Chapter 34

The next day Stella and Anne made their way to register for classes, just the two of them, declining the offer of escort from Henry and Gilbert. Then as the other freshetts were doing, they stood in their own little group on the lawn. The other freshettes all stood in small groups scattered about, but the freshers, had gathered as a loud group of rowdy boys on the steps to call taunts and jeers in good natured high spirits toward their traditional rivals, the sophomores. This loudy rowdy group on the stairs reminded Anne greatly of when the orphans would gather and make noise, often directed at some poor soul newly inducted or her and Tommy. Henry always seemed to be able to let the taunts roll off his back, but she hadn't been able too. And while the tenor of this group was all in fun and not malicious, it still made Anne uncomfortable just by it's very loudness and maleness.

Anne likely would have gone on feeling small and insignificant if Stella hadn't pointed out a lone girl, one who looked like she felt as alone and friendless as Anne had been feeling. The difference though was that Anne at least had Stella. With the same determined jut of her chin she had when she leapt to Tommy's defense Anne said, "Let's go meet her. She looks like she could use a friend."

"Oh but Anne, we would have to cross the lawn, in front of where all those howling boys are," Stella protested.

"I know," Anne said biting her lip in indecision and then gathering her courage she said, "But she could be a kindred spirit. A kindred spirit all alone over there. I don't want to leave you Stel, but don't you see we must rescue her," Anne said eyes big and pleading. "I need you to walk calmly across the lawn with me or I might not have the courage to do it and scurry by like a frightened little country mouse. We have too. Well hold hands and stick close together. "

"You do make an awful good argument. It has looked like quite a few times like that she wishes to come over to meet us," Stella said beginning to yeild.

"Perhaps she is shy," Anne said thoughtfully.

"If only Gilbert and Henry were here-"

"Come Stel, my mind is quite made up," Anne exclaimed in affront and sudden determination. "We don't need Gilbert Blythe or Henry to walk us over to make a new friend anymore than we needed them to escort us this morning to register for classes. We are 16, coming up on 17 and independent. Let's go."

Stella glanced in suprise and quickly began walking least she be dragged across by Anne. She wasn't quite certain why the mention of the boys had set Anne off, but she appeared to have touched a nerve. What nerve she didn't know and Anne had no intention of telling Stella that she had dreamed last night not of the glorys of Redmond, but of Gilbert, her chum, kissing her at Queens. It had unsettled her to a degree she didn't wish to think of.

As they got closer and took in the stranger's smart attire Anne began to feel very countrified and wondered if it would be better to turn back. It was to late though because Anne's bold move seemed to have inspired the stranger to her own boldness and she started toward them.

"I am so glad you walked this way. I have been dying to meet you, but this is just awful here. My great aunt declared me to be in danger of being to boy crazy and decreed to my father that he had better send me here to receive some education or she'd cut me out of her will. I wasn't to concerned about that, but my father was, so away I was sent. I just know we are going to adore each other, I could just hug you both."

"And here I had been considering you were shy," Anne said with a grin.

"Never that. You won't find an ounce of shyness is Phillipa Gordon, that's me though I do hope you will call me Phil. What are your names?"

"That's Stella Maynard," Anne said pointing.

"And she's Anne Shirley," Stella said pointing back.

Together they declared, "We're from the island."

"Splendid! I'm from Bolingbrook—" Phillipa began but Anne interrupted her.

"I was born there!"

"Then your a blue nose just like me," Phillipa declared happily.

"Oh no! I'm islander throguh and through," Anne said with a laugh. "Was it not Don O'Connel that said if a man was born in a stable it didn't make him a horse?"

"Well I'm glad you were born in Bolingbroke anyways. It makes us neighbors of a sort and then it won't feel like I am telling a stranger all of my secerts. I'm terrible with secrets. I'm always telling them."

The three exchanged boarding house addresses and other pertinent information when Phil asked suddenly, "Do either of you have a special beaux?" When Anne and Stella shook their heads, Phillipa continued, "I have heaps of them. It's why my great aunt declared me to be to boy crazy. Thought I needed some steadying before I up and married the first one that asked. Which I wasn't planning on doing, unless of course he was handsome enough, but there was no guarantee who would ask first. And I wasn't quite ready to be married."

"Didn't you tell her that?" Anne asked curiously.

"Of course I did but-" Then losing her thought train as she saw someone in the distance behind Anne and Stella, Phillipa said, "Why look at that dreamboat! He is ever so handsome! Don't look now, Oh my, he's coming this direction. Tell me girls, How do I look? Am I pretty?" she asked anxiously.

"The prettiest girl here," Anne declared quite liking the vivacious girl.

"I thought so too, I just needed to be reassured. Sometimes I feel like I am the very prettiest but then other times I feel like I must be the most unfortunate looking. Do tell me often that I am pretty and I shall return the favor tenfold, for you are both quite pretty. Oh my yes, he's definitely coming this way, " Phillipa said smoothing her outfit.

Unfortunatley for Phil, her dreamboat was indeed headed their direction but it wasn't her that had caught his attention. It was Anne he had been scanning for and to her he was headed, for Phil's dreamboat was Gilbert Blythe.

"Stella, Anne!" Gilbert said as he came up behind them. "Henry got caught up inside but I decided I had better come out and see to you. Roger's somewhere in that crowd on the steps."

"And you aren't in it?" Anne said raisng an eyebrow, having expected Henry and Gilbert to be enjoying the high spirits of the crowded steps of boys with its inherit maleness that declared it a boys only zone.

"Na, though it would have provided a decent vatanage point to search from, luckily I can always find you in a crowd," Gilbert said grinning.

"Leave my hair alone, Gilbert Blythe!" Anne said hotly, spinning around and linking arms with Stella and a surprised Phillipa and dragging them off on her anger.

"Anne," Gilbert called and when she didn't stop or turn around, he said, "Now see here, Anne Shirley," catching up and laying a hand on her shoulder. "You can break another slate on my head if you have to, but don't walk away like that." Anne turned and her eyes flashed at him but he said desperately, "My remark wasn't even referring to your hair. I could find you in a crowd even if you had your hair completely covered, so don't go and be mad at me again."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Gil," Anne said all the anger disappearing. "I'm just out of sorts today. Forgive me?"

"Always Anne. Just don't walk away when you're mad, kay? It's to much like-"

"When I was a goose and refused to forgive you," Anne said sighing. "Why do you put up with me? I'm a horrible friend," she said with a shake of her head then hanging it she said, "I am sorry, Gil. I am."

"I'd much rather you stay and yell at me then ever walk away," Gilbert said knowing that if Anne looked up she would surely see the love in his expression that he couldn't dim, not after having her almost walk away from him and then her turning back and forgiving him. When she kept her head down and gave a small sniffle, he said with alarm, "Anne?"

"I have a horrible temper and jump to conclusions and I so wanted you to like me Phil and now you must think that after how I treated one of my friends that I make a horrible friend," Anne said not raising her head, sniffling.

"Oh, I adore you!" Phillipa said enthusiastically. "You reminded just of a Queen. I shall always think of you as Queen Anne from now on."

"Now, do I need to go present myself for Henry to punch Anne, or-" Gilbert asked playfully.

"You didn't do anything, Gil. It was all me," Anne exclaimed.

"It always you," Gilbert said knowing Anne wouldn't catch his double meaning, a tender smile lurking around his lips seeing that Anne truly wasn't mad at him anymore and Phil's statement had restored her. "Now how about you introduce me to your new loyal subject," Gilbert teased.

"Oh of course!" Anne said brightening. "This is Philipa Gordon, and this Phil is Gilbert Blythe. My brother Henry, as he said, is inside, but we all came to Redmond together."

"And they are all frightfully brilliant and ambitious," Stella threw in. "I daresay they could be considered a steadying enough influence. Let's go seek Henry out," she said linking arms with Phillipa and leaving Anne and Gilbert to their own devices, knowing Anne would likely apologize one more time, since Stella suspected whatever had her out of sorts had everything to do with one Gilbert Blythe.

"I thought Anne said she didn't have a beaux," Phillipa whispered. "And I feel like a right idiot, calling him a dreamboat and preening to prepare to meet him. What must Anne think of me, trying to draw his attention. I would never steal a friend's beaux. I don't have many female friends but I so want you and Anne as mine."

"He isn't Anne's beaux. She claims they are just friends," Stella imparted quietly.

"Just friends," Phillipa gasped stopping. "Do all her male friends look at her that way? Because that certainly wasn't a just friends look."

"No it wasn't. Gilbert has eyes for only her, but she hasn't seen it yet. Anne is terribly stubborn. It is fairly obvious to everyone else, but not Anne. And it doesn't matter how many people point it out, she just gets defensive and more stubborn."

"Oh, but I told you, I'm terrible with secrets. I just know I'll blurt it out to Queen Anne and she'll be mad at me," Phillipa fretted.

"Oh it isn't like that, she won't get mad-" a shriek of laughter burst from behind them and both girls turned to see Gilbert twirling a laughing Anne. "She'll come up with a way to rationalize or dismiss whatever observation you make. You should have seen them at the platform last night, nobody could doubt that they were meant for each other, even awful Charlie Sloan finally realized his pursuit of Anne was doomed. It doesn't matter if she doesn't sigh over Gilbert or daydream about him now, he won her heart fair and square probably when she brought that slate down on his head, she was just to mad to realize it."

"What is this slate you guys keep referring to?" Phillipa asked remembering Gil's mention of breaking a slate. "Is it some sort of islander thing? What does it mean?"

"It isn't an islander thing, it was literally a school slate that she broke on his head when he teased her about her hair," Stella said.

"Oh my," Phillipa said glancing back towards Anne and Gilbert.