Chapter 13

"This was surprisingly good," Anne said handing Gilbert her marked copy of his creative writing. "I knew your dad was in the hospital. I've heard it mentioned a few times. But well, it was really good. I didn't know it was cancer."

"I didn't know you practically nannied for one of your foster famlies," Gilbert said softly.

"Twins three times in succession," Anne said with an eye roll. "It definitely was a negative experience that shaped me."

"Yet you found a positive in it," Gilbert observed.

"You found a positive in your dad's cancer and how it shaped you," Anne siad with a shrug. "So you think our next assignment will be the opposite?"

"What is a positive experience and how it shaped you in a negative way?" Gilbert asked.

"Uggg picking out our own flaws is certainly self reflective," Anne said with a groan.

"What would yours be?" Gilbert asked.

"Martial Arts. I never used to talk smack before I began sparring with James," Anne said with a grin. "Yours?"

"Girls," Gilbert said without hesitation. "All that femine attention turned me into a bit of a arrogant insufferable jerk I have it on good authority."

"You're not that bad. A bit cocky, but not an arrogant insufferable jerk at least," Anne responded wryly.

"Ah, so I was right. I do improve with exposure. Go on say it. Gilbert was right. We can even celebrate it with dinner and a movie."

"There was plenty of room for improvement," Anne told him laughing.

"Does that make me reformed? Because I have heard reformed rakes make the best husbands," Gilbert said cheekily.

"On the market for a wife?" Anne teased.

"Nope," Gilbert said with a grin, tempted to add that he already had his future wife picked out and therefore didn't need to be in the market for one. He wisely though figured that would be coming on a bit to strong according to Phil, no matter how true it was.

"Our topic is one room school houses," Diana said glancing down at the sheet from Prof. Philips as she sat down at the table across from Anne, deliberately leaving the seat next to Anne open for Gilbert. "It seems crazy to think they used to have one teacher for students of all ages."

"Avonlea had a one room school house for a long time," Gilbert said plopping down next to Anne. "We could have attended it together if we would have been born 100 years earlier."

"Imagine how cozy it would have been to go to school in one," Anne said dreamily, resting her chin on her hand. "Just think Di, can't you just imagine meeting during primary school, swearing eternal friendship and being seatmates? Sharing a desk and working sums on slates and doing recitations? Being head of the class?"

"And where am I in this school room?" Gilbert asked nudging her shoulder with his own.

"Likely pulling the girls' hair and making a nuisance out of yourself ," Anne scoffed.

"Only yours," Gilbert said grinning. "And only if you insisted on ignoring me. For surely no school master or marm would be cruel enough to separate us."

"I dare say it far more likely they would think it a proper punishment to sit me by you," Anne said with a laugh.

"A punishment? You wound me," Gilbert said pretending to suffer and die dramatically.

"Ahhhh, blessed silence," Anne remarked when he had finsihed his supposed death scene, slumped down on the table, to which he sat up straight and tossed some paper at her in protest.

"Personally, I think in this one room school house you and Gilbert would be competing for head of class," Diana observed with a shake of her head.

"You mean when Gilbert isn't too busy racing crickets or frogs with the other boys?" Anne demanded.

"No Anne, she means when you aren't distracted by daydreaming," Gilbert teased.

"Well I vote we make our presentation about the average school day of one of the scholars," Anne suggested.

"Lessons, lunch time and school yard romance," Diana said her eyes twinkling. She could easily imagine Anne and Gilbert trapped together in a one room school house. Gilbert would be just as crazy about Anne in that universe as he was in this one.