Metanoia (Shirbert AU)

Carrots

A loud yawn erupts from Moody Spurgeon.

I roll my eyes trying to suppress my own yawn from escaping. Don't get me wrong, I love school and the idea of learning, but the people here are repugnant. Besides, I have yet to find more kindred spirits other than Cole, Ruby, and my best friend Diana Barry. To be fair, it was only my first day at school and I had met the three of them over the summer at Avonlea's annual picnic.

The whole class was assigned to write an essay for our Sense and Sensibility unit, which was the book assigned over the summer break. Though this is my first year, I had already read the book at the orphanage, and what a thrilling read it was. The essay is an opinionated assignment where we have to convince people whether it is more important to use your head or to follow your heart when caught in the complexity of love.

I for one relate to Elinor because she represents sense, good intellect, and superior judgment. She thinks things through and compromises love for the happiness of everyone else, which to me sounds like a very noble and considerate deed.

Marianne, the other of the two sisters represents sensibility. Her approach to love was always to follow the matters of the heart and act on impulse. People of sensibility tend to get so overwhelmed by their feelings that it gets too hard to control. Basically, the argument was between what you think you should feel and what you actually feel.

Mr. Phillips had broken up the assignment so that it would be completed in a span of two months. He wanted us to collect stories from people around us to formulate our opinion before writing. But I didn't need all that to give my opinion, so as the "smartass" I am, (nicknamed by Cole) finished the assignment in the first forty-five minutes of class. Assuming my assignment was completed, I allowed my mind to run free.

I lean my cheek against the palm of my hand as I looked out at the glorious tree down by the river. The wind rustling through her branches created a message that seemed to be calling out for Princess Cordelia to visit and discuss her recent adventures. I send a silent apology to her as I feel a ball of paper hit the back of my head.

My back stiffens and my eyes narrow as I turn to look for the culprit. I wish I hadn't though because once my head had turned, my blue eyes met green like the ocean meets the forest line of Prince Edward Island. The sudden jolt that raced through my veins caused me to jump and I quickly turn back to the whiteboard, awkwardly rereading the directions to distract from what just happened.

Gilbert Blythe.

Diana had pointed him out to me earlier before class. She described him as if he were to be placed on a pedestal, to which I rolled my eyes. But in that quick second of looking at him from a closer distance, I could now understand what Diana meant. His jawline was defined and his features complemented his face nicely. And those eyes...his hazel eyes shined like the sun at first light. Vibrant and alive like the forest as if he were challenging me to react.

My cheeks grew hot and I hoped that my face did not match the dreadful red locks atop my head. Another piece of paper flew at me and my face seemed to grow hotter with rage. My breaths grew stronger and quicker but I suppressed the urge to walk over there and smack the stupid smirk off his face. I didn't even need to turn around to confirm his expression, I could already feel his eyes melting holes into the back of my head.

I heard a chair slide slowly across the floor followed by soft footsteps heading in my direction. An apple was set down in the corner of my desk as the same curly-headed boy crouched down next to me. I shifted my eyes towards the teacher but Mr. Phillips was oblivious to the scene happening behind him, too distracted by his phone.

I tried my hardest not to acknowledge his presence. From my peripheral vision, I could see his eyes traveling across my face trying to decipher my thoughts. I sucked in a breath as I swallowed the lump in my throat. My self-consciousness was suddenly very aware of all the attention and hushed tones directed at us. I shifted under their gaze and my hands started to shake.