Chapter Two
Sara rubbed her eyes and rolled over, squinting in the morning sunlight. She was glad it was Saturday; there was no school. She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"It was a dream," she sighed, "a beautiful dream, in which I found a lovely friend to keep company with me through life and then she disappeared. And it seemed like such a wonderful, real dream too."
Sara dressed in her Saturday "work clothes" for chores and sat at the window, sighing again. Today will be better, she told herself, not really believing anything she was saying.
The day sauntered past in slow, humid rolls. When twilight came once more, Sara made her way back to the apple orchard, just to make sure she wasn't really going crazy. She climbed a tree and waited a while, watching the crows fly in groups across the flaming sky. When the moon rose, Sara gave up and jumped to the ground, with a feeling of resentment in her girlish heart. She turned toward Holbrook farm.
"Isn't it funny that we seem to always meet in the twilight of the day? We always hope to find 'a merry lilt o'moonlight for mermaiden revelry'," a voice said behind her.
Sara spun around and there was her dream in the flesh. "Anne!" she cried and rushed over to her.
"Hello," the redhead replied, "I figured we'd end up meeting again today and in our first spot. And did you know? I start school on Monday."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Sara exclaimed, finding her voice for the first time since their first meeting, "I can walk you there, if you like, where do you live?"
"Oh, with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. They're lovely dear folk. Well, I might as well tell you, though they're not sure whether they're going to keep me. You see, they had asked for a boy from the orphan asylum, but Mrs. Spencer, she brought me here, made a mistake and brought me instead! I'm on trial for now and I've had some difficulties, but Mrs. Lynde told Marilla I ought to be in school anyhow, trial or no trial, even though the year's just about ending."
Sara closed her mouth, which had fallen half-open as she listened.
"Well, I'm glad I've met you anyway," she said, "I'm quite sure you'll like it here."
"Oh, I already do, Sara, I just love the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters."
"What?" Sara looked at Anne with an inquisitive look.
"Well, Matthew said they were really called the Avenue and Barry's Pond, but I don't like those names, so I made up new and better ones. It's really fun."
"How wonderful!" was all Sara could come up with. This girl was extremely interesting and her funny ways were so unexpected that it made Sara feel rather dizzy.
"Well," Sara said, "I'd like to see you tomorrow after church, if you can. I could give you a tour of all the places I like to go to."
"That would be very helpful. We'll take 'a ramble through the September woods, away where spices grow'."
Sara smiled, perplexed, and waved goodbye to her new friend.
"Goodbye, friend, 'Partings are such sweet sorrow'," called Anne through the gloom of the trees.
Sara smiled again to herself and was, overall, quite pleased with her new friend.
* * * *
"And this is where I go before school every day at The Rock," Sara explained to Anne, leading her down to the edge of, what Anne called, "the Lake of Shining Waters."
"Oh, no, this isn't The Rock," Anne said, looking around, "this is the...um..the Dryad's Bubble. Yes, that fits this little 'spot o'greenery' much better, don't you think?"
Sara agreed this name sounded a lot more interesting. Hence started the name game. The two girls took their "ramble through the woods where spices grow" and came up with Willowmere, a lovely spot encircled by willow trees. There was Idlewild, they decided the place where they met should have a special name of its own. Sara showed Anne Violet's Vale, a large field, where, in the spring, Sara told Anne, was full of violets; then there was Lover's Lane a long path infringed with wild flowers and fairies; and the last one, the Birch Path, the one that Anne let Sara name. It was a long path, in which they would use to get to school, covered by birches and ferns on each side.
So started Anne's first day of school. Sara was so excited that she didn't go to the Dryad's Bubble that day. On the way, Sara told Anne all about the students and Mr. Philips.
"And everyone hates Mr. Philips, he spends all his time with Prissy Andrews, because she's studying for the entrance for Queens and she thinks she's Queen bee because of it. Mr. Philips is just dead gone on her. It's sickening really.
"Then there's Ruby Gillis. She has lovely, long golden hair and beautiful features. All the boys goggle over her somethin' fierce. And she quite enjoys it, I believe.
"Jane Andrews is a nice girl, she's rather plain and sensible for my taste, but very sweet. She has plain features, unlike Ruby, but quite like her personality. I always like to sit with her because, well, before you, Anne, I didn't have a bosom friend.
And, oh, Josie and Gertie Pye. They're sisters and the most disagreeable girls you've ever seen. They're very smug and stuck-up. They tease me something awful.
There's Charlie Sloane. He's tall and has abnormal goggle eyes. He's rather annoying to me. He's friends with Gilbert Blythe, but Gilbert won't be coming till September because his father was ill, and he was set back. He's sixteen, but he's in our class. He's very handsome. All the girls think so.
Um, there's Moody Spurgeon. He has red hair and ears that stick out really far. People always tell him to sleep with a rubber band around his head.
Well, that's all I know of. All the others are younger."
"What do you think they'll think of me? I'm sure they'll think I'm ugly with my red hair and freckles and skinniness."
"Oh, they won't. Josie might though. But she'll only bother you if she's jealous of you. She's always envious of my head of curls because her hair is very straight. Anyway, I don't think it matters much what you look like."
"I suppose so."
They reached the top of the hill past the Lake of Shining Waters and looked down upon the white-washed Avonlea School.
"How quaint!" was Anne's comment and they strolled down to the dingy yard, a patch of dirt that had been trodden on so much that grass couldn't grow there. Sara watched Anne out of the corner of her eye; she was looking in all directions, not wanting to miss anyone. There was an instant muttering about the schoolyard. Sara smiled weakly and led Anne into the schoolhouse, just before the bell rang and there was a shuffle of feet to get to the door to see the new-comer.
"Name?" Mr. Philips asked, almost lazily.
"Anne Shirley, Anne spelled with an 'e'."
We pride ourselves on good be--quite down class! We pride ourselves on good behavior and discipline. Please take a seat next to Sara Holbrook."
Sara grinned at Anne, who turned around and smiled back.
"Oh, thank you, sir," Anne exclaimed with happiness, "Sara is my bosom friend."
There was a ripple of giggles throughout the classroom. Mr. Philips eyed them and told Anne to take a seat. Anne skipped merrily to Sara's desk and set her books neatly on the top.
Sara watched Anne look over the top of the desk, which was covered with hieroglyphics from past years. Anne sighed and looked around gleefully for a moment before settling down to work.
Sara rubbed her eyes and rolled over, squinting in the morning sunlight. She was glad it was Saturday; there was no school. She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"It was a dream," she sighed, "a beautiful dream, in which I found a lovely friend to keep company with me through life and then she disappeared. And it seemed like such a wonderful, real dream too."
Sara dressed in her Saturday "work clothes" for chores and sat at the window, sighing again. Today will be better, she told herself, not really believing anything she was saying.
The day sauntered past in slow, humid rolls. When twilight came once more, Sara made her way back to the apple orchard, just to make sure she wasn't really going crazy. She climbed a tree and waited a while, watching the crows fly in groups across the flaming sky. When the moon rose, Sara gave up and jumped to the ground, with a feeling of resentment in her girlish heart. She turned toward Holbrook farm.
"Isn't it funny that we seem to always meet in the twilight of the day? We always hope to find 'a merry lilt o'moonlight for mermaiden revelry'," a voice said behind her.
Sara spun around and there was her dream in the flesh. "Anne!" she cried and rushed over to her.
"Hello," the redhead replied, "I figured we'd end up meeting again today and in our first spot. And did you know? I start school on Monday."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Sara exclaimed, finding her voice for the first time since their first meeting, "I can walk you there, if you like, where do you live?"
"Oh, with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. They're lovely dear folk. Well, I might as well tell you, though they're not sure whether they're going to keep me. You see, they had asked for a boy from the orphan asylum, but Mrs. Spencer, she brought me here, made a mistake and brought me instead! I'm on trial for now and I've had some difficulties, but Mrs. Lynde told Marilla I ought to be in school anyhow, trial or no trial, even though the year's just about ending."
Sara closed her mouth, which had fallen half-open as she listened.
"Well, I'm glad I've met you anyway," she said, "I'm quite sure you'll like it here."
"Oh, I already do, Sara, I just love the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters."
"What?" Sara looked at Anne with an inquisitive look.
"Well, Matthew said they were really called the Avenue and Barry's Pond, but I don't like those names, so I made up new and better ones. It's really fun."
"How wonderful!" was all Sara could come up with. This girl was extremely interesting and her funny ways were so unexpected that it made Sara feel rather dizzy.
"Well," Sara said, "I'd like to see you tomorrow after church, if you can. I could give you a tour of all the places I like to go to."
"That would be very helpful. We'll take 'a ramble through the September woods, away where spices grow'."
Sara smiled, perplexed, and waved goodbye to her new friend.
"Goodbye, friend, 'Partings are such sweet sorrow'," called Anne through the gloom of the trees.
Sara smiled again to herself and was, overall, quite pleased with her new friend.
* * * *
"And this is where I go before school every day at The Rock," Sara explained to Anne, leading her down to the edge of, what Anne called, "the Lake of Shining Waters."
"Oh, no, this isn't The Rock," Anne said, looking around, "this is the...um..the Dryad's Bubble. Yes, that fits this little 'spot o'greenery' much better, don't you think?"
Sara agreed this name sounded a lot more interesting. Hence started the name game. The two girls took their "ramble through the woods where spices grow" and came up with Willowmere, a lovely spot encircled by willow trees. There was Idlewild, they decided the place where they met should have a special name of its own. Sara showed Anne Violet's Vale, a large field, where, in the spring, Sara told Anne, was full of violets; then there was Lover's Lane a long path infringed with wild flowers and fairies; and the last one, the Birch Path, the one that Anne let Sara name. It was a long path, in which they would use to get to school, covered by birches and ferns on each side.
So started Anne's first day of school. Sara was so excited that she didn't go to the Dryad's Bubble that day. On the way, Sara told Anne all about the students and Mr. Philips.
"And everyone hates Mr. Philips, he spends all his time with Prissy Andrews, because she's studying for the entrance for Queens and she thinks she's Queen bee because of it. Mr. Philips is just dead gone on her. It's sickening really.
"Then there's Ruby Gillis. She has lovely, long golden hair and beautiful features. All the boys goggle over her somethin' fierce. And she quite enjoys it, I believe.
"Jane Andrews is a nice girl, she's rather plain and sensible for my taste, but very sweet. She has plain features, unlike Ruby, but quite like her personality. I always like to sit with her because, well, before you, Anne, I didn't have a bosom friend.
And, oh, Josie and Gertie Pye. They're sisters and the most disagreeable girls you've ever seen. They're very smug and stuck-up. They tease me something awful.
There's Charlie Sloane. He's tall and has abnormal goggle eyes. He's rather annoying to me. He's friends with Gilbert Blythe, but Gilbert won't be coming till September because his father was ill, and he was set back. He's sixteen, but he's in our class. He's very handsome. All the girls think so.
Um, there's Moody Spurgeon. He has red hair and ears that stick out really far. People always tell him to sleep with a rubber band around his head.
Well, that's all I know of. All the others are younger."
"What do you think they'll think of me? I'm sure they'll think I'm ugly with my red hair and freckles and skinniness."
"Oh, they won't. Josie might though. But she'll only bother you if she's jealous of you. She's always envious of my head of curls because her hair is very straight. Anyway, I don't think it matters much what you look like."
"I suppose so."
They reached the top of the hill past the Lake of Shining Waters and looked down upon the white-washed Avonlea School.
"How quaint!" was Anne's comment and they strolled down to the dingy yard, a patch of dirt that had been trodden on so much that grass couldn't grow there. Sara watched Anne out of the corner of her eye; she was looking in all directions, not wanting to miss anyone. There was an instant muttering about the schoolyard. Sara smiled weakly and led Anne into the schoolhouse, just before the bell rang and there was a shuffle of feet to get to the door to see the new-comer.
"Name?" Mr. Philips asked, almost lazily.
"Anne Shirley, Anne spelled with an 'e'."
We pride ourselves on good be--quite down class! We pride ourselves on good behavior and discipline. Please take a seat next to Sara Holbrook."
Sara grinned at Anne, who turned around and smiled back.
"Oh, thank you, sir," Anne exclaimed with happiness, "Sara is my bosom friend."
There was a ripple of giggles throughout the classroom. Mr. Philips eyed them and told Anne to take a seat. Anne skipped merrily to Sara's desk and set her books neatly on the top.
Sara watched Anne look over the top of the desk, which was covered with hieroglyphics from past years. Anne sighed and looked around gleefully for a moment before settling down to work.
