JAX felt like a pouty child. She sat on a stool, her school bag crumpled on the floor next to her, fingers drumming on the front desk of Elle's library. This had been her spot for quite a while, after she rushed into the building all flustered and Elle shooed her away, promising she would come talk soon. She tossed the happenings of the school day around in her head, waiting for the older woman to finish up so she could finally complain. It was taking quite a while.
The brunette never liked to dwell, in fact, she tried her hardest to avoid caring about awkward or offensive situations. There were many inconsiderate people out there in the world—and those who are sensitive simply don't survive. However, she was quite shocked by the lack of common courtesy the students had at school. Even the teacher was rude!
A huff escaped her mouth, and she rolled her eyes. She was taking these people way too seriously. They didn't deserve a second thought from her. She could step on them if she wanted to.
People left the library, but a few minutes still went by with no Elle. The clock ticked slowly, and her patience quickly ran thin. She uncrossed her legs and left the front office, weaving her way through the tall shelves of books to finally find the blonde woman she was looking for.
"There you are!" The American exclaimed. "What in the world is taking you so long?"
Elle was perched on a step stool, struggling to put a book back on the top shelf. It was funny, through all the craziness of getting accustomed to this new town, Jax never came to realize the shortness of her foreign exchange mother. Although strong-looking, Elle still stood about seven inches short of Jax.
Jax tried her hardest to hold back her laughter, but it did not work. Elle shot her a dirty look, continuing to stretch as far as she could. Still, she did not reach.
"You better not be making fun of me down there, that's very rude." She huffed. "Not all of us were born giants, Jacquelyn."
Jax gestured for Elle to get down, then replaced her on the step stool. "I don't think that I'm the giant." She grunted as she reached the top shelf, sliding the book in easily. "You're just a midget."
She returned to the ground to stand next to the blonde, her neck craning to look at the very top shelf. "And how in the world do you expect anyone to reach that?"
"That's why we have the step stool!" When Jax just stared wordlessly, she sighed in defeat. "If I'm being honest, I'm having trouble keeping up. I've been meaning to reorganize the store, but I never seem to get around to it."
"And it's only you working here?"
Elle pulled a rack stacked with books up to the shelf, and smiled breathlessly. "Yep! This building has been in my family for two generations, and my parents didn't seem to need any help running this place, so..."
Jax shook her head. "But they at least had each other."
"Maybe it is time to hire some help," Elle considered. She once again grabbed the step stool and moved to start putting the books back, but was quickly stopped by Jax.
"Hire help?" Elle was surprised by Jax's incredulous tone.
"Yes?"
"Why would you pay money to have some random person work here when you have someone right here?"
Elle looked around jokingly. "Who?"
Jax rolled her eyes, but laughed.
"I appreciate that, Jacquelyn, but that isn't fair to you. You didn't come to Avonlea to work." The blonde sighed, continuing her work.
Jax grabbed her arm. "Maybe not, but I came to Avonlea to learn. This would be perfect. Besides, I can't help but feel like you're spoiling me, and—"
"I'm not spoiling you, I'm just making sure that you're receiving proper care. I am your host and don't think your mom would like to hear that Isaac and I are mistreating you."
The brunette felt her heart drop, and she grew quieter. "She would like to hear that I'm being put to work and useful to you, though."
Elle paused, but stayed stubborn. "It's not your responsibility to help me run this place."
"Come on, Elle. This would be a way I could repay you for letting me stay in your house and buying me all of those dresses and school supplies. If it makes you feel better, you can pay me, but I will only accept a small salary." Jax looked up at her. "I'm gonna be a part of your life for quite a while, so why shouldn't I help out at this place?"
Another best of silence passed, and Elle looked down at the freckle-faced girl. It would be nice to have someone around to help out, especially one that she did not have to pay. It would also be nice to finally have a day off. But still, she was worried about the time it would take to train Jax to be able to be left alone with the place. Besides, did she really even want the girl alone in her library? She hardly even knew her. The silence continued as Elle became lost in thought.
"And I know the Dewey Decimal System." Jax added.
"Okay!" Elle relented, climbing down the step stool. "You twisted my arm. You can start today, I suppose."
Jax was surprised by her sudden change in disposition, but she wasn't going to complain. The short blonde gestured to the stool. "With this?"
"Yes," Elle smirked. "and when you get done, you can tell me about your day. So go fast!"
Jax couldn't wait to finally share her day—the inconsiderate teacher, the gossipy girls, and the boy who refused to even meet her.
But when she finally sat down in the front office with Elle, all she could say were lies about how good her day went.
She didn't want to disappoint her, so she kept it bottled up inside.
★
Miraculously, Jax had managed to make it to school on time the next day. Her and Elle closed the library at seven the night before, going home to prepare dinner for Isaac. Whether he had a good day or not, Jax couldn't tell, as he walked in, surprised at the sight of the tall brunette. She supposed that he still wasn't used to having her around—she couldn't help but notice the dirty looks he was throwing the extra seat at the table.
Perhaps he liked being alone, with only Elle to bother him.
Nevertheless, she entered the schoolhouse in a foul mood, placing her head on her desk as soon as she sat down. She wasn't excited for school due to the horrid people there, nor for going back to Steven, for she still felt unwelcome. She felt quite out of place in Avonlea.
"Hello," Jax heard from beside her, and she lifted her head to the left to see her desk mate with an outstretched hand. "I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Mae Fletcher."
Jax simply blinked at the girl in front of her. She had shoulder length blonde hair, but it wasn't the same blonde as the other basic bimbos in their class. It was almost white—pulled back halfway and finished with a ribbon. Her mouth was pulled into a shy smile, white teeth sparkling. She was pretty, but she definitely didn't know it. A light red blush dusted her cheeks and she spoke very quietly. This was the same girl who had run away from her the moment she could. Jax couldn't tell if she left because she was shy or just plain rude.
"Hi," she finally responded, shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Jacquelyn Birch."
"Yeah, I heard. Gosh, you're all anyone can talk about! Don't you realize?"
The American studied her desk mate closely. "Is that so?"
"Yes, of course! You're just new to everyone, and we're not used to new. I mean, there's definitely a lot of talk about you going around."
That wasn't good. Jax's eyebrows furrowed. "Talk? What kind of talk?"
Mae's eyes widened, and she started to pick at the wood of her desk nervously. She was definitely not used to making friends, Jax acknowledged. She just overshared big time.
"Yeah," she continued to peel back the wood. "um, like whether America's much more progressive when it come to learning, why you seem so serious all the time, why you came to Avonlea, the war and your stance on the outcome—"
"Wait, what did you say?" Jax interrupted.
Mae gulped nervously and continued to avoid eye contact. Words just kept spilling out of her mouth, and she couldn't seem to stop it. Jax and her angry disposition didn't help either. "Um, your stance on the war?"
"What? No! I wasn't even alive during the war!" Jax exclaimed, frustrated. "What you said about why I came here and why I'm all serious and stuff. I got here yesterday and people are already trying to pry their way into my private life?"
Mae just shrugged, struggling for words. "I mean, I-I'm not, I try to keep to myself and..."
"No, I just think that this town needs to mind their own damn business. I thought that it was clear that I'm here on a foreign exchange program."
Mae's eyes were wide, she wasn't trying to avoid eye contact anymore. Jax, however, wasn't looking at her. "I—I'm sorry. I promise it's not me."
Jax finally looked back over at the shy girl, but her head was hung in shame. Mae didn't seem to have ill-intentions, like most of the other girls. She was quiet, but sometimes quiet meant genuine. She had shown her kindness, and Jax was already hurting her feelings. Still, somehow, the American couldn't even bring herself to feel guilty. God, what was wrong with her? Was she like a complete emotional zombie now?
Jax sighed. "I'm not scary, I promise. I just had a bad night. You seem like you're going to be a good desk mate. I hope you feel the same." She peered over at the blonde. That better be enough for her, because Jax wasn't gonna give anymore than that. She simply wasn't a sentimental person anymore.
However, Mae visibly perked up. "Of course I do.And thank you kindly for saying so."
Jax just grunted in return, pulling out her school materials as the bell rang and Mr, Phillips quickly made his way to the front of the room. Hopefully she wouldn't regret being nice to her.
"Shut up, everyone!" Mr. Phillips called out, and the attention of the students all flashed to him. "Today, we are practicing factoring."
The class erupted in groans, not looking forward to doing math all morning. Anne Shirley Cuthbert, though, sat in her seat next to Diana Barry, visibly sweating. There she was, seriously regretting her decision to give school one more chance. Factoring? What even was that? She whispered loudly to Diana, talking her ear off about how she was hardly even versed in long division. Then she lowered her head and prayed that Mr. Phillips would not be so evil as to call on her.
"Oh, stop your moaning." The lanky teacher said as he sat down and put his feet up on his desk. "I've decided to make it into a competition. I will be calling two students up to the board to complete a math problem. Those who are still seated will do the math out on their slates."
"Boys versus girls!" Billy shouted out from his seat.
Mr. Phillips rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Yes, boys versus girls. First... Josie Pye and Moody Spurgeon, get up here."
The two students approached the board, and Moody offered Josie a small smile. His smile quickly faded as she rolled her eyes in return. Josie Pye was truly evil, Jax was considering punching the girl's lights out just for hurting Moody's feelings.
"Write the problem out, then when I say go, you may begin to solve it. Face away from the board when you are done." Mr. Phillips ordered from his seat. "X squared plus five x plus six."
Easy cash, Jax thought, doing the work out quickly onto her slate. Josie and Moody, however, took a while to complete the problem. In the end, Moody faced the away from before Josie had even written her answer.
"Josie, are you kidding?" Billy yelled, laughing. "You lost to Moody? Moody!"
The rest of the boys burst out laughing, all except Moody himself and Gilbert Blythe. Gilbert would hate to hype Billy Andrews up too much—it would be too bad he really started to believe he was funny.
"Shut up, Billy! You wouldn't even make it halfway through the problem." Josie snapped back, and he raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Congratulations, Moody." Mr. Phillips commented dully. "That's one point for the boys." He paused and looked around the room. "Jacquelyn Birch and Gilbert Blythe, please approach the board."
Not that Blythe kid again, Jax thought as she got up from her seat. He kept giving her a damn attitude for no reason. They walked up to the board stiffly, and the class couldn't help but stare in anticipation. Gilbert had always been a nice kid, and no one could seem to figure out why he turned into a jackass whenever Jacquelyn Birch was around. When they reached the front of the room, Jax turned and faced him, a smirk painted on her face.
"I don't think we ever introduced ourselves." She said, holding out her hand. "I'm Jacquelyn Birch."
No, his behavior at school the day before had not disappeared from her memory. Not in the slightest. But people who acted the way he did didn't deserve to get what they wanted (which was obviously for the American to leave him alone). The best thing she could do was act dumb for now.
He turned, and they stood at almost eye level. Jax had a couple inches on him, but it wasn't enough for her to notice. She had always been a tall person, she got it from her parents, but she was already finished growing. Gilbert, however, had barely even started.
Surprisingly, the boy pulled out some common courtesy to shake her hand and grunted, "Gilbert Blythe."
Jax tilted her head. "So you do speak after all."
Gilbert was able to shoot her a dirty look before Mr. Phillips started to give them the math problem. Both faced the board, and as soon as the teacher said go, they were off. Neither wanted to give the other the satisfaction of winning.
But factoring was easy to Jax, she had learned it long ago and had worked with sums ten times harder than these. She won, but only by a few seconds. Blythe had proven to be a strong competitor.
The left side of the room erupted into cheers as Mr. Phillips tallied a point for the girls team, and Jax found herself smiling. Once again, she extended her hand to the brunette boy next to her.
"Good game." She said to him. "No one ever comes close to beating me."
Gilbert seemed unimpressed by her backhanded comment. This girl's ego was too big for her own good, and she didn't even realize it. "I'm flattered and all, but really, I think you give yourself too much credit."
Jax's eyes immediately narrowed. She had tried to be genuine, and she got an attitude in return? Of course she did. It was impossible to respect an opponent who didn't know how to lose correctly. And Jax, she always won. Always.
The handsome boy breezed by her hand and returned to his seat without even a glance behind him.
Jax was furious. If that was the way he wanted to play this... it was so on.
★
By lunchtime, Anne was on her last leg. Mr. Phillips was making it his personal mission to terrorize her, she could already hear the other girls in her class whispering about her, and Gilbert Blythe—he just wouldn't leave her alone.
Gilbert had surely been steering away from Jax, but he just steered himself right over to Anne. He kept trying to make small talk, offering her help, food, or whatever just to get her attention. Anne couldn't take it anymore.
Her day was simply awful, and she couldn't see how it could get any worse. That was, until, she decided it was finally time to get her lunch. She swung her leg out to get up, and—
Jacquelyn Birch tumbled right over the redhead's foot.
Aside from Gilbert's cold shoulder, Jax's day had been pretty alright. The class still followed her around excitedly, and she couldn't help but enjoy the attention. At lunch, Mae accompanied her to get her milk from outside, making small talk as they went along.
She didn't even see Anne's foot until it was too late. She fell forward so fast, the contents of her milk bottle emptying onto the person nearest to her front. It wasn't a faceplant, but her chin did hit the floor hard enough to leave her momentarily dizzy.
It took her a second to even realize that her spilled milk had splashed all over Gilbert himself, who had gone over to try to bother Anne more. The brunette was too busy craning her neck to look behind her, seeing red through her blurry vision and realizing that it was Anne who had tripped her. Jax couldn't believe it. She actually thought that Anne was one of the good ones. Apparently she was wrong.
"Are you kidding me?" Gilbert exclaimed as Jax's eyesight started to clear up. He tried to dry the milk off with his hands, to no avail. His clothes stayed soaked. "You did that on purpose!"
"Of course I did, that's why I'm on the floor, right?" Jax snapped back sarcastically, pushing herself off the ground.
The two didn't even notice the crowd that formed around them. Some checked if Jax was okay, some brought Gilbert napkins, but they all seemed genuinely concerned.
As for Jax and Gilbert, they were the opposite. They both believed that the other got exactly what they deserved—Gilbert with a face full of milk and Jax with a face full of floor.
"Jacquelyn Birch!" The class heard from the front of the room. Mr. Phillips stood in the doorway with his lunch, looking incredibly displeased. "What on earth is going on here?"
"She spilled her milk all over Gilbert, sir." Billy called out.
Mr. Phillips didn't seem to like that. "Is your name Jacquelyn Birch?"
The class went completely silent. Anne sat in her seat, in the exact same position she had been for the past few minutes. Apparently her day could get worse—the look Jax gave her was enough to make her want to tear herself to pieces. She just couldn't seem to stop messing up, and now she messed up with the one girl with whom she actually had a clean slate. Should she speak up?
"It was an accident." Jax spoke through gritted teeth. "I tripped and fell."
Mr. Phillips looked unconvinced, so the American turned to look at Anne. She would never snitch, but she hoped that Anne would step up and admit it was her and just an accident.
But Anne was still unsure. She just couldn't take anymore criticism. Even if it was an accident, her classmates wouldn't believe her. Wicked things such as tripping people—that was exactly something an ugly orphan would do.
Jax was basically invincible, the class already believed her, Gilbert and Mr. Phillips were the only ones who didn't. So Anne stayed silent. They would love her anyway.
"Come to the front, please."
"But, sir!"
"Come!"
Jax obeyed, and once she reached the board, Mr. Phillips slapped a piece of chalk in her hand.
"Ten copies of 'I will not harass my classmates'."
Jax began writing, not wanting to miss lunch. Anne stayed seated at her desk, her appetite gone and guilt beginning to coat her insides.
★
hey my loves! I hope everyone is enjoying the story.
i appreciate u guys