The first day back at the Glen High was extremely awkward for Gwen. With Jack and Phil flanking her, and Jack glaring at anyone who gave her a second glance, nobody dared be outwardly rude. Once the classes scattered, however, and Gwen was left a lonely sophomore, things became more difficult. To her relief, none of the boys approached her (she guessed they were probably all afraid of Jack), but the girls left her in no doubt of their opinion. Without ever saying a word, they snubbed her dreadfully.

She was relieved to finally get out to the playing field for track practice. Even if her other teammates ignored her, at least she would be able to run and forget about everything for a while.

Mary Crawford, a senior this year, greeted Gwen with her usual calm demeanour. She had spent the summer helping her father with his fishing, and so likely hadn't heard or paid any attention to the rumours. Jean, Katie, Betty, and the two new freshmen girls, Emmy and Dotty, all only glanced awkwardly at Gwen and then quickly began whispering to each other.

"Have a nice summer, Gwen?" Mary asked.

Gwen began lacing her shoes, hoping that bending over would account for the red in her cheeks. "Part of it. My aunt taught me how to make bread, finally. How was your summer?"

"Fair enough," Mary said. "We had a good haul this season. Dad is setting part of our profits aside every year for my schooling, and if we have another year next summer like this one, I should be able to go to college next fall. My winter work should help, too," she added. "I'll be helping Mrs. Blythe—your Aunt Persis—out at her new clinic whenever I'm not working with Dad."

Gwen marvelled at the effort and sacrifice Mary was putting into her schooling. "And what will you go to college for?"

"I want to become a veterinary, like your aunt," Mary said surprisingly. Her broad, placid brow remained unruffled as she continued, "I'd like to focus more on small animals, cats and dogs and the like, instead of the farm creatures that she spends most of her time tending. I've promised her, once I'm through my schooling, to come back and work with her. If I take care of the small animals, that will free her up to tend the big ones."

"I think that's wonderful," Gwen said enthusiastically. "I know Aunt Persis is terribly overworked these days, and I can only imagine that it will get worse. Knowing that you'll be coming along to help, and maybe even take over one day when she retires, will be a great comfort to her."

"Enough chattering, ladies," Coach said, coming up. "Time to warm up."

Mary's strength being the throwing, and Gwen's the running, the two girls were soon separated, and Gwen was left alone to face the coldness from the other girls. She thought she was handling it well, until Coach suddenly stopped their practice.

"What in heaven's sake is the problem with you girls? I expected there to be some slackness coming back from the summer, but you aren't even a team anymore. What has gone on? Have you had a fight?"

They all glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes, save Mary who just waited patiently.

"No fight, Coach," Jean finally said. She was the boldest of the team, the loudest, and usually their leader, even though she was only a sophomore like Gwen. Betty and Katie were juniors, while Mary was the lone senior.

"Well, whatever is wrong, get your heads back on the field," Coach snapped. "And will you all stop avoiding Gwen? Last I heard, she did not have the plague."

Gwen wondered how Coach could be so ignorant of the summer scandal, especially when her own sister was the Sunday School teacher Winnie had "sassed" so memorably, but then she remembered that Coach had been visiting family in the States for most of the summer, and so probably hadn't heard about anything.

She almost felt like she should explain to Coach about everything that happened, just so she didn't think the other girls were just being snobs, but at the thought of telling Coach, who thought she was a good enough runner to make it to the Olympics, about Chloe's lies, Gwen's heart quailed. Least said, soonest mended, she told herself, and hoped it was true.

Practice was still awkward, though, and at the end Coach threw up her hands. "What on earth? I can't make you girls out. Last year we practically had a championship team. I was sure this year, with some more experience under our belt, that we were going to be even better. Instead, you're all worse than you were last year! Except for Mary," she added. "Gwen is tripping over her own feet again, and the rest of you are so busy staring at her and whispering to each other that you can't even pay attention to what you are supposed to be doing."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Again, Gwen felt that she should say something, but what? "It's not their fault, Coach, it's mine because my cousin told lies about me this summer?" That was just silly. It wasn't her fault Chloe had made up stories and her teammates had believed them.

"They're all snobs who fell for a stupid story," didn't seem exactly right, either, though.

"It's just … there were all sorts of rumours flying about Gwen this summer," Jean shocked them all by speaking. "People were saying all sorts of things, that she was suspended from her old school for flirting and had to come here, that her parents had shipped her off here to try to get her straightened out, even …" she stopped and blushed.

"Even what?" Coach said sharply.

"Even that she came here to have a baby," Betty suddenly blurted.

It was hard to tell who turned redder, Betty or Gwen. For the first time, Gwen understood why Grandmother Meredith had made such an effort to stop the rumours. If they had gotten this bad, even with Grandmother's chastisement of those doing the gossiping, imagine where they would have ended without her!

Coach further surprised them all by laughing. It was not an amused laugh; it was sarcastic and short. "And you all believe that? Goodness, what a group of ninnies you are! Anyone can tell just by looking at Gwen that she's not that sort."

"But—" Jean started, but Coach didn't let her finish.

"Even if those stories were true, though, I don't care. You girls are a team. Do I really need to explain that to you? You stick by each other through thick and thin. You stand up for each other. You believe in each other. If everyone else is saying something against your teammate, you speak up for her. If your teammate does something wrong, you forgive her, even without her asking. If she needs you, you are there for her. You can't run together if you don't support each other."

By the end of her speech, Gwen was fighting back tears, and the other girls were staring sheepishly at the ground.

"Now," Coach concluded. "I am not kicking Gwen off the team for something she clearly did not do. I am also not having a team that is fractured or divided against itself. So, any of you who still have problems with Gwen—or with anyone on this team—you are excused, and you may find yourself a new form of PE. Let me know tomorrow at practice if you still want to be part of this team or not. I am not going to have another repeat of today's abysmal performances."

With that, she walked off, leaving the seven girls looking at each other without quite meeting each other's eyes.

"I think all this is nonsense," Mary said, breaking the silence. "When would Gwen have had time to have a baby? Everybody has seen her ever since she came to the Island, and she hadn't gained a bit of weight or anything." She smiled calmly. "I have no interest in leaving the team."

"I'm sorry, Gwen," Jean said in a rush. She was biting her lower lip, and looked close to tears. "I didn't really believe any of those things they were saying, but everyone was saying it, and I just wasn't sure. I don't want to leave the team, though. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course," Gwen answered automatically.

Betty and Katie rushed to ask for forgiveness, too, though they still wouldn't meet her eyes, and one of the new girls, Dotty, shyly apologized as well.

"You're Phil's sister, aren't you?" she asked immediately afterward. She blushed. "I sit next to him in botany. He's brilliant."

"Yes, he is," Gwen said, feeling much friendlier toward this pretty, dark-haired maiden who clearly recognized her brother's talents.

The other new girl, Emmy, slowly became aware that everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to say something. She raised her chin.

"What? I'm not going to apologize! And if Coach wants me to leave, she can kick me off herself. I certainly don't care about being part of a team. I just want to win."

With that, she walked off, her hips swinging haughtily.

"Never mind her," Jean sniffed. "She's a Drew." She stretched her arms above her head. "Say kids, who wants ice cream at Douglas'?" She grinned wickedly. "I hear Gwen gets free sodas."

Gwen laughed. "I'm not sure that Mrs. Douglas will treat all of you, but even if she only does half we can all scrape together enough for all of us."

"Right," Mary said, draping her arm across Gwen's shoulders. "Because that's what a team does."

With the team behind her (Coach had no hesitation about taking Emmy Drew off the team, much to that girl's disdain), Gwen found school went a bit more smoothly. Phil's instant popularity in the freshman class ensured that most of those students accepted her, and with Jack, Oliver, Lynde, and Van Douglas supporting her in the other classes, most of the students shrugged their shoulders and let the rumours die … though many of them, to their dying day, believed there was something "fishy" about That Blake Girl.

The academic side of her classes went much better this year, too. Fuelled by a desire to not let Jack's good reputation with the teachers be damaged with her meagre efforts, Gwen put everything she had into studying. Phil was still helping Oliver with his science classes, and Gwen soon took to joining them for general study sessions. Before long, Jack was coming along as well, and with him came Van Douglas and Lucy, a starry-eyed freshman along with Phil this year.

Lynde was doubtful about the amount of studying they actually got done, judging by the amount of laughter that pealed from Rainbow Valley in the afternoons.

"And really, are fudge and cookies absolutely necessary for studying?" she asked with asperity one day.

Jack grinned engagingly at her. "Chocolate is good for the brain, Lynde."

"You should join us," Phil added. "You'd be surprised at how much more you might enjoy school if you were part of our study group."

Lynde shook her head emphatically, her long brown braid swinging around with life of its own. "I wouldn't even be bothering with High School if your grandparents didn't insist on it," she said. "I just want to get through. I don't care about honours or college or anything like that."

In addition to their study group, soon nicknamed "The Owls" by Grandfather (for striving after wisdom, he explained, though Gwen suspected it had something to do with Lucy's adorable little round spectacles perched atop her wrinkled nose), Phil was part of the Science Club; Oliver was a member of the Debating Team; Gwen was acknowledged to be the star runner of the school; Jack was president of the junior class; Van was treasurer; and Lucy took great delight in joining the fledgling Drama Club. They were all very active in school, and for the most part, quite enjoyed it.

Phil had tried joining the boys' track and field team, but soon dropped out. "I just don't have any kind of competitive spirit," he said apologetically to Gwen. "If I see that another fellow is trailing me, I slow down so he can catch up, because all I can think about is how bad he will feel if he comes in last."

Gwen shook her head. "Oh, Phil."

He grinned. "That's all right. One star runner in the family is enough."

In truth, Gwen didn't mind that she was the only person in the family running. Never before had she done something that was all her own, that nobody close to her had done first or could do better.

There was her writing, of course, but she still hugged that secret jealously to her heart and refused to tell anyone about it. Several times, she was tempted to blurt it all out to Phil but it was still too new and uncertain. She kept her scribbled bits of paper stashed in her truck, 'way back in her wardrobe where no one would ever accidentally stumble on them. She enjoyed writing fairy stories the best, but of late she had been writing stronger stuff … tales with deeper meanings to them. She knew that they weren't very good (she was far better at the lighter fare), but they satisfied something in her soul that the fairy tales didn't.

Even her English teacher noticed the improvement in her papers, and complimented her in front of the entire class. Gwen had never felt so proud of anything before, not even when she won her first meet of the season!

Before the first snow fell, Gwen had brought Mary Crawford into the Owls, and that girl's common-sense practicality helped to balance the rest of them out. Gwen was happy to strengthen her friendship with Mary, who proved to have a fine sense of humour and zest for life behind her placid exterior.

From the uncertain beginning, this school year was looking to prove to be pretty fine after all, Gwen decided. She still felt a sting over Fanny's desertion, but she was happy enough with her loyal Owls to let it slide.

After all, better to have proof of Fanny's shallow character now, after just a few months friendship, rather than later, when they had perhaps been friends for years and years and Gwen really trusted her with all her secrets.

Not that that was terribly likely. The only people Gwen really trusted with her secrets were Jeremy and Phil. They were, and always would remain, her very dearest friends.