."
"I can't believe Dora would venture so far alone but can you take me over and see?" Anne asked Gilbert.
No one saw the change in Davy's face as he slipped out of sight into the barn.
Anne and Gilbert took his car and headed over to the Harrison's. The house was locked, the window shades were down, and there was no sign of anything living about the place. She stood on the veranda and called Thea loudly.
Ginger, in the kitchen behind her, shrieked and swore with sudden fierceness; but between his outbursts and Anne's shouting Gilbert's ears perked.
"Shhh." He said quietly. "Can you hear that?" he asked Anne. He moved round to the side of the house to an outhouse where he threw the door open and Gilbert found a small girl in the foetal position on the floor.
"Anne!" Gilbert called before he went inside "Thea, its me, Gilbert" he whispered as the girl turned and looked up at him. She threw herself at him and sobbed into him quietly. "Shh, shh, its alright." He soothed her. As Anne arrived on scene.
"Oh, Thea!" she exclaimed joining them on the floor "what a fright you have given us! What are you doing here?!"
"Davy and I came over to see Ginger," sobbed Thea, "but we couldn't see him after all, only Davy made him swear by kicking the door. And then Davy brought me here and run out and shut the door; and I couldn't get out. I cried and cried, I was frightened, and oh, I'm so hungry and cold; and I thought you'd never come, Anne."
"Davy?" But Anne could say no more. Gilbert was the one who carried her back to his car. Anne cuddled her in the back of the car and Gilbert drove the two back to Green Gables in silence.
When they got out the car Marilla ran to Thea throwing her arms around her. "Oh baby girl!" Marilla exclaimed. "Oh we were so scared!" she cried
"There was one person who in all of this was pretty calm don't you say Marilla?" Anne said looking to Davy accusingly. He stood in the yard he head bowed. "How could you lie like that David?" she whispered with tears in her eyes.
"Anne?" Marilla asked her.
"David took Thea over there to see Ginger and left her in a locked shed." Anne exclaimed. It was Marilla's turn to be speechless. "It not even that David…" Anne said looking at him directly, "You had Marilla and I combing this house, the property the whole of the woods which lead down to Gilbert' house, you had Gilbert risking his life going down a well!" Anne exclaimed.
"But that was fun!" he protested
"That was dangerous!" Anne exclaimed
"Gilbert knew what he was doing, he wasn't in any danger." Davy defended.
"I knew what I was doing Davy but it doesn't mean I wasn't in danger." Gilbert admitted. "Why do you think I put on so much safety gear before I went down there? Why do you think I took my flashlight and had a safety rope on?" he asked Davy. "To help keep me safe, in a situation which would never have occurred if you told the truth in the first place."
"Are you mad at me too Gilbert?" he asked him.
"I'm disappointed as Anne is that you could pretend you didn't know where your sister was this whole time." He said.
"Not to mention the fright you gave your sister." Marilla said holding a shaking Thea.
"She'll be fine." Davy said offhandedly.
"Your sister is shaking!" Anne exclaimed. "This isn't pulling a girls hair or name calling, this is dangerous Davy what if we didn't find her!?"
"I'm sorry Anne, I never meant to upset you." He said.
"If you upset your sister you upset me, go to your room and don't expect to come down until morning."
"Without dinner?" he asked looking at Marilla.
"I'd go with Anne's punishment if I were you, mine involved sleeping in the cold barn see how you liked it." Marilla said sharply.
At this Davy burst into tears himself and ran into the house. Marilla picked up Thea and carried her into the house and putting on the stove to make some warm cocoa. "I'll run you a bath too." She soothed her going upstairs.
Gilbert looked to Anne who was calming Thea. "Don't look at me like that." She said quietly.
"Like what?" he asked her.
"Like I was being too hard on Davy." She muttered.
"I wasn't." he said seriously with a shrug. "Maybe it's your conscious calling."
"My conscious, is you?" Anne said with a dagger look to Gilbert. "God help me."
Gilbert took a heavy sigh and looked away "On that note, see you at school." He said leaving sharpish out the door.
Anne and Thea looked at each other silently for a moment before Anne got up "Alright, alright." Anne said leaving the kitchen and following him outside. "Gilbert!" she called to him as he opened his car door. She ran to him throwing her arms around him. His breath caught and he closed his eyes wrapping his arms likewise around her. "I'm sorry." She whispered. He subconsciously breathed in her scent before they pulled back "I'm just in shock that David could be like that."
"I know." Gilbert said quietly.
"There would be nothing wrong with having you as a conscious." She said to him looking at him pitifully her grey eyes wide. "and its not way to treat you after you rushed down here and climbed down a well unnecessarily before you found Thea."
"Davy…" he said quietly.
Anne sighed "I'll go up and talk to him once I've calmed down." She sighed. "I might even find it in me to take up something for him so he won't go hungry." She said humbly. "Come in, won't you?" she asked of him. "We can do some studying for the Avery." She said with a playful smile. "we can have some cocoa…" she offered, "with spray cream…" she teased.
"And marshmallows?" he asked her with a teasing grin.
"And marshmallows." She laughed.
Gilbert shut the door. "Alright then."
"Alright then." she smiled back as she held her hand out to him.