ride with me ➵ ANNE WITH AN E

1

Last day of junior year.

Anne had mixed feelings for the school year coming to a close, but was glad to finally have some weight be taken off her shoulders. This year was easily the most stressed she had ever been and she was not going to let her summer go to waste. She had juggled accelerated courses accompanied by larger workloads, a job, extra curricular activities after school, and researching colleges to attend after graduation. She had many all-nighters and rarely got her full eight hours of sleep, but she was happy and content with the rewarding feeling of straight A's all year long and figuring out what she wanted her future to look like.

Currently, Anne was sat in her English class after just finishing her last final exam for the year. With less than 15 minutes to spare in the period, she glanced around the classroom looking at her peers. She watched as some shared answers with one another while others worked quickly and diligently to get their last words written to make their essays go from great to magnificent. Anne continued her scan around the room when her eyes finally stopped on Gilbert. He was sat rereading his exam essay for the second time in a row. (Anne would know because she counted. Not because she watched him a lot during the one class they had together all year, but to simply keep track for the sake of competition; for she had read hers over three times.)

She watched as a small smile of pride etched across his face from the work he had just completed and his gaze shifted from the paper and met hers. The unexpected and accidental eye contact made Anne's eyes grow wide and she played it off by turning her head to face another classmate. She didn't mean to stare at the boy. It just so happened he looked up just as her eyes were about to pass to another student.

Truth be told, the two always had it out for one another since middle school. They both excelled in academics and made it their goal to be better than the other. And with their senior year coming up, the pair has officially embarked on making larger strides toward valedictorian. As hate for the other fuels their competition, they are nothing more than two sides of the same coin.

Once the bell rang to signal the end of the day, Anne gathered her belongings in her backpack and took her time getting out of the school and to her car. Once out of the classroom, she spotted Diana, Ruby, and Josie waiting for her.

"Anne! I just had the most amazing idea ever!" Ruby shouted as her friend approached the group from across the hallway.

The redhead smiled, "You always have them, Rubes."

"Well, this one is the best of the best. It is going to make this the best summer we've ever had!" The girl cheered and hooked arms with Anne, beginning the walk to the school parking lot. The rest of the group followed closely behind, intrigued to hear what idea Ruby had come up with this time.

"You really think it'll top last year's summer plans?" Diana chirped from behind Anne.

Ruby nodded as the group approached their cars. After releasing her grip on Anne, she began, "Let's have a summer road trip! How fun would that be?" Nods of agreement came from the group and she continued, "We could invite our other friends and find a cheap Airbnb to stay at! Gosh, this is so exciting!"

Anne smiled at her friend's excitement as Josie piped up. "Yeah, that definitely tops last year's plans. Make a group chat, Rubes, I gotta go."

"You got it, J!" Ruby replied and began to walk away. She spun around and waved her arms in the air dramatically, "Goodbye, my loves! See you when I see you!"

Anne chuckled and shook her head at Ruby's playful nature and got into her car, Diana following suit.

While driving to Diana's house, Anne had noticed how uncharacteristically quiet her best friend was. Anne redirected her attention to her friend for a second and saw Diana staring out the window, lost in thought.

"Alright, out with it. What's got you so quiet today?" Anne questioned and turned back to the road. She could see Diana look at her from her peripherals and sigh.

"It's Jerry," Diana stated simply, "He's been-"

"-Distant?" interrupted Anne. In the beginning of their relationship, she was hopeful the two would last. As time passed, they seemed to overcome any hardship thrown at them and make it out almost unscathed.

Diana nodded and turned back to the window. "Something's bothering him, I can tell. I don't want whatever he's hiding to cause the end of us."

Anne had no idea how to console her friend, for she lacked any romantic experience. Luckily, she had just pulled into Diana's driveway. As Diana walked to her front door, she pivoted to give Anne a wave goodbye before stepping over the threshold. With that, Anne made the short journey back to Green Gables.