The Three of Avonlea

Chapter 3; Winifred Prosser

"It appears we have a new student present today," Mr. Phillips motioned to the door, hostility dancing on his voice; something Winifred Prosser had never truly heard before. "You can take your seat next to Ruby Gillis"—he pointed to a girl laced in pink with long, blonde hair and light, sky blue eyes—"I'm sure she'll be of some assistance to you."

Winifred felt every gaze on her as she made her way to the front of the room, which, much to her delight, was where Ruby had been placed. She knew she had been slightly late to school at that point, but she hadn't assumed the lesson had already begun. Taking her seat, she crossed her battered, worn down brown boots over one another, hiding the scuffed leather. She turned to Ruby, flicking her dark ginger hair (of nature that she swore up and down was auburn) that she had neatly tied in a half up braid, and held out her palm.

She opened her mouth to speak, only to be met with the voice of another taking her place. "Winifred Prosser, everyone." Mr. Phillips announced, clearly with the intention to embarrass her. She scrunched her nose, the freckles that lined her nose bridge seeming to fog together.

"Please, call me Winnie." she smiled sweetly. It was a smile that, to everyone's knowledge, lit an inflamed anger inside Mr. Phillips that every student was used to seeing at least once. Any student was able to say that Mr. Phillips was not someone that beat around the bush, nor someone that should be tested; especially not by a new girl.

"Well, Prosser," Mr. Phillips coughed out. He had always addressed the children by their last names, unless of course they had siblings in the same class, which happened often in such a tight knit community. Even in that case, he would only address a student by their whole name; all except Prissy Andrews, who he would speak upon a first name basis with. He watched as Winnie's light brown eyes, a color not alike to soil but that of caramel, darted across the room, looking everywhere except for him.

Of course, this wasn't the child's intention. Much like Ophelia, she had been freshly fourteen, and unlike Ophelia, she still retained a curious mannerism that she even appeared to have as an infant. She loved to take in the new sights of places, even those of boring, old, whitewashed school walls. Nevertheless, her lack of eye contact with someone who had been speaking to her, especially when that someone was the likes of Mr. Phillips, filled her school master with even more rage.

"I don't know what rules were set in place where you came from, but in Avonlea we look at the person talking to us." he slammed his hand down on the desk, his voice raising slightly and his tone growing heavier with hatred. "You have rudely interrupted my lesson and disgraced my teaching, which I paid no mind to until you decided to disrespect me and my authority." he leaned forward, his face now inches away from hers, his dark eyes that were barely a shade of blue piercing into hers. His voice lowered narrowly above a whisper, each word emphasized. "Do I make myself clear?"

Fear was Mr. Phillips' main method of teaching; and to his discretion, it worked the best. Rarely would a student step out of line when they felt threatened, and he liked that. However, Winnie did not feel fear, nor did she feel threatened. Alarmed, yes, but nothing further than that. Luckily for her, Mr. Phillips had mistaken her surprise for fright, causing him to relent; something he seldom performed.

Pacing back to the chalkboard, he kept his intimidating stare on Winnie, making sure she understood who held the cards. Paying no mind to his ill intentions, she stared right back, her hands nicely clasped and rested atop the desk. Failing to see any purposeful acts of rebellion, he turned his back to her, the tips of his fingers turning powdery white as he wrote in large, cursive lettering.

"I'm a little shocked you were already able to set off Mr. Phillips, Winnie." Ruby whispered to the side, ensuring her gaze was still towards the chalkboard. "Though it was quite amusing."