₁.₀ SUPERCUT; gilbert blythe ✔

016.

"Shh! Not so loud!"

Marianne resists an urge to roll her eyes at Josie's words, seeing as the Pye girl bid Anne to be quiet only so she could brag about herself. Acting as though it's some contest and the person who had started bleeding first is to win hail and glory.

"I got mine three months ago, and I feel extremely mature."

Why would anyone think Josie Pye mature remains a mystery to Marianne, but other girls nod their heads in agreement.

"I think the boys take me more seriously, too."

"But they can't tell," Anne cuts in, obviously concerned by the possibility. "Can they tell? That would be awful."

"Not tell, per se, but I'm not a little girl anymore and I believe that's noticeable. My bosoms are growing."

Well, it would be a much greater favour to the world if, instead of bosoms, Josie would grow any sense of empathy and kindness; at least, Marianne would certainly prefer it that way.

Looking down to her chest, Anne sighs, "Yet another reason why this is inexplicable."

"I got mine last year."

"Me, too."

"Really?" Ruby's voice already comes out shaky as she turns to the Belware girl. "When did you get yours?"

Seeing the look on her face and those glassy eyes, Marianne takes a moment before answering. "Well, I suppose it happened nearly two years ago. But remember," she adds quickly, not wanting to upset the other girl even more than she is already, "I'm fourteen, so a year older than you are."

"My father has started opening the door for me," Diana interrupts, a soft smile on her face. "It's sweet."

"I can't wait until I can wear my hair up."

The girls chuckle, all but one. "I'm not a woman," sniffles Ruby as soon as she's asked what's wrong. "Why don't I have it?"

It's a silly reason to cry, considering that they're all still very young and have plenty of time to start bleeding. But Marianne's already come come to terms with Ruby's reactions to a lot of things, and she can't help but pity the poor girl. Perhaps it's not even the lack of her womanly cycle that bothers Ruby, maybe it's the fact that she's alone in it.

"Trust me, if I could give you mine, I would. This is so inconvenient!" Anne's voice rises by the end of her sentence, meeting with a strong reaction from others, urging her to keep quiet.

Once again, Josie has a chance to enjoy her role as the person to scold and educate the redhead girl. "No one's supposed to know. A woman's cycle is a shameful thing."

The mention of it being unmentionable makes Anne question things, reminding Marianne of a conversation she held some time ago. She was hesitant to speak of these matters out loud, too, feeling as though it should be kept a secret from every other person, men especially; those flowers her father had bought for her were beautiful, yet made the girl anxious and ashamed as well, for she was sure he was not supposed to know. It took her mother nearly an entire hour to convince Marianne otherwise, her words sounding in her ears just as clearly now.

'The only shame regarding a woman's cycle should be put on the society which makes you think you can mention it to no-one.'

This was not a common opinion to hear, yet it fit perfectly with Martha Belware. After all, it was she who, despite everyone's expectations, decided to seek her own happiness out of Avonlea - working as an assistant in a law office until she had enough money to open her way into education in college; it just happened that her employer was the young Edward Belware, who had taken a liking into the girl and, knowing about her hopes, paid her a little extra. And even though Martha didn't like it at all, she did fall for him after some time and a lot of struggle on his side.