𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 ᵍⁱˡᵇᵉʳᵗ ᵇˡʸᵗʰᵉ

27

A note about how Billy walked Josie home was stuck to the side of the school house. 

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the writing. "That's your handwriting."

"No it isn't," Josie insisted.

"Everyone will know now," Tillie beamed.

"I suppose it's a good thing," Josie continued. "Since we should all stake our claim on our paramours."

Ruby walked up from behind Charlotte, examining the note stuck onto the board.

Tillie looked around at her friends. "At this age, we should all be promised to someone."

"Wouldn't want to wind up like an old made," Josie looked over at Anne. "Does that run in the family?"

"You've been using that joke for two years," Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Find a new one."

Josie didn't get a chance to reply before Ruby did. "I'm so confused! We're of age now but Gilbert hasn't made any advances yet."

"Think of all the fresh-eye catching talent that will be at Queens next year," Josie said.

"But I'm only going to Queens to be near Gilbert," Ruby whined.

"You're choosing your collage depending on where your crush goes?" Charlotte asked before grabbing Ruby's hand and leading her inside. "Let's just go inside, maybe he'll smile at you."

Ruby nodded, following her and sitting at their table, glancing around as Anne spoke to Gilbert. "They're talking about me."

Charlotte looked up, catching the last part of their conversation.

"When the right person comes along, who ever they may be, I'll know," Gilbert finished.

Anne walked towards the two, Ruby's face lighting up. "Did you see his face? Did you see his face when you were talking about me? His eyes were so full of romance I almost died happy right there and then."

"His eyes?" Charlotte questioned, glancing at Anne and Ruby in concern.

"I fully believe that his reluctance to post is a sign that he has true feelings for me and if waiting for a much more romantic way to approach me than that."

"Definitely," Charlotte nodded, fully knowing how delusional Ruby was.

The three girls moved back to their seats as Miss Stacy walked into the school house. "Perhaps we should begin with algebra."

Charlotte's stomach hurled. Out of everything in the world, she absolutely despised algebra.

—

"And I can trace my family line back to 1303, when my ancestors, Lord Pembroke, negotiated a famous peace treaty. His daughter, Lady Charlotte, went on to wed the Earl of Canterbury, so I have some very distant cousins in Kensington Palace." Diana closed her notebook. "That's it."

"Well done, Diana." Gilbert nodded.

Charlotte glanced beside her as Diana sat down, continuing to carefully write in perfect cursive.

"Anne." Miss Stacy walked over. "I've just proof-read your article on the Mi'kmaq Indians and it's excellent. Now that our circulation is growing outside the confines of our school, I'm sure everyone would be riveted."

Miss Stacy held the article out, choosing who would be the one to copy it into the paper. Josie let out a groan as Miss Stacy walked towards her. "But Anne's so... wordy."

"It's the price you pay for your beautiful penmanship. But take heart. I have some good news."

Charlotte glanced up from her paper as the teacher continued. "I've got line on a printing press. It's broken, but fingers crossed I'll be able to repair it. Soon we'll be more than a school paper. We'll be publishing for all of Avonlea. It's that exciting."

Clapping erupted from the class as smiles brewed on everyone's faces. Miss Stacy pulled out a sheet of paper. "Let's see whose next on the Getting To Know You beat. Anne Shirly-Cuthbert.

"I am a mystery shrouded in an enigmatic riddle. The end."

Anne chuckled at the confusion on people's faces. "I'm an orphan. I don't have any information about my lineage. Just skip to the next person."

"Charlie Slone," Miss Stacy called. "Carry on, reporters. Anne, come with me."

Charlotte looked down at her work again, crossing her legs under the table. As Anne stood up, her knee knocked on the table, Charlotte standing upright in seconds, her ink-pot tipping over onto the table.

In a desperate attempt for the ink to not ruin her newspaper more than it already had, Charlotte rushed for paper towels, dabbing them along the pages. The cursive she had spent almost the entire day perfecting, was covered in ink, the entire page going black and sticky.

A frustrated huff left her throat as she scrunched the paper in her hands, throwing it into the rubbish bin. She stomped over to the tables across from her, sticking her hand out at the people sitting there. "I need more paper."

Gilbert glanced up at her, then down to her ink-stained hands. "What's the magic word?"

Charlotte clenched her jaw. "Now."

An amused smile rose up on Gilbert's face. "You know what the magic word is, do I need to spell it for you?"

"I need more paper," Charlotte plastered the fakest smile Gilbert had ever seen on her face, "please."

"We'll continue working on that." Gilbert passed her up paper, which she snatched away from him with an eyeroll.

"You're so annoying."

—

"Charlotte, you got posted on the take notice board?"

An appalled look rose on the girls face as she stared back at Ruby. "What?"

"Look, just come with me." Ruby grabbed Charlotte's hand, leading her towards the board where, sure enough, Charlotte's name was on there. Ruby pointed at the sheet of paper. "Look."

Charlotte has the most dazzling eyes of all the girls at school.

Charlotte just looked back at the words in disgust, the thought that someone wrote it as a joke being tossed around in the back of her head. "That's nice."

"Are you going to find out who wrote it?" Ruby asked her.

Charlotte shrugged, beginning to walk back to Green Gables. "No, if someone's interested in me, then they can approach me."

---

25/02/2024

Messy chapter but it's got a Charbert scene so it's perfection.