In the Woods When First We Met

29. More Carrots

As class started, Gilbert kept his eyes on Anne. She seemed, for some reason, to have been shunned by the girls. Diana seemed to be the only girl not shooting daggers.

Anne was keeping her head down, but Gilbert felt sure she noticed how the other girls were treating her. What had happened?

It wasn't just the girls treatment of her, though. There was more to it than that.

Anne was more jittery this afternoon than he'd ever seen her.

Every time Diana's elbow moved, as she wrote on her slate, Anne's shoulders twitched. When the two girls in front of Anne giggled at something, Anne's head snapped up, startled. When Josie Pye dropped her slate pencil on the floor, Anne visibly jumped, making the other girls laugh.

Gilbert regretted that he hadn't had time to ask Anne what Billy had said or done. All he'd asked is "Did anything-" and of course "happen" would have been the next word. Anne had shaken her head before he'd finished the question. And then, stupidly, he'd let his attention be diverted to her spilled lunch, instead of asking her about what was more important- what Billy had tried to do.

Yes, Anne had shaken her head that nothing had happened. But what did that mean? Did that mean that Billy hadn't even had a chance to say anything to her, to threaten her? Did it mean he hadn't touched her? Hadn't hit her? Gilbert didn't know.

Maybe Billy hadn't done anything at all. Maybe just turning around and seeing him had triggered her nerves and caused this sudden bout of jitters. Clearly Anne had been shaken by the encounter, brief as it was.

When Gilbert saw Josie Pye lean back to whisper something to Tillie, and then laugh meanly, Gilbert decided he had had enough. He didn't know what the big joke was, but it was plain to see that Anne was the target. What could he do?

He decided to get out the apple he'd brought for her and set it on her desk. Due to class being in session, he couldn't talk to her and ask her what was going on, but he could at least remind her that she had a friend in him.

He got the apple out and waited for an opportunity. Once Mr. Phillip's back was turned, he sized up his ability to get away with it and then quickly moved to the girl's side of the room.

He set the apple on her desk.

He remembered how she had said his joke was "cute"-- the one about how eating carrots was what had turned her hair red-- and since she had thought it was cute, he thought that being called 'carrots' would make her smile. That would help, right? He reached out and touched her braid. "Carrots," he whispered with a gentle smile.

The second the word was out of his mouth, Anne stood up and suddenly and unexpectedly smacked her slate across his face, screaming, "Don't talk to me!"

A hush fell over the whole room. You could have heard a pin drop.

Anne stared wide-eyed at Gilbert, who was rubbing his jaw. She couldn't believe what she had just done. No one else could either: the entire room was staring at her as if she were some kind of monster.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Mr. Philips said, "Anne Shirley! Come up here."

Anne stared at Gilbert a second.

Gilbert was staring back at Anne with an expression she could not identify. It was mostly shock, but there was something else in his eyes mixed in with shock and the expression was unidentifiable to her.

She broke eye contact with Gilbert and gazed slowly around the room. Every eye was on her. Every face looked shocked.

"Anne Shirley! I will not ask you again!" Mr. Philips barked at her.

Anne stepped out of her aisle. But instead of walking to the front of the room, she slowly and deliberately walked, head held high, out of the schoolhouse. Mr. Phillips watched her walk out as if he couldn't believe she was defying him.

Anne stepped out into the cold air. She had not stopped to get her shawl, hat, or lunch. She didn't even think of them as she walked out into the school yard.

Once outside, she realized she had been holding her breath and let it out, beginning to breathe heavily.

She didn't want to go back into that building. Afraid Mr. Philips would follow her out, she took off running into the woods.

She kept running. She knew she was alone in the woods, quite sure Billy would still be in the classroom so she kept running until she felt free.

She ran straight to her little house in the woods, climbed in, sat down and cried.

Only one thought repeated itself over and over in her mind: What have I done?