A Similar String | Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe

Five | the truce

Anne and Carrie were indeed "late together", however their togetherness did not make the situation any better.

Mr. Phillips had long harbored an undeserved grudge against Anne Shirley and the moment she was a toe-step tardy he was quick to punish her. The moment she stepped inside the classroom he barked, "Shirley!"

Anne gave Carrie a gentle push and the girl went scurrying to her seat at the front of the room. Mr. Phillips didn't even notice the little girl.

Anne held her chin high as she faced the teacher's anger. Gilbert turned around in his seat to see what was going on. He looked ready to jump from his seat and come to Anne's defense.

Mr. Phillips glowered at the girl from behind his absurd mustache. "I'll have you know that we pride ourselves on punctuality in this school, and any student who fails to meet these expectations will be punished severely."

Anne was far from frightened by the man's threats. "I mean no disrespect, sir, but you didn't punish Gilbert Blythe yesterday when he came in late, so I don't see how it would be fair to punish me."

Mr. Phillips eyes bulged. He was livid. "'I don't see how it would be fair to punish me'" he mimicked. "Oh don't you, Shirley?"

Anne shook her head.

"You've just given me an idea for how to punish you." Mr. Phillips sounded almost gleefully. "Shirley, since you seem so fond of Gilbert Blythe, you may take the seat next to him for the rest of the day."

The other boys snickered. Gilbert looked at Mr. Phillips in alarm, and Anne stared at him blankly.

"Did you hear what I said?" demanded Mr. Phillips.

"Y-yes," said Anne with a tremble in her voice. "But I didn't suppose you really meant it."

"Oh I assure you I did." Mr. Phillips spun around to look at the desk where Gilbert and Charlie sat. "Sloane — up! Go to the back! Anne Shirley will have your seat."

Charlie smirked slightly at Gilbert as he got up and left, but Gilbert did not find the situation amusing.

"But, Mr. Phillips, that doesn't seem fair—" started Gilbert.

"Quiet Blythe!"

Anne looked back and forth between Mr. Phillips and Gilbert. For a second she considered fleeing from the school house, but she realized that would be accepting defeat.

Chin trembling slightly, Anne walked haughtily up the aisle and slid into the seat next to Gilbert, without looking at him. She sat on the edge of the seat, as far away from him as she could be without falling off. Gilbert shifted away so there was even more space between them.

They both glanced at each other at the same time, then looked away just as quickly. Gilbert fell to to working fractions like his life depended on it, and, overtaken by a grieved embarrassment, Anne buried her red face in her arms on her desk. Though she couldn't see them, Anne could hear the other students laughing.

This was too much for Anne's prideful little heart to bare. First it had been their names up on the board, and now they were being forced to sit together. It would've been humiliating to have to sit with any boy — but for that boy to be Gilbert Blythe! The boy who might be in love with her! The situation could not have been worse.

Gilbert Blythe was faced with a problem much harder to solve than the fractions in front of him; was Anne upset with him?

She'd seemed very stiff and rather snappy when he'd addressed he under the hemlock tree, and she made it obvious she didn't want to be near him when she took the long way around to school.