𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 ᵍⁱˡᵇᵉʳᵗ ᵇˡʸᵗʰᵉ

02

-🌸-

CHAPTER TWO

Penny sat with her face scrunched at the kitchen table while her mother aggressively ran a hairbrush through her curls.

"Hold still," Margot repeated, adjusting her daughter's chin once again so she was facing the window. "Don't want you looking like a mess at school."

"I'm sure if one strand is out of the plaits nobody will notice—" A grunt left Penny's throat as Margot re-adjusted her chin once again.

Christian let out a muffled snicker into his glass of water at the sight of his sister being treated like a doll. Margot looked towards him, looking for any flaw in his appearance. "What are you laughing at? Go polish your shoes until I can see my face in them."

Penny smirked as Christian huffed, pulling himself away from his eggs and towards where he placed his shoes. Margot brushed out Penny's baby hairs, scanning her daughter over once more before tying up a pink bow in her daughter's hair. "Are you ready to go?"

Penny nodded, placing enough apple slices, cheese and bread for Christian and herself into her basket, along with two jars of milk. "Yes. I just need to wait for Christian to finish with his shoes."

"The Cuthbert's new girl goes to your school now, right?" Margot asked. "Anne, is it?"

"Yes," Penny answered, before smiling. "She's very talkative, but she's friendly."

"Well, Mrs. Andrews came by earlier and spoke about Anne spreading tales about Prissy," Margot spoke. "I don't want you influenced by her."

"Mama, I won't be," Penny insisted.

"Your daddy says boys don't like a girl who gossips." Margot nodded.

Penny let out a sigh. Since she was a child, her parents made it her entire purpose to impress people. "I'll see you later. We've got to get to school."

Margot nodded again, stepping aside to allow her daughter to walk through to the entrance hall where Christian was waiting. "Took you long enough."

"Mama was telling me what boys like in a girl," Penny answered as the two began walking out the door.

The walk to school was the same, only the air was colder. Small clouds of fog left Penny's throat every time she exhaled. She hated winter. The freezing cold weather and the constant rain. Summer was what she enjoyed.

"I wonder when Gilbert's getting back," Christian thought out loud as his sister placed their milks in the stream.

"Personally, I've enjoyed the time when our house was just our house," she joked, walking into the school building before her brother.

She walked towards her friends, Josie leaning close to her immediately. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Marilla Cuthbert was uninvited to Mrs. Andrew's and Mrs. Bell's mothers group," Josie replied. "It's definitely because of what Anne was talking to us about yesterday. My mother said she's a bad influence."

"You asked her to tell you though," Penny reminded the girl.

"Mother said to be careful," Tillie spoke up.

Penny furrowed her eyebrows. It had been less than a day since Anne had spoken to the girls and already, it was affecting families and the community. Penny loved living in Avonlea, it was small, quiet, and everyone knew everyone.