What About Yesterday? - anne with an e

Chapter 2- September Song

"Anne!" Diana called exhaustedly, "Anne will you please hurry up, we need to- Anne are you even listening?"
Anne was not, in fact listening. She was staring at a particularly captivating painting- her hands traced the ornate frame, mesmerised. She was part way down the carpeted staircase, it spiralled right down the middle of their boarding house, with paintings and tapestries lining the walls beside it.
"For pity's sake, Anne! " Jane tugged at the distracted girl's sleeve.
"Class is gonna start whether we attend or not. So I suggest that we go!" She sighed frustratedly.
At this Anne turned to face her friend, continuing once again to walk down the stairs.
"Just think of it! A whole building full of people who don't know our names, let alone our personalities! How thrilling," Anne gushed.
"They won't care about your personality Anne, and no orphan is even worth learning the name of." Josie stated.
"But that's the joy of it my dear Josie, no one will know I'm an orphan." Anne explained, linking arms with Diana as they reached the hallway, and they all put on their new coats and hats.
"A girl with such awful red hair and freckles could ever mistaken for anything like else." insisted Josie.
"Anne's hair is a handsome auburn now, Mrs.Lynde said herself!" Diana defended her friend.
"Maybe, but perhaps you are right Josie," Anne said diplomatically, "but nothing can dampen my mood this fine morning!"

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Ruby and Anne we're together in their first class of the day: English.
Although Anne would have preferred her kindred spirit Diana, Ruby would have been her second choice. A romantic girl at heart, Anne knew she would be an enthusiastic partner to discuss dusty old novels with. The pair of them sat in the first available seats (which ended up being the second row), and looked around them in bewilderment as the room rapidly filled to bursting with unfamiliar faces. Ruby's eyes were scouring the place eagerly, and Anne knew she was searching for fine men to set her gaze on. Anne couldn't be less interested in looking for suitors, instead her eyes caught a few students who's aura intrigued her. She couldn't help thinking that it was vital to pick out the most kindred people to be friends with. There was one girl, her brunette locks curled and tied up in a rather elegant scarlet bow. She spoke to no one, and sat alone.
"Ruby," Anne tapped the girls shoulder.
"Mhm?" She didn't turn around, but batted her eyes at a tall boy sitting in a group of his friends. The boy blushed atrociously and his mates knocked his shoulder and pushed him in the way boys do. I rolled my eyes, trying to cover up my amusement at his reaction.
"Ruby,"
Ruby giggled.
"Yes Anne dear?" She finally turned to face her friend.
"Could you possibly wait until after class to torture those poor boys?" Anne teased.
"Of course! And it's hardly torture Anne."

The teacher called the class to attention, and introduced himself. Anne payed him her utter attention, but to her slight disappointment, no dusty novels were handed out, and they spent the time rehearsing previous knowledge they had learnt for their exams. But she still focused determinedly.

For 15 minutes.

The lesson quickly lost all hope of interest, and the teachers droning voice left her, and the entire class, bored. Anne imagined Ms.Stacy laughing at the ridiculous way he talked on and on. She smiled slightly at the image of her former mentor. And at that moment, she missed very dearly her love for hands on learning.
Anne glanced around her, and the other students were evidently as uninspired as her. Several of them chatted with their friends in hushed tones, and a few others were asleep on their desks.
Anne sighed miserably. Is this what Queens was always like? She sincerely hoped not.
She had hoped for a more motivating first lesson at least.
Ruby yawned prettily, holding a small hand to her mouth, then whispered to Anne, "This is utterly terribly. And to think English was my favourite subject..."
Anne nodded, feeling dejected. Trying to find something to hold her interest, she flicked through the folder that had been placed in her desk 10 minutes prior.
Nothing. So she returned to her former quest. Now she saw the sour yet slack expression on the 'bowed-brunettes' face, and knew that she wouldn't do. Discouraged, she relented and asked Ruby for help.
"Ruby, can you see anyone in here with an ounce of kindred in them?"
At first Anne worried that her dreamy friend would volunteer the tall boy from earlier, but to her surprise, Ruby considered the question carefully. Her eyes flicked over Anne's shoulder, and she smiled before saying "Her."
Twisting, Anne followed her gaze.
She hadn't noticed her before because she sat half in shadow, at the very back of the room. But yes, Anne knew by the sight of her that they were to become very well acquainted.
She sat with her legs crossed, wearing a delicate green dress that looked as though it had hand sewn patterns across the hems. One hand rested on her lap, while the other held her chin. She had chosen a seat by the window, which allowed for great cascades of ivory light to flare though, catching the dust that hung all about the room, drifting unhurriedly down. The light captured the front of the girls face, illuminating her features, allowing anne to see that she had a long nose, and a sharp chin.

"And that's why I won't be teaching you the rest of the year, I do apologise profusely, but my teaching skills are needed in academically higher classes"
Anne snapped her attention back to the old man at the front of the classroom. She fought the grin of satisfaction off her face. Finally something has gone right this morning.

When the class was allowed to leave, Ruby stood, grabbing her hat, and turned to face Anne.
"Well?..." She raised her eyebrows pointedly. Picking up on her cues, Anne looked around for the window-girl. She was now stood upright, showing that she was in fact a similar height to Ruby, shorter than her self. She hastily put her folder in her satchel, obviously keen to escape the room. She seemed uninterested in anything else. Sighing, Anne caught Ruby's hand and smiled at the expectant girl.
"Let's go find the others first?"
Ruby nodded, slightly confused at Anne's reluctance to meet window-girl, but said nothing about it.

"Jane!" Anne exclaimed.
"That's not all, she told the girl to 'look it the mirror before making such promises' !" Diana recounted, her eyes wide with the memory.
"I couldn't just say nothing," Jane protested, then she smiled slyly. "Should have seen the look on her face." she bit into her apple, with a look of satisfaction.
"She wasn't even that pretty. Not prettier than any of us anyway." Josie claimed.
Anne didn't comment on this statement, but smiled to her self slightly.
"I didn't know Geography provided such opportunities for beauty contests," Anne chuckled. She stood with her friends, minus Tilly (who couldn't be found anywhere), in the huge arched doorway between the courtyard and the main Queen's corridor. They were laughing and sharing stories of their first  morning at college.
"Oh but hasn't it gone slowly! This morning has seemed like and eternity." Josie groaned.
"I hadn't noticed..." Ruby mumbled shyly, eyes on the ground. She brushed some of her blonde hair behind her ear, and glanced up to see if anybody had picked up on what she was implying.
"Ruby has been making eyes at boys all morning!" Jane rolled her eyes, having shared the 2nd lesson with her.
"What do you expect, she's Ruby!" Josie teased with the suggestion of being more mature than her friend. Ruby jumped to her own defence, eventually giving in to giggling, and the 3 of them bickered, grins plastered on their faces. Anne too, was smiling a small pleased smile. She looked to Diana, expecting her to be in similarly high spirits. Instead, the raven haired girls eyes flicked constantly back and forth between he girls and, well.... everything else. She was overwhelmed, Anne could see that now.
She didn't even think she would be coming here a week ago.
Anne frowned, reprimanding her self for not being more empathetic to her bosom friend. Moving closer to her, she gently slipped her hand into her's. Diana turned her head sharply, then relaxed when she saw Anne next to her. She squeezed her kindred spirit's hand gratefully, she was now smiling a little.