𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 | gilbert blythe

10. what makes a woman

Spelling bee's were one of Penny's least favorite activities. They occurred on days similar to today, when the first snow had landed and all the students were a few minutes late having to rushedly find their winter gear. Mr. Phillips had also arrived nearly 20 minutes after their usual start time, and with a huff and a small flair of his scarf, he'd declared that today was the spelling bee and for the boys and girls to pick their representatives.

Penny, yet again, refused the offer of being one of the three girls chosen to compete despite her decent grades in spelling. The overall rowdiness the classroom was sent into never ceased to overwhelm her, so she instead let Tillie Boulter spell in her stead.

This proved a mistake as Tillie forgot the second O in Amorous and was forced to sit, leaving only Anne as the sole female competitor.

Luckily, Moody Spurgeon also was removed through the misspelling of Gorgeous and Penny felt herself become rather interested in the outcome of the spelling bee.

The classroom was full of cheers and overall rowdiness as the boys and girls supported for their respective groups.

"Spell Ostracize" Mr. Phillips spoke from the back of the room, and Penny watched the boy rack his brain before spelling the word seamlessly.

Looking back over to Anne, Penny was please to see the girl's determined expression.

"Haughty"

"H-A-U-G-H-T-Y" Anne spelled easily and smiled at the encouragement of the other girls.

"Callous"

"C-A-L-L-O-U-S" Gilbert too seemed to shine under the support of his male classmates.

"Penitent"

"P-E-N-I-T-E-N-T" Anne paused briefly after she'd finished, her face falling a bit pale as she moved to cover her stomach lightly and Penny wrinkled her brow in concern,

"Intentions"

"I-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N-S" Gilberts responded quickly and confidently earning applause from his friends as he smiled.

"Persevere"

"P-E-R-S-" Anne once again hesitated, still clutching her stomach as she seemed to rock back and forth uneasily.

Penny knew Anne knew this word, as the two often would spell back and forth on walks home. Penny also knew Anne deserved to win and made a small show of sitting up in her seat so as to draw Anne's attention. Once Anne's blue eyes landed on her, Penny lifted her hand as though to scratch her face before mouthing one very obvious letter.

'E'

"-E-V-E-R-E" Anne finished with a rush, and when Mr. Phillips said nothing the girls cheered.

Penny looked over to Gilbert who smirked as he stared back at the blonde girl. Penny blushed lightly, knowing he'd caught her cheating, and shrugged softly as she looked back at him.

"Engagement" Mr. Phillips gave Gilbert his word.

"E-N-G-A-G-M?" Gilbert was cut off as he misspelled the word.

"That is incorrect. The... spelling, not the sentiment," Mr. Phillips announced, but he seemed to be paying close attention to Prissy Andrews.

Nevertheless, the girls all cheered as Anne smiled proudly, but Penny was once again concerned as the smile was unable to reach Anne's eyes.

Gilbert approached the Anne, in an attempt to congratulate the girl.

"Congratulations, Anne. Too bad I couldn't come up with the E," The boy smirked, looking quickly over to Penny.