let me in | shirbert

one ; arrival of the orphan

chapter one ; arrival of the orphan

I woke up to the gentle sunlight streaming through my window, brightening my mood instantly.

Yawning, I became suddenly aware of a sharp jab in my arm and widened my eyes when I realised that it was the spine of my copy of Jane Eyre digging against my skin. I was still fully clothed from the day before and I let out a sigh of relief that Marilla hadn't caught me falling asleep reading again, or I'd have been in big trouble.

Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled over to my new bedroom's window and smiled happily at the sight of the blossoms leaning against it. As I reached my hand out to stroke one, I heard my name being called from downstairs.

"Anne! Come and have your breakfast, you don't want to be late on your first day of school!"

My heart sunk as I registered Marilla's words; today was my first day of Senior year.

Matthew had been offered a job here in Avonlea that payed a lot more than the one back on the mainland, so the Cuthberts and I spent all summer trying to find a house to move into.

Eventually, we found this sweet home and only moved in a day ago, so boxes of my things were still cluttered around my new room. Not that I have many things- only a few keepsakes that I had managed to hide from the orphanage and smuggle away with me, and the things that I had been gifted by the Cuthberts since I had been living with them.

I didn't let them buy me many items, as simply giving me a home and their unconditional compassion was all that I needed and more. However, Matthew in particular seemed to enjoy spoiling me, and even Marilla couldn't bite back her loving smile at my overjoyed gratefulness.

"Anne!" Marilla called again with more exasperation and I jumped away from the window, hurrying over to my boxes.

"Just a minute, Marilla!" I yelled as I searched through the box that I was sure contained most of my clothes.

Within a few minutes, I had successfully pulled on a white, knitted sweater and my black skinny jeans and was trying to force my awful red hair to look more presentable.

I tugged on the ugly strands, finally deciding to style them in two long braids which fell past my chest and glared at them in the mirror. Although I could admit that they were darkening into a pretty auburn colour as I got older, I still wrinkled my nose at my appearance.

I wished that my freckles were less obnoxious against my pale face and that my hair was shiny and raven black, but settled for the fact that my skinny frame had finally formed more womanly curves.

Sighing, I grabbed my school bag and rushed down the stairs to find Marilla and Matthew already sat down at the kitchen table.

"Finally!" Marilla tutted impatiently, scooping oatmeal into my bowl.

"Sorry Marilla, I got distracted by the beautiful blossom tree outside of my window- isn't it just wonderful?" I smiled widely before quickly shovelling the oatmeal into my mouth.

"I'm sure it is," Matthew smiled slightly, and my heart leapt at the simple words. After knowing the kind man for three years, I had discovered that he was the type of person who kept to themselves, struggling to express themselves through their words. So, the fact that he had chosen to speak those four words of encouragement made me beam and forget all about my oatmeal for a brief moment.

"I really hope that everyone will be kind at Avonlea High," I added, looking between Marilla and Matthew insistently, "I'm not worried about the academic side of things- I mean I don't want to blow my own trumpet but some people my age are just plain stupid whereas I-"

"-Anne," Marilla cut me off with a warning stare and I smiled sheepishly in response.

"Sorry, what I mean to say is that I'm more worried about the social side of things- will anyone want to be my friend? It was hard enough to make friends at my old school what with my odd looks and my love for talking, and then as soon as everyone found out that I was an orphan they all avoided me like I had the plague!" I rambled, taking a break to sip on my water,

"Don't overthink things, Anne," Marilla nodded in understanding, "Just be yourself, I have no doubt that you'll make plenty of friends."

I beamed again, having finally finished my oatmeal and rushed to give the Cuthbert's each an appreciative hug. "Thank you, good luck with the job today Matthew, and have spectacular days both of you," I grinned, picking up my bag and skipping out the door.

I slowed down as the crisp September air bit at my pale cheeks, tinging them as red as the braids resting against my shoulders. I marvelled at the scenery around me; the walk to school went through a forest area as Avonlea had a lot of countryside, so I felt peaceful and at one with nature as I smiled at the greenery.

I was pulled out of my trance by the sound of a twig snapping somewhere in front of me, and I immediately searched the trees for the culprit. When I couldn't find any shadow, I tilted my head to look slightly behind me, just in case, when I heard more twigs snap directly in front of me.

"What the-" I cut myself off as I leapt away from the boy who had suddenly appeared in front of me, too close for comfort.

The blonde boy was taller than me, but seemed to be my age, and glared down at my much shorter frame with disgust.

"I heard that an orphan had arrived in Avonlea, but I didn't think that it could be this ugly," He smirked and I instantly fought the tears that threatened to spring into my eyes.

"Well your judgement is clearly dodgy because you're no prince charming," I spat confidently, clenching my fists at my side.

"Oh, so the dog talks, does it?" The guy mocked, pushing me back slightly.

I wobbled against his strength, but simply tugged my bag more securely on my shoulder and cocked my head, trying to seem unaffected.

"Look, I'd love to stay and chat but I'd quite like to get to school today," I commented flippantly, shooting him a challenging look.

"You seem to have a bit of an attitude problem," He glared at me before giving me a stronger shove, sending me falling backwards.

I landed on the dirty ground with a painful thud, and I blinked back the tears quickly, hoping that he hadn't noticed. Luckily, he seemed to be distracted by something behind me. Or, as I corrected once I had craned my head around, distracted by someone.

"Is everything alright here, Billy?"

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a/n ; thoughts so far?? i'd love to here from you!

this is my first ever fanfic so be kind aha, i hope you'll like it

much love
— e x