The sun wasn't up yet, but Anne was. She got dressed quickly, grabbing a large empty basket and retrieving the various books she'd set out the night before. She ignored the tiny voice in the back of her mind reminding her of Diana's letter, instead focusing on the excitement of teaching. She had an exciting lesson planned, and placed an empty notebook and multiple pens inside her basket as well as a large piece of paper. Being finally ready, she picked up the wrapped lunch she'd prepared and placed that in her basket as well. The sun was beginning to peek out from behind the mountains by now and Cole ambled sleepily outside his room, smiling at the sight of Anne happy despite yesterday's events. He walked up to the table, patted her shoulder as he did so, sitting down and wiping his eyes. Anne prepared a plate of breakfast for him hurriedly, placing the plate in front of him and then giving him a quick hug. "I need to be off, but I'll be back soon!" She said, rushing to the door. He laughed, but nodded. "Good luck!" He yelled back at her as she ran out the door and to the school.

On her way over, Anne had decided to walk, she pulled out multiple glass containers and took different samples of the leaves and branches on trees various plants and flowers. This would work with her science lesson.

Upon her arrival, she began unpacking her things, placing the books on her desk in precise order and the pens in a small cup she brought with her. She placed the extra pieces of chalk in another small cup on her desk and cleaned up the room a bit, dusted off various areas of the classroom and made sure everything was in order. When she'd finished preparations, there was nothing left to do but wait.

Gilbert

Gilbert was awoken around sunrise by an enthusiastic William tugging on his sheets. He rolled over, smiling at William and sitting up. "Good morning." He said, chuckling at William's excited face. He swung out of bed, shooing William out of the room while he changed. He then went, being greeted by Wilma and a large, warm plate of breakfast, into the kitchen. William spoke loudly and rapidly throughout the entire meal about his excitement towards going to school. Once the two were dressed and ready and had finished, Gilbert prepared the horse so that they could leave, and they were off.

Gilbert stopped about a block away from the schoolhouse, intending to just drop off William there, but he objected, so Gilbert sighed, and decided he would go in and meet his teacher. He'd intended to do that anyways. Continuing along the path, he stopped once finally in front of the schoolhouse.

He ushered William into the building before him, and heard a kind, familiar female voice greet his son, guiding him to his seat and asking for his name and age. Walking slowly in, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw a gorgeous redhead standing in front of him.

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen - there was no denying this. Her beautiful grey eyes shined brightly and her vibrant red hair caught his attention instantly. It was done in a gorgeous updo, a dainty light blue hair clip placed carefully on one side. Her face was dotted with little freckles and her smile was bright and kind. Her dress, simple as it was, looked as though it was perfect for her, and she sounded like she had the voice of an angel. As William proudly pulled out the books he and Gilbert had chosen for him to bring to school, he saw that familiar twinkle in Anne's eyes while she looked through the books. At last she stood up and turned to face him.

Anne

She knew it was him.

She knew this day would come, and yet she's still not ready for it.

His sad brown eyes met hers and she forgot to breathe, forgot to blink, forgot to speak. Immediately it was back to that night.

"Gilbert?" She'd looked shocked when she opened the door, he looked terrible and smelled strongly of alcohol. He stumbled into the house, Anne barely being able to catch him as he did so. She shut the door behind them and helped him to the couch, helping him sit down and asking calmly what happened.

It was then she realized that Matthew and Marilla were not there.

"I-I tried to warn them-" he said, tears streaking down his cheeks. "I tried to stop them, I swear-" he dropped his head in his hands, and Anne paused to rub soothing circles on his back. "Slow down, just tell me what happened." Her voice was strong and her expression calm, but inside there was a pit of dread slowly building up inside her chest.

"Th-The train, it was going to go off the rails, they were broken. I saw it, a-and I tried to find them in time, but they were gone, and so was the train, a-and it crashed-"

He didn't have to say more for Anne to know what happened.

She stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped being for a moment while she sat in shock on her couch. Her hands slowly drew in to her chest and her eyes began to fill with tears until she couldn't see and all she could do was cry.

"Hello?" Gilbert waved, looking about as nervous as would be appropriate. Anne knew it wasn't his fault - he'd gone out drinking and because of this hadn't gotten back in time to warn Matthew and Marilla - and everyone else on the train - of the fault on the tracks. Even so, however, their death would always be associated with his inability to save them. Suddenly Anne was finding it hard to look at him, and hard to swallow. So she looked away and gave a weak hello. Realizing how vulnerable this made her feel, she instead walked away, to her desk, to pretend to organize the objects she'd already spent so long cleaning up. This, along with Diana's letter, was too much for her to deal with, and she suddenly found herself holding back tears.

"Are you… doing okay?" Gilbert asked timidly.

Anne didn't trust herself to speak, so instead simply nodded, and swallowed hard. She gestured to William, asking quietly, "Your son?"

Gilbert nodded proudly, smiling. "Yes. I adopted him two years ago." Anne turned, unsure why this surprised her.

"And you and Diana are still…?" Anne shook her head, but didn't offer explanation, and Gilbert didn't pry. He simply said, "Oh."

By now, Anne could see more parents and children pulling up, and the excitement of teaching once again took her over. Turning to Gilbert, her voice unwavering, she said "I need to go welcome the other parents now, I aim to get to know them quickly so that I may earn their trust. I trust I will see you at pickup time?" Gilbert nodded, his eyebrows pointed down in a slightly concerned expression. "Do you need me to send William with anything tomorrow?" He asked, not really doing anything more than stalling at that point. "Nothing beyond what we had to," she said, eager to end the conversation. "Okay." He said, then, after having lingered for a few moments, he waved goodbye and left.

Anne breathed out, relieved that was over. She supposed she'd have to get used to that, considering his son may need to be dropped off while he learns the way like she did after she was adopted.

Once each child was seated and Anne had had a brief conversation with each of their parents (as per her request in the letter Cole had sent to each home) She stood at the front of the classroom, and said what she'd been rehearsing for all night the past week. Proudly, with a smile, she said:

"Good morning students of Avonlea. My name is Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, and starting today, I will be preparing you for whichever path you choose to take in life. I will be your teacher, you mentor, and your friend. And most importantly, I will be here for you when you need me. On that note, shall we begin with today's lesson?"

A/N: Hello readers! This chapter took me forever - I couldn't quite settle on how the meet between Anne and Gilbert was going to go. Eventually I settled on this one. I hope you like it! Stay safe and healthy!