"You haven't told Marilla about Gilbert?" Diana asked.
"No, I suppose not." Anne said "I must have forgotten to!" "I'll write them right away."
As Anne settled down to write her letter, Diana flipped through the pages of the book Matthew and Marilla had given Anne.
...
The light blinded Gilbert as he woke, and momentarily, he forgot he wasn't back in Avonlea.
"So you're finally up!" Joseph laughed.
Finally? Gilbert turned to look at the clock. Did I oversleep?
"Relax, I'm just teasing," Joseph chuckled "Classes don't start for another hour."
Gilbert jumped out of bed, and scrambled to find his books. He had meant to get up early to look through his books before class. He didn't want to be behind. An hour! That wasn't nearly enough time!
"Whoa, I said you had an hour!" Joseph exclaimed as he watched Gilbert desperately flipping through his books.
"I need to get an overview of the lesson before the class starts." the boy said as he composed himself.
"Yeah, you don't need to do that." "You don't do anything in the first class." Joseph told him.
"You don't?"
"Nope." "It's mainly just getting everything organized, and if the professor's nice, they'll tell you about the school."
"I should still just re-"
"Oh, come on!" Joseph laughed "College is supposed to be fun, you can't enjoy the experience if you're cooped up everyday reading your books!" "Let's go down to the cafe and get some coffee."
Gilbert reluctantly put down his books as he followed Joseph out of the dorm.
"So I take it this isn't your first year at U of T?" Gilbert asked.
"Well, it is, but my older brother went here before I did, so I guess I know more about it than most students."
Gilbert wondered what it'd be like if he had an older brother. Would his father's passing been more bearable that way? Would he have even come to college if he had a brother?
As the two boys entered the cafe, Joseph turned to Gilbert. "Ever had coffee before?"
"No, I don't think so." "Is it like tea?"
Joseph grinned and turned to a girl behind a counter. "Two coffees please."
"Hey!" Gilbert started to say.
"You're missing out if you haven't tried coffee."
Gilbert rolled his eyes, but he reached into his pocket for some coins.
"Too late, I've already paid." Joseph grinned.
Gilbert opened his mouth to protest, but like Joseph had pointed out, it was too late. "Fine, I'm paying next time though." he frowned.
…
The two boys sat down at a table next to a large window. There were vines growing on the outside wall, and you could see the leaves peaking through the clear glass.
"Go on, try it." Joseph smirked.
Gilbert raised the mug to his lips and took a sip. He almost spit it out after he had tasted the bitter drink.
"What is this?!" Gilbert cried.
"Add some milk and sugar, it will help." Joseph laughed. "The black coffee's an acquired taste." Joseph wriggled his eyebrows at him.
Gilbert, once again, rolled his eyes, and poured in plenty of milk and sugar.