Chapter Ten
"I've had a splendid time," Sara concluded happily, "and I feel that it marks an epoch in my life, as Anne says. But the best of it all was the coming home." She told Mother the whole story of their adventures in Charlottetown and of the exams.
It felt wonderful to be back with Elizabeth, Katie, Peter, Teddy, and Danny, even though they were nuisances sometimes. Anne seemed to be happy too. Miss Stacey had given them a week off for recovering from the exams. But there was no recovering in the Holbrook house. There was only impatience for the pass list.
"What if I didn't even make it on the list?" Sara asked fearfully of Anne, twiddling her thumbs.
"I feel that I'll pass, but I shall be on the bottom of the list. I believe that I messed my geometry part up horribly." Anne looked out the window.
"Anything from the post office yet?" Anne asked flopping down on Sara's window seat.
"No, Father will probably get the newspaper early because he works in Carmody. So I'll tell you the news as soon as I get it."
"All right, but if I've failed just tell me, don't try to break it to me gently. And don't sympathize with me either. And besides, maybe a foreign missionary would be a more interesting job than a teacher."
"You won't fail, I've got this strange feeling that we'll pass alright." Sara assured her friend.
And pass they did. Sara grabbed the newspaper from her father in shock and flew down over the orchards to Green Gables.
"Oh, Anne, we've all passed our entire class! But you and Gilbert are tied for first place!"
"First out of all two hundred!?" Anne cried in disbelief, "what about you?"
"Well, I'm second place. That's not bad at all."
"Not bad? That's second out of all two hundred!"
"Well, technically third because Gilbert is also first place."
"Oh, it doesn't matter about him. I don't consider him part of this."
Sara narrowed her eyes. "Of course he matters. Don't cast him away because he was just as successful as you were. I don't think it's right for you to be carrying grudges."
"I know it's not right, Sara, but I can't help it. He DID hurt my feelings."
"That was last year. You are very stubborn Anne."
"I know, I know, and I don't care. Please let's talk about something else. Something pleasant. We should be celebrating for our achievements because we're going to Queens College."
"Well, technically, it's not a college. We're going to get prepared for college in later years. It's like a step higher than Avonlea school."
"You really are picking for a quarrel today, aren't you? Come, dearest, let's take a ramble up through Lover's Lane. It may be snowy, but it will be well enough to reform your muddled mind to a free one. Trust me."
So they went. Sara admitted that she felt much less disgruntled when she returned to the warmth of the Holbrook kitchen.
"Congratulations, Sara dear," Mrs. Holbrook looked up from her boiling pot on the stove, "I can't believe that my little Sara is going to Queens Academy next year."
Sara couldn't help but smile.
Winter passed in great dollops. Anne and Sara didn't have to do much work that season because now that they were going to Queens and kept their studies diligently throughout the next two months. Anne's birthday passed in March. She was finally fourteen as well.
"It's seems so strange to be fourteen. I woke up this morning feeling that something must be different. You've been fourteen to two months so you're used to it, but I feel so grown-up. Twenty seems like a green old age, doesn't it?"
Before Sara knew it, spring came again with its lovely vivid colors especially in Violet Vale, where purple was spread luxuriously over the fields. The Birch Path was frosted with wild flowers and Sara and Anne were sure the wood nymphs were coming out behind the girls in their walks, but never seen.
On one particular beautiful day towards the beginning of summer, where the sun shone in the ethereal blue of sky, Ruby Gillis had a birthday party. She invited everyone in the Queens class and all the others in the Avonlea school class.
Sara and Anne walked over to the Gillis estate together, talking excitedly.
"Hey there girls!" Ruby yelled over to them, gesturing them over to the crowd of boys and girls. Sara and Anne both dropped their tiny parcels for Ruby in the growing pile on the picnic table.
First the group went picking for Mayflowers in the Gillis' field. They offered each other bouquets of mayflowers. Sara received one from all of her girlfriends. Anne welcomed all her bouquets from her friends as well, except for one, which she threw scornfully to the ground. Sara looked at the tall boy with the dark hair who had given Anne the dejected bouquet and sighed.
Next, the boys and girls went back to Ruby's garden and the popular game of "daring" started. Ruby dared Jane Andrews to hop around the garden on one foot without stopping to put the other foot down. Jane started and gave up on the third corner. Jane dared Anne Shirley to climb to a certain point on the willow tree. Sara did this quite easily, having the advantage of her long limbs. Anne dared Josie to walk the edge of the picket fence. Josie did this easily, this being one of the only talents Josie seemed to possess. Josie jumped down with a graceful leap and looked triumphantly into Anne's freckled face. Sara walked over next to Anne. Surprising herself, she took a deep breath.
"I don't think it's a very big accomplishment to walk a little picket fence. Why I knew of a girl in Marysville who could walk the ridgepole of a roof."
"I don't believe it," Josie turned to Sara, looking down over her long nose, "you certainly couldn't little miss bookworm."
"Oh couldn't I?" Sara couldn't believe what she was saying.
"I dare you, I dare you to walk the ridgepole of the Gillis' kitchen roof." Josie folded her arms. Sara gulped and looked up at the roof. It didn't look too high, but still, she didn't have the greatest balance in the world.
"Oh, don't do it, Sara, it's not a fair dare," Anne grasped Sara's arm, but Sara made up her mind. She wasn't going to be a coward all her life. She wouldn't let a girl like Josie Pye walk all over her! She wasn't! Sara turned and began to climb up the ladder leaning against the roof. Everybody watched with fearful eyes. Gilbert looked over at Anne, but Anne was in awe of Sara's determination. Sara looked down at the crowd of boys and girls. She saw Gilbert looking over at Anne and Anne conveniently ignoring him. Oh, how far away everything was from up here! Sara climbed up the side of the roof and to the point. She slowly straightened herself and steadied her feet on the thin line that was the ridgepole. Could she go through with this? She gulped again and started. Okay, so far so good. She edged slowly along, careful not to look down at Josie and Anne and Gilbert, they were so distracting. Okay, halfway there. Three-quarters. Almost ther-
Sara lost her footing and tumbled down the side of the roof and collapsed onto the Virginia creeper. Anne ran over and fell down to her knees next to her friend. Everyone moved around her. Sara slowly opened her eyes and saw Anne kneeling over her.
"Oh, Sara, are you killed? Say one word and tell me if you are killed!"
"I'm alright, but I think I will be rendered unconscious." And with that, everything went black.
"I've had a splendid time," Sara concluded happily, "and I feel that it marks an epoch in my life, as Anne says. But the best of it all was the coming home." She told Mother the whole story of their adventures in Charlottetown and of the exams.
It felt wonderful to be back with Elizabeth, Katie, Peter, Teddy, and Danny, even though they were nuisances sometimes. Anne seemed to be happy too. Miss Stacey had given them a week off for recovering from the exams. But there was no recovering in the Holbrook house. There was only impatience for the pass list.
"What if I didn't even make it on the list?" Sara asked fearfully of Anne, twiddling her thumbs.
"I feel that I'll pass, but I shall be on the bottom of the list. I believe that I messed my geometry part up horribly." Anne looked out the window.
"Anything from the post office yet?" Anne asked flopping down on Sara's window seat.
"No, Father will probably get the newspaper early because he works in Carmody. So I'll tell you the news as soon as I get it."
"All right, but if I've failed just tell me, don't try to break it to me gently. And don't sympathize with me either. And besides, maybe a foreign missionary would be a more interesting job than a teacher."
"You won't fail, I've got this strange feeling that we'll pass alright." Sara assured her friend.
And pass they did. Sara grabbed the newspaper from her father in shock and flew down over the orchards to Green Gables.
"Oh, Anne, we've all passed our entire class! But you and Gilbert are tied for first place!"
"First out of all two hundred!?" Anne cried in disbelief, "what about you?"
"Well, I'm second place. That's not bad at all."
"Not bad? That's second out of all two hundred!"
"Well, technically third because Gilbert is also first place."
"Oh, it doesn't matter about him. I don't consider him part of this."
Sara narrowed her eyes. "Of course he matters. Don't cast him away because he was just as successful as you were. I don't think it's right for you to be carrying grudges."
"I know it's not right, Sara, but I can't help it. He DID hurt my feelings."
"That was last year. You are very stubborn Anne."
"I know, I know, and I don't care. Please let's talk about something else. Something pleasant. We should be celebrating for our achievements because we're going to Queens College."
"Well, technically, it's not a college. We're going to get prepared for college in later years. It's like a step higher than Avonlea school."
"You really are picking for a quarrel today, aren't you? Come, dearest, let's take a ramble up through Lover's Lane. It may be snowy, but it will be well enough to reform your muddled mind to a free one. Trust me."
So they went. Sara admitted that she felt much less disgruntled when she returned to the warmth of the Holbrook kitchen.
"Congratulations, Sara dear," Mrs. Holbrook looked up from her boiling pot on the stove, "I can't believe that my little Sara is going to Queens Academy next year."
Sara couldn't help but smile.
Winter passed in great dollops. Anne and Sara didn't have to do much work that season because now that they were going to Queens and kept their studies diligently throughout the next two months. Anne's birthday passed in March. She was finally fourteen as well.
"It's seems so strange to be fourteen. I woke up this morning feeling that something must be different. You've been fourteen to two months so you're used to it, but I feel so grown-up. Twenty seems like a green old age, doesn't it?"
Before Sara knew it, spring came again with its lovely vivid colors especially in Violet Vale, where purple was spread luxuriously over the fields. The Birch Path was frosted with wild flowers and Sara and Anne were sure the wood nymphs were coming out behind the girls in their walks, but never seen.
On one particular beautiful day towards the beginning of summer, where the sun shone in the ethereal blue of sky, Ruby Gillis had a birthday party. She invited everyone in the Queens class and all the others in the Avonlea school class.
Sara and Anne walked over to the Gillis estate together, talking excitedly.
"Hey there girls!" Ruby yelled over to them, gesturing them over to the crowd of boys and girls. Sara and Anne both dropped their tiny parcels for Ruby in the growing pile on the picnic table.
First the group went picking for Mayflowers in the Gillis' field. They offered each other bouquets of mayflowers. Sara received one from all of her girlfriends. Anne welcomed all her bouquets from her friends as well, except for one, which she threw scornfully to the ground. Sara looked at the tall boy with the dark hair who had given Anne the dejected bouquet and sighed.
Next, the boys and girls went back to Ruby's garden and the popular game of "daring" started. Ruby dared Jane Andrews to hop around the garden on one foot without stopping to put the other foot down. Jane started and gave up on the third corner. Jane dared Anne Shirley to climb to a certain point on the willow tree. Sara did this quite easily, having the advantage of her long limbs. Anne dared Josie to walk the edge of the picket fence. Josie did this easily, this being one of the only talents Josie seemed to possess. Josie jumped down with a graceful leap and looked triumphantly into Anne's freckled face. Sara walked over next to Anne. Surprising herself, she took a deep breath.
"I don't think it's a very big accomplishment to walk a little picket fence. Why I knew of a girl in Marysville who could walk the ridgepole of a roof."
"I don't believe it," Josie turned to Sara, looking down over her long nose, "you certainly couldn't little miss bookworm."
"Oh couldn't I?" Sara couldn't believe what she was saying.
"I dare you, I dare you to walk the ridgepole of the Gillis' kitchen roof." Josie folded her arms. Sara gulped and looked up at the roof. It didn't look too high, but still, she didn't have the greatest balance in the world.
"Oh, don't do it, Sara, it's not a fair dare," Anne grasped Sara's arm, but Sara made up her mind. She wasn't going to be a coward all her life. She wouldn't let a girl like Josie Pye walk all over her! She wasn't! Sara turned and began to climb up the ladder leaning against the roof. Everybody watched with fearful eyes. Gilbert looked over at Anne, but Anne was in awe of Sara's determination. Sara looked down at the crowd of boys and girls. She saw Gilbert looking over at Anne and Anne conveniently ignoring him. Oh, how far away everything was from up here! Sara climbed up the side of the roof and to the point. She slowly straightened herself and steadied her feet on the thin line that was the ridgepole. Could she go through with this? She gulped again and started. Okay, so far so good. She edged slowly along, careful not to look down at Josie and Anne and Gilbert, they were so distracting. Okay, halfway there. Three-quarters. Almost ther-
Sara lost her footing and tumbled down the side of the roof and collapsed onto the Virginia creeper. Anne ran over and fell down to her knees next to her friend. Everyone moved around her. Sara slowly opened her eyes and saw Anne kneeling over her.
"Oh, Sara, are you killed? Say one word and tell me if you are killed!"
"I'm alright, but I think I will be rendered unconscious." And with that, everything went black.
