Chapter Five
The four of us walked into school the next day a little happier than last week. Maybe. Mike still fell asleep during English.
"Now today you have a French quiz on animal vocabulary, so divide into study groups and quiz each other." Mr. Philips walked to his usual spot in the back of the room with Prissy Andrews, studying for Queens. I gave a disgusted look at him and turned to my friends, taking out notes.
"OK, what's first? A cow. Anyone? Anyone?"
I looked around at Sara, Mell and Mike. Oh, yeah, they all took Spanish.
"Well, that's um, une vache. Here, you guys, it's easy. The next one is frog, here Mell read it."
"Le green oil."
"No, no it's le grenouille."
"Wait, a sec," Mell stopped me. "There's, like, ten letters and you're only using five of them."
"Well, you should know, the double 'l' is like the Spanish 'yuh.' It's quite easy, really."
Mell slammed her notes on the desk. "OK, you know what's easy? Frog. The 'g' sound is like the English 'guh.'"
She shook her head. Sara looked quizzical at me.
"This is too hard. Why can't everyone just speak English?"
"I don't know."
We heard a snore. I leaned over to his ear.
"Oh, my God, Mike, the building! It's burning down! What are we gonna do? AAHH!"
He gasped, jumped to his feet, looking around frantically, then sat down, narrowing his eyes at me.
"You'll pay for that."
Meanwhile, the aisle next to us had some interesting happenings. Anne was sitting with Diana Barry two rows away and Gilbert sat across from me. I glanced over at him, and watched him fling little pieces of paper over at Anne. She was ignoring him. I knew then what was going to happen. I turned to Sara.
"Sara! This is the part in my story with Sara Holbrook. Watch Gilbert."
"Gladly." I raised my eyebrows a couple times, making my nostrils flare, that always made her laugh. She guffawed and looked across the aisle.
All of a sudden, Gilbert reached over and grabbed Anne's braid and yanked, hissing, "Carrots! Carrots!"
With glee, I watched Anne rise up from her chair, her face red as her hair, and grab her slate. She walked over to him and screamed, "How dare you!" and smashed the slate on his head. Man, it was even better watching it. I had to keep myself from yelling out with her. Mr. Philips rose up, face almost purple, and marched Anne to the board, telling her to write, "Ann (leaving out the 'e') Shirley has a very bad temper" one hundred times before leaving that day. She gave a defiant glare at him and watched him leave. I watched her at the front and saw her add an 'e' to her name. You have such guts, Anne Shirley.
Mike was actually giggling. I turned at him, smiling. He looked at me and stopped, turning his head and whistling.
After the bell rang at the end of the day, Anne asked to walk home with us, as it was in the opposite direction as Gilbert Blythe was walking in. The others got to the door of Mrs. Lynde's house, but I offered to walk her home.
So we walked. I was thrilling from head to toe. I looked over at her.
"You have real courage, Anne. I thought that you wouldn't actually do that in real life and that L.M. Montgomery-
"Who?"
"Oh, nobody." I gulped, realizing my mistake.
"I never want to speak to Gilbert Blythe again. He hurt my feelings excruciatingly, Ann."
"I know." I said, grinning. We walked in silence for a while, gazing over the hill towards the sky.
"Isn't the sunset beautiful? I'm afraid to speak or move for fear all its loveliness will vanish-like a broken silence," she whispered.
"You have beautiful country here." I whispered back, almost afraid.
"I loved it the first time I came here, which wasn't too long ago." She looked up the road, towards the orchards.
"Want to climb?" I asked.
"Well, maybe for a little while. I'd love to."
"Come on!" We ran over to the nearest tree. I half-expected my Sara Holbrook character to come over (A.N. - My other story, in case you haven't read it.) and talk to us. But nothing happened. We sat in the tallest limb possible and watched the sun slip past the green treetops, leaving behind trails of stardust and moonshine. I sighed, feeling that this was where I was always meant to be, not in 2002, where moments like this lasted five seconds.
"There's a full moon tonight. It's such scope for the imagination on nights with full moons isn't there?" Anne replied, sighing with the wind.
"There's scope for the imagination in almost everything." I answered, gazing out at the darkened horizon.
"Why almost?"
"Well, where I come from, there's isn't much scope for imagination. There isn't time for it."
"But there is scope for imagination everywhere, Ann, sometimes you just have to look for it a little harder. Always remember that. It helps me get through such difficult times that try the soul."
I gave a small smile. She was right, of course.
"You are an amazing person, Anne Shirley."
"As are you."
There was a short pause. I looked for my watch, then remembered that watches that looked like ladybugs and hung on your belt loop weren't invented yet. I saw Anne reach inside her apron pocket.
"Here," she handed me something small and silver, "it's a charm. I've had it for a long time. I guess it was my mother's, but I don't know. I just know that I've always had it."
The charm was beautiful, shaped in a crescent moon and glittered in the moonlight.
"Thank you, Anne. I'm very grateful to you."
"Well, we'd better go. Marilla's probably waiting for me to come help with supper."
"Yeah."
We climbed down and walked in our separate directions.
"It took two hours to walk Anne home?" Mike came up to me after I came in the door, "Come on, dinner's on the table. We're having chicken."
That night, I lay in bed for a long time, thinking about what Anne said, after finding a chain for the moon charm, which I hung around my neck. I glanced over at Mell; she was sleeping soundly, drumming her hand on the bed. I knew what was in her head. Giggling, I fell into a deep sleep.
The four of us walked into school the next day a little happier than last week. Maybe. Mike still fell asleep during English.
"Now today you have a French quiz on animal vocabulary, so divide into study groups and quiz each other." Mr. Philips walked to his usual spot in the back of the room with Prissy Andrews, studying for Queens. I gave a disgusted look at him and turned to my friends, taking out notes.
"OK, what's first? A cow. Anyone? Anyone?"
I looked around at Sara, Mell and Mike. Oh, yeah, they all took Spanish.
"Well, that's um, une vache. Here, you guys, it's easy. The next one is frog, here Mell read it."
"Le green oil."
"No, no it's le grenouille."
"Wait, a sec," Mell stopped me. "There's, like, ten letters and you're only using five of them."
"Well, you should know, the double 'l' is like the Spanish 'yuh.' It's quite easy, really."
Mell slammed her notes on the desk. "OK, you know what's easy? Frog. The 'g' sound is like the English 'guh.'"
She shook her head. Sara looked quizzical at me.
"This is too hard. Why can't everyone just speak English?"
"I don't know."
We heard a snore. I leaned over to his ear.
"Oh, my God, Mike, the building! It's burning down! What are we gonna do? AAHH!"
He gasped, jumped to his feet, looking around frantically, then sat down, narrowing his eyes at me.
"You'll pay for that."
Meanwhile, the aisle next to us had some interesting happenings. Anne was sitting with Diana Barry two rows away and Gilbert sat across from me. I glanced over at him, and watched him fling little pieces of paper over at Anne. She was ignoring him. I knew then what was going to happen. I turned to Sara.
"Sara! This is the part in my story with Sara Holbrook. Watch Gilbert."
"Gladly." I raised my eyebrows a couple times, making my nostrils flare, that always made her laugh. She guffawed and looked across the aisle.
All of a sudden, Gilbert reached over and grabbed Anne's braid and yanked, hissing, "Carrots! Carrots!"
With glee, I watched Anne rise up from her chair, her face red as her hair, and grab her slate. She walked over to him and screamed, "How dare you!" and smashed the slate on his head. Man, it was even better watching it. I had to keep myself from yelling out with her. Mr. Philips rose up, face almost purple, and marched Anne to the board, telling her to write, "Ann (leaving out the 'e') Shirley has a very bad temper" one hundred times before leaving that day. She gave a defiant glare at him and watched him leave. I watched her at the front and saw her add an 'e' to her name. You have such guts, Anne Shirley.
Mike was actually giggling. I turned at him, smiling. He looked at me and stopped, turning his head and whistling.
After the bell rang at the end of the day, Anne asked to walk home with us, as it was in the opposite direction as Gilbert Blythe was walking in. The others got to the door of Mrs. Lynde's house, but I offered to walk her home.
So we walked. I was thrilling from head to toe. I looked over at her.
"You have real courage, Anne. I thought that you wouldn't actually do that in real life and that L.M. Montgomery-
"Who?"
"Oh, nobody." I gulped, realizing my mistake.
"I never want to speak to Gilbert Blythe again. He hurt my feelings excruciatingly, Ann."
"I know." I said, grinning. We walked in silence for a while, gazing over the hill towards the sky.
"Isn't the sunset beautiful? I'm afraid to speak or move for fear all its loveliness will vanish-like a broken silence," she whispered.
"You have beautiful country here." I whispered back, almost afraid.
"I loved it the first time I came here, which wasn't too long ago." She looked up the road, towards the orchards.
"Want to climb?" I asked.
"Well, maybe for a little while. I'd love to."
"Come on!" We ran over to the nearest tree. I half-expected my Sara Holbrook character to come over (A.N. - My other story, in case you haven't read it.) and talk to us. But nothing happened. We sat in the tallest limb possible and watched the sun slip past the green treetops, leaving behind trails of stardust and moonshine. I sighed, feeling that this was where I was always meant to be, not in 2002, where moments like this lasted five seconds.
"There's a full moon tonight. It's such scope for the imagination on nights with full moons isn't there?" Anne replied, sighing with the wind.
"There's scope for the imagination in almost everything." I answered, gazing out at the darkened horizon.
"Why almost?"
"Well, where I come from, there's isn't much scope for imagination. There isn't time for it."
"But there is scope for imagination everywhere, Ann, sometimes you just have to look for it a little harder. Always remember that. It helps me get through such difficult times that try the soul."
I gave a small smile. She was right, of course.
"You are an amazing person, Anne Shirley."
"As are you."
There was a short pause. I looked for my watch, then remembered that watches that looked like ladybugs and hung on your belt loop weren't invented yet. I saw Anne reach inside her apron pocket.
"Here," she handed me something small and silver, "it's a charm. I've had it for a long time. I guess it was my mother's, but I don't know. I just know that I've always had it."
The charm was beautiful, shaped in a crescent moon and glittered in the moonlight.
"Thank you, Anne. I'm very grateful to you."
"Well, we'd better go. Marilla's probably waiting for me to come help with supper."
"Yeah."
We climbed down and walked in our separate directions.
"It took two hours to walk Anne home?" Mike came up to me after I came in the door, "Come on, dinner's on the table. We're having chicken."
That night, I lay in bed for a long time, thinking about what Anne said, after finding a chain for the moon charm, which I hung around my neck. I glanced over at Mell; she was sleeping soundly, drumming her hand on the bed. I knew what was in her head. Giggling, I fell into a deep sleep.