A Similar String | Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe

Six | School House Rivalry

Anne felt she had done a splendid job cutting the strings, so splendid, in fact, that she felt almost guilty. The look on Gilbert's face after he read the note . . . That heartbroken expression was permanently etched on the back of her mind for the rest of the night.

However Anne did not think she had made the wrong decision. It really was best for everyone involved if they ended that truce made a half a year ago. Best for Gilbert because she wasn't right, for him, best for herself because she would never feel the same way she thought Gilbert did, and best for Ruby because if anything were to ever happen between Anne and Gilbert, it would break the girl's heart.

Even though there was nothing Anne would take back, it didn't mean she didn't regret what had to be done.

From that day onward things were different. Anne and Gilbert threw themselves into their schoolwork like there lives depended on it. Unable to interact any other way, the strove to outshine each other in every class, but now the competition was not the friendly rivalry which has existed between them on Gilbert's first day back to school.

Anne had declared a war the moment she ended the truce and they had become rivals.  Now it was just a matter of who would surrender first.

For Gilbert competing with Anne was the only way he had to interact with her. He had matured very much during his travels and was no longer the kind of boy who yanked on girls hair to get their attention. He decided he would not bother Anne, but hoped that she would eventually come around.

If Anne thought that her outshining him in class would make Gilbert's feelings toward her fade away, she was very much mistaken — in fact, it made him like her more.

Despite his hurt at her cold-shouldering him for absolutely no apparent reason, Gilbert could not help but revel in her accomplishments. She was so determined and intelligent — what was there not to like about that?

Even as he strove to beat her, Gilbert enjoyed Anne's triumphs against him.

Each improved drastically in only a few weeks time, the reason being that they were both pushing themselves to better the other. If Anne out-spelled Gilbert one day, she would find defeat in multiplication the next day.

The other students were baffled by the intensity and stubbornness of these two students, and after a while they stopped trying to understand them and just let Anne and Gilbert carry on as they pleased.

Amidst this heartfelt war in the Avonlea School house arose the matter of Charlie Sloane's sixteenth birthday party. This was not at all Charlie's idea, but his mothers, and she sent out all the invitations despite her sons protesting groans.

Anne was at the Barry's helping Diana to bake a most scrumptious looking cake when the Barry's Maid, MaryJoe, came in with the mail Mr. Barry fetched from the post office that very afternoon.

"A letter for you, Miss Diana," said Mary Joe, coming into the kitchen and laying the letter on the table amongst the field of baking equipment. "From Charles Sloane."

Anne and Diana frowned at each in confusion (why would Charlie Sloane's be writing to Diana?) then Diana wiped their floury hands on their aprons, and eagerly read the note. Anne put down the bowl of cake batter so she could read it over Diana's shoulder.

"Charlie is having a birthday party on the sixteenth!" squeaked Diana excitedly after her eyes had scanned the page. "And all the students are invited!"

For a moment Anne's heart swelled in excitement. Her first birthday party! Then she remembered whose birthday it was, and who that persons best friend happened to be.