OLLIE ➪ GILBERT BLYTHE

『S E V E N 』

⇎CHAPTER SEVEN

||pretty brown eyes||

" first time ever i was lost for words "

" i could tell she was a wild one "

***

"Open your readers to page 32, we will read aloud Barry Cornwell's poem the fisherman." Mr. Phillips says as he walks paces around the classroom.

"Finally, something I can do well." Anne says to Olivia and she smiles at her friend.

"Diana Barry, stand and begin." He snaps at her. Diana stands up and begins reading. She struggles with pronouncing some of the words and Mr. Phillips makes her sit back down.

"New girls, up and continue." He snaps at Anne and Olivia.

They both stand and Olivia begins. "O'er the wild waters labouring, far from home. For some bleak pittance e'er compelled to roam." Olivia looks up briefly to see the reactions of her classmates and her eyes widen when she sees Gilbert staring at her. She quickly buries her face back into the book. "Few hearts to cheer him through his dangerous life. And none to aid him in his stormy strife."

Anne jumps in. "Companion of the sea and silent air." She swings her arms around and Olivia catches on. 

"The lonely fisher thus must ever fare," Olivia says dramatically.

From the other side of the room, Gilbert leans toward Charlie, continuing his staring at the girl. "She's good...invested."

"Without the comfort-" 

"hope,"

"-with a scarce a friend, he looks through his life and only sees,"

"It's end!" Anne bows her head abruptly. The class erupts in chuckles and giggles and Olivia lets out a melodious laugh, giving Anne a high-five.

"Sit down!" Mr. Phillips booms. "Sweet merciful lord."

The pair sits down and Diana gives them a small round of applause. The laughter soon turns to making fun of as Josie says how weird they are.

"Josie Pye, read Campbell's Pleasures of Hope, The Downfall of Poland." 

"O sacred truth. Thy triumph ceased awhile."

_

It was lunch time now and Olivia sat on a rock near the stream, picking at nearby plants. The girls stand on the opposite end of a window, whispering about themselves while Anne throws stones into the water.

"Hey, I-uh-thought you'd like to try one." Gilbert stands in front of Olivia, holding out an apple. "They're from our orchard. They're real sweet." He adds on.

Olivia gives him a small glance, seeing the girls staring at her behind him, before turning her attention back to the plants.

"Can you just please go away." Olivia mumbles.

"I beg your pardon?" Gilbert furrows his eyebrows.

"You need to walk away, right, now." She demands, not looking at him. Olivia knew how much Anne wanted to be the girl's friends so if Olivia didn't do what they told her to do, Anne was guilty by association.

"I'm sorry, I can-" Gilbert starts but Olivia cuts him off.

"Read my lips, I don't want to talk to you" She sasses at him, jumping up from her seat.

"Why not?" He asks, oblivious to the fact that there are four girls staring them down just a few feet behind him.

"Ugh." She lets out an annoyed huff, grabbing her things and moving around him. Gilbert watches her walk away from him as he sighs, shaking his head. 

He'll never understand girls.

_

After lunch the class was all seated quietly in their seats, working on the math problems that sit on the board in the front of the room.

Anne was quietly humming to herself and Olivia was twirling a strand of her hair on her pointer finger when something hits Olivia on the shoulder. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looks down to see a paper. Turning around she sees Gilbert with an identical piece in his hand. 

Letting out an annoyed huff, she flips her long brown hair over her shoulder and faces toward the front. Another piece of paper is whirled in her direction but instead, it hits Anne who is next to her.

Olivia clenches her jaw and ignores the fire burning in her stomach. Instead, she continues to do her math but this time a piece of chalk hits her in the head and she digs her fingernails so far deep into her palm that it turns red.

Olivia feels a presence next to her and she uses every ounce of strength in her to ignore the boy. "Oops." He whispers, dropping an apple onto her desk.

Her eyes glance at it and then back up to the board. Hushed whispers erupt around the classroom but she can barely hear them over the pounding of her heart. "Hey," Gilbert slightly knocks her shoulder and she can feel heat rush to her cheeks as she stays still.

"Hey, you brown-headed ditz." He says a bit louder, yanking on her hair. 

Olivia gasps and stands up abruptly. "I said I'm not talking to you!" She says and she hears the 'smack' of her hand connecting to his cheek. When her eyes finally focus in on him, he has a hand on his slightly red cheek and a surprised look on his face.

It takes a second for him to look back at her but she's startled when he has a slight smile on his lips. "You just did."

"Olivia! Get up here right now!" The teacher shouts from in front of the classroom and she looks to see him with a fuming look on his face.

Laughs come from Olivia's fellow students but as the teacher yells that they stop. Ollie walks slowly to the teacher and he writes something on the board behind her.

"Is this what that drunken father of yours teaches you? And adding to that you befriending that orphan." He mutters and Olivia's jaw falls open, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You incognizable and insensible jerk!" She yells at him and the class lets out a low 'Ooo'.

"What did you just call me?" He turns to her and she glares at me.

"You heard me!" She shouts. "My father is no drunk, and Anne is an amazing person so you can take your unwanted opinions and put them where the sun doesn't shine!" Grabbing her books, she stomps out of the classroom and it's only when she's outside that she realizes what she's done and she starts running for home.

Olivia assumes everyone hates her now for what she said about their teacher but little does she know that Gilbert Blythe thinks it was incredibly brave and even a little bit attractive.