Chapter Two
I slowly opened my eyes. It was bright out. That's strange, I thought, wasn't it night? I shifted my head and looked around. I was lying in the middle of a big field, covered with wild flowers and tall grasses. It was so peaceful I almost forgot to be freaked out about it. I scrambled to my feet and started walking. Trying to remember what had just happened, I gazed around for something familiar. It was silent. There were no cars. Where's the highway? I thought confused, and the really loud and annoying fire station around the corner? It was almost too quiet. I came to a dirt road and looked right and then left. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. I took a left and walked for a distance. Then I realized I wasn't wearing my raincoat and big boots. Instead, I was dressed in a red plaid cotton dress that fell below my knees and a white cotton apron. Feeling my hair, I found it was braided into two plaits beside my ears. This is too weird. Suddenly I heard footsteps around the bend and gasped to see.Sara. She was wearing the same thing except blue and her golden hair was pulled into two braids on either side of her head.
"Oh, Sara! I'm so relieved to see a familiar face! But, wait.why are you here of all places? Why am I here?"
"I don't know. This is your fantasy."
"Huh?" I pinched my forearm. Wincing, I shook my head. "This is no dream, it's more like a nightmare."
"Come on, let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait, stop. How did you get here?" I demanded of her.
"I have no idea. Like I said, this is your fantasy."
"But-
"Come on."
We started off in the direction I was going and Sara told me of her most recent recollections.
"All of a sudden I was standing by this dirt road. Something just told me that you'd be here too. I don't know. It was weird."
"Do you think anyone else got here too?"
"Dunno."
We walked in silence for a while until a carriage passed by. An old man sat upon it with his eyes shyly turned away from us. He had white hair reaching to his shoulders and he wore a suit. We watched him pass in silence and my mouth dropped.
"I know who that could be."
"Who?" Sara asked.
"Matthew Cuthbert."
"Uh, huh. OK."
"No, I'm serious. I think it really was."
"I told you, you read that book too much."
"I do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"DO NOT."
"Ok ok, do not. Sheesh."
After that, we walked without talking once more to what promised to be a really dull afternoon. The sun was hot on my back and I could feel my neck starting to burn. By the time the sun was just above the brim of the hills, we had reached what looked like a town. There were more carriages and buildings started appearing on either side of the road. People were walking about in the same clothes as we wore. Confused, I stared around at the buildings. One said "William Blair's General Store" and another said "Avonlea Post Office." I started getting excited. I grabbed Sara's sleeve and looked up at her.
"Sara, Sara! This is Avonlea! We're in Avonlea!"
"Really? Oh I'm so excited! Why weren't we transferred to Baker Street instead?" I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, let's go in the book store."
We stepped through a door on the right and a bell tinkled from somewhere in the depths of the shop. We looked around for a while. There were only two other people in the shop besides us: the shopkeeper and.Mell.
"Mell!" Sara gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know. This is Ann's fantasy."
"Where have I heard that before?" I asked, coming up to say hi.
"What are you doing in here, Mell?"
"Well, I walked into this weird town and investigated. I wanted to see if they had any Weezer stuff." I guffawed, but didn't say anything.
"Well, as we don't seem to be getting out of here anytime soon, we have to find somewhere to sleep."
"I know just the place." I beckoned them out of the shop and through the town, back over the road. The sun was setting now and I was so exhausted from all that walking. I led my friends over a hill next to a white house with a picket fence around it, then through some woods and over a bridge to face.Green Gables.
I nearly died with delight. I jumped up and down and skipped up the lane towards the front door. I knocked and beckoned the others to come over. A woman answered with dark hair pinned into a tight bun and a flowing kitchen apron on.
"Yes?" she asked politely. I was shaking with excitement at the sight of Marilla Cuthbert.
"Um, we're traveling through here and we need a place to sleep for the night. Do you think you could spare us?"
"I'm sorry. But my brother is coming home with company and I'm afraid we won't have any room for the three of you."
"Oh," my face fell, "well, have a nice evening."
We walked back down the lane.
"I guess we'll have to find a haystack or something." Sara said. I nodded glumly.
Eventually we found an abandoned barn in the corner of a field. I found the most comfortable spot I could and fell exhausted into a welcome sleep.
The next morning was bright and fair. I stretched and opened my eyes. For a split second, I forgot where I was. Then it all came back in a sickening, yet wonderful swoop. I stood up and climbed down the ladder, glancing at my sleeping friends.
I breathed in the cool, fresh air and smelled a whiff of ocean breeze. I strolled down the road, hardly daring to believe that I was walking down the Avonlea shore road. I must have really hit my head hard. I came upon an apple orchard. Realizing for the first time how starving I was, I ran over to a tree to grab an apple when I tripped over something. I fell down hard on my knees and hands. Brushing off, I turned around and sat, staring.
"This is really freaky. How can you, of all people, be here?"
Mike opened his eyes from a night of sleep and squinted at me.
"I don't know. Thi-
"Ok, ok. Wrong question. When did you get to this apple orchard?"
"I was wandering around and I was so tired that I just kinda fell asleep here."
"Oh." He stood up, stretching. I looked over him and burst out laughing. He wore a collared shirt with brown pants and brown suspenders. He also had a cap on his head.
"What?"
I giggled. "Got tired of Abercrombie and Fitch?"
"Shut up."
"Ann!" Sara and Mell came running. They looked confusedly at Mike.
"This is Mike, the sophomore I know." It looked like they were going to laugh too, but Mike was still glaring at me, tall and annoyed.
"OK, let's get this settled, once and for all." I said, "Nobody knows how we got to Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. Supposedly, this is my fantasy, but I'm NOT dreaming."
"Children?" a woman's voice came from behind us. We turned and my mouth dropped.
"I'm Mrs. Rachel Lynde and I'm wondering as to why you're here in my orchard before school hours."
"Well, we-
"--were hungry." I finished. "And we aren't exactly in school."
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Lynde said, "Well, I'll just take you to the schoolhouse myself and get you in. You four must be new. I believe I have some extra readers from when my children were young. You can have those for the time being. Come, I'll get you some breakfast."
We followed her down to the white house that Sara, Mell and I had passed yesterday. After some bone-sticking oatmeal, as my mother would have said, we were sent off to the Avonlea school with Mrs. Lynde. I was totally out of my mind, but my companions weren't so happy about it.
"I can't believe we have to go to school, even when we don't have to go to school."
"I thought this would be a break."
"I'm gonna miss football practice."
We stepped inside the crowded schoolhouse and the chatter stopped. A short, thin man with red hair and round glasses stood up and asked for our names. I was meeting Mr. Philips. He was just as awful in reality as in the book. We were seated in the back and Mrs. Lynde told us to come to her house for dinner. I heard Mell whisper, "Then where do we go for lunch?"
As I opened my book and looked around the one room classroom, I could tell this was going to be a lot of fun.
I slowly opened my eyes. It was bright out. That's strange, I thought, wasn't it night? I shifted my head and looked around. I was lying in the middle of a big field, covered with wild flowers and tall grasses. It was so peaceful I almost forgot to be freaked out about it. I scrambled to my feet and started walking. Trying to remember what had just happened, I gazed around for something familiar. It was silent. There were no cars. Where's the highway? I thought confused, and the really loud and annoying fire station around the corner? It was almost too quiet. I came to a dirt road and looked right and then left. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. I took a left and walked for a distance. Then I realized I wasn't wearing my raincoat and big boots. Instead, I was dressed in a red plaid cotton dress that fell below my knees and a white cotton apron. Feeling my hair, I found it was braided into two plaits beside my ears. This is too weird. Suddenly I heard footsteps around the bend and gasped to see.Sara. She was wearing the same thing except blue and her golden hair was pulled into two braids on either side of her head.
"Oh, Sara! I'm so relieved to see a familiar face! But, wait.why are you here of all places? Why am I here?"
"I don't know. This is your fantasy."
"Huh?" I pinched my forearm. Wincing, I shook my head. "This is no dream, it's more like a nightmare."
"Come on, let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait, stop. How did you get here?" I demanded of her.
"I have no idea. Like I said, this is your fantasy."
"But-
"Come on."
We started off in the direction I was going and Sara told me of her most recent recollections.
"All of a sudden I was standing by this dirt road. Something just told me that you'd be here too. I don't know. It was weird."
"Do you think anyone else got here too?"
"Dunno."
We walked in silence for a while until a carriage passed by. An old man sat upon it with his eyes shyly turned away from us. He had white hair reaching to his shoulders and he wore a suit. We watched him pass in silence and my mouth dropped.
"I know who that could be."
"Who?" Sara asked.
"Matthew Cuthbert."
"Uh, huh. OK."
"No, I'm serious. I think it really was."
"I told you, you read that book too much."
"I do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"DO NOT."
"Ok ok, do not. Sheesh."
After that, we walked without talking once more to what promised to be a really dull afternoon. The sun was hot on my back and I could feel my neck starting to burn. By the time the sun was just above the brim of the hills, we had reached what looked like a town. There were more carriages and buildings started appearing on either side of the road. People were walking about in the same clothes as we wore. Confused, I stared around at the buildings. One said "William Blair's General Store" and another said "Avonlea Post Office." I started getting excited. I grabbed Sara's sleeve and looked up at her.
"Sara, Sara! This is Avonlea! We're in Avonlea!"
"Really? Oh I'm so excited! Why weren't we transferred to Baker Street instead?" I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, let's go in the book store."
We stepped through a door on the right and a bell tinkled from somewhere in the depths of the shop. We looked around for a while. There were only two other people in the shop besides us: the shopkeeper and.Mell.
"Mell!" Sara gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know. This is Ann's fantasy."
"Where have I heard that before?" I asked, coming up to say hi.
"What are you doing in here, Mell?"
"Well, I walked into this weird town and investigated. I wanted to see if they had any Weezer stuff." I guffawed, but didn't say anything.
"Well, as we don't seem to be getting out of here anytime soon, we have to find somewhere to sleep."
"I know just the place." I beckoned them out of the shop and through the town, back over the road. The sun was setting now and I was so exhausted from all that walking. I led my friends over a hill next to a white house with a picket fence around it, then through some woods and over a bridge to face.Green Gables.
I nearly died with delight. I jumped up and down and skipped up the lane towards the front door. I knocked and beckoned the others to come over. A woman answered with dark hair pinned into a tight bun and a flowing kitchen apron on.
"Yes?" she asked politely. I was shaking with excitement at the sight of Marilla Cuthbert.
"Um, we're traveling through here and we need a place to sleep for the night. Do you think you could spare us?"
"I'm sorry. But my brother is coming home with company and I'm afraid we won't have any room for the three of you."
"Oh," my face fell, "well, have a nice evening."
We walked back down the lane.
"I guess we'll have to find a haystack or something." Sara said. I nodded glumly.
Eventually we found an abandoned barn in the corner of a field. I found the most comfortable spot I could and fell exhausted into a welcome sleep.
The next morning was bright and fair. I stretched and opened my eyes. For a split second, I forgot where I was. Then it all came back in a sickening, yet wonderful swoop. I stood up and climbed down the ladder, glancing at my sleeping friends.
I breathed in the cool, fresh air and smelled a whiff of ocean breeze. I strolled down the road, hardly daring to believe that I was walking down the Avonlea shore road. I must have really hit my head hard. I came upon an apple orchard. Realizing for the first time how starving I was, I ran over to a tree to grab an apple when I tripped over something. I fell down hard on my knees and hands. Brushing off, I turned around and sat, staring.
"This is really freaky. How can you, of all people, be here?"
Mike opened his eyes from a night of sleep and squinted at me.
"I don't know. Thi-
"Ok, ok. Wrong question. When did you get to this apple orchard?"
"I was wandering around and I was so tired that I just kinda fell asleep here."
"Oh." He stood up, stretching. I looked over him and burst out laughing. He wore a collared shirt with brown pants and brown suspenders. He also had a cap on his head.
"What?"
I giggled. "Got tired of Abercrombie and Fitch?"
"Shut up."
"Ann!" Sara and Mell came running. They looked confusedly at Mike.
"This is Mike, the sophomore I know." It looked like they were going to laugh too, but Mike was still glaring at me, tall and annoyed.
"OK, let's get this settled, once and for all." I said, "Nobody knows how we got to Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. Supposedly, this is my fantasy, but I'm NOT dreaming."
"Children?" a woman's voice came from behind us. We turned and my mouth dropped.
"I'm Mrs. Rachel Lynde and I'm wondering as to why you're here in my orchard before school hours."
"Well, we-
"--were hungry." I finished. "And we aren't exactly in school."
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Lynde said, "Well, I'll just take you to the schoolhouse myself and get you in. You four must be new. I believe I have some extra readers from when my children were young. You can have those for the time being. Come, I'll get you some breakfast."
We followed her down to the white house that Sara, Mell and I had passed yesterday. After some bone-sticking oatmeal, as my mother would have said, we were sent off to the Avonlea school with Mrs. Lynde. I was totally out of my mind, but my companions weren't so happy about it.
"I can't believe we have to go to school, even when we don't have to go to school."
"I thought this would be a break."
"I'm gonna miss football practice."
We stepped inside the crowded schoolhouse and the chatter stopped. A short, thin man with red hair and round glasses stood up and asked for our names. I was meeting Mr. Philips. He was just as awful in reality as in the book. We were seated in the back and Mrs. Lynde told us to come to her house for dinner. I heard Mell whisper, "Then where do we go for lunch?"
As I opened my book and looked around the one room classroom, I could tell this was going to be a lot of fun.