#anneshirleycuthbert

trying their best to shy away their feelings but are already head over heels from the start!!! 🤭🤭🤭

“She’s just a friend.” 

“She’s just an associate.” 

is that so??? *coughs*

Miss Stacey became accustomed to Avonlea and her new students fairly quickly, something she took great pride on. Their names were all memorized within the first week she came back after her (rather terrifying) board meeting, and it seemed most of the children were easy to decipher.

She knew how to give criticism to Ruby without making her upset, how to shut down Josie's comments without resentment, and perhaps most impressively, how to keep Moody from almost passing out before every exam.

But Anne Shirley-Cuthbert wasn't like most children. Sometimes she would be completely immersed in class, raising her hand at every question asked, and then a few more times to pose her own, and other times she would be so lost in thought Diana had to shake her so she could answer a question that Miss Stacey directed at her.

One of the sole constant parts of Anne was her desire to learn, which Miss Stacey, obviously, found exceptional. The other part was her taste for drama, which was a bit less pleasant.

Just that morning was an example. Gilbert had come early as usual to expand on his studies, and they were sitting quietly at the empty desks, Miss Stacey correcting his paper on a news article she had pulled for him. Anne had burst through the doors, panting, and both of them had turned immediately to her. Her eyes went wide, and then she spun around and ran out of the schoolhouse.

Gilbert couldn't seem to focus on the book he was reading after that. He kept looking towards the window, and his leg began to bounce.

That's when Miss Stacey realized there was something more than an academic rivalry between them.

----------------

"Alright, we have our final presentations today," Miss Stacey said as the kids started filing in. Anne was walking next to Diana, as close as they could possibly be while whispering to her. Diana closed her eyes and sighed, smiling gently at Anne and led them to their seats.

Watching with eagle eyes now, Miss Stacey noticed Gilbert's gaze flicker to Anne's seat as she sat down, but then he buried his head into his book with a resolute look. Anne seemed to be taking all measures to avoid looking at him.

Miss Stacey wasn't one to intervene with her student's lives. It was their business, and she had made it very clear she didn't condone any form of gossip. So she let the two of them be and asked Tillie and Jane to present.

The students all had to choose a topic to do research on and then explain it to the class in an attempt to widen their minds. Anne seemed to be the only one really interesting in each subject, perhaps Gilbert as well. Everyone else was slumping in their seats as the two girls explained with very little gusto the way fashion from Europe traveled to Canada over time.

By the time their presentation finished, Moody was dozing, Charlie was flicking a ball of paper around his desk, and all of the girls were lightly whispering among themselves. Tillie and Jane immediately joined them when they sat down.

Miss Stacey sighed, leaning on her desk as she watched the class. Clapping her hands roughly, all the head perked up with the sudden noise, and she nodded.

"Very good, girls. That's the last of our presentations. I must say, I'm very impressed with all of you. The research was well founded and you spoke eloquently. Now, I think it's time we brought a bit more life into this room, don't you think? Up!"

Anne was the first to stand, the others following her suite. Moody was still drooping from being half-asleep.

"What would you all like to do? Something lively, I hope, but with academic value. Any suggestions?"

"Baseball," she thought she heard one of the boys say, and Miss Stacey clarified, "Did you old teacher have any activities?"

The children all began to shift uncomfortably at the mention of Mr. Phillips, but Charlie spoke up. "We would have spelling bees."

"That's a wonderful idea. Any other ideas? Perhaps a geography bee, where you attempt to answer questions about foreign countries."

"We don't learn about other countries," Josie said stiffly.

"Well, there's no time like the present. Everyone come to the front of the classroom while I get my atlas."

The students shuffled towards the front, firmly divided by boys and girls. Josie was rolling her eyes as the others shifted nervously.

"No need to worry, it's all for fun," Miss Stacey added, grabbing the atlas from where it was under her globe. Hesitating a bit, she also grabbed the globe, carrying it to the front of the student desks, facing the kids. "Alright, who would like to go first?"

The girls nearly shoved Anne forward, who smiled.

"Alright, Anne. I suppose we should start easy. Name a country in Europe."

"France," she said immediately, and Miss Stacey nodded as she stepped back to the back of the line of students. Gilbert's eyes never left her. Miss Stacey tried to ignore the interaction, continuing with Moody, and then Billy, and then Gilbert.

She tried not to look at Anne, but curiosity ruined her resolve as she glanced toward her after asking Gilbert what eight countries the Alps are a part of. It wasn't inappropriate to be interested in her student's relationships, she told herself. It's just human nature, and their lives were very dramatic. But she would not get involved.

Anne's face was schooled until Gilbert got the answer right. A corner of her mouth tilted down as Miss Stacey nodded at him, watching the redhead from the corner of her eye.

The class rotated through the questions, but most of them were out on their second turn as they became increasingly difficult. The final three were Anne, Gilbert and Diana, to barely anyone's surprise. Diana knew the most about European history, so when her next turn came, Miss Stacey asked about Africa, and left her dumbfounded.

The class was now riled up, the girls cheering for Anne and the boys for Gilbert. Gilbert was smiling at Anne, and her eyes narrowed for a split second when something flashed in her and she smiled back.

"Anne, where is the only sea without coasts?"

Anne thought for a second, her eyes lifting to the ceiling. "Um...the...Baltic Sea?"

Miss Stacey smiled. "That's incorrect, I'm sorry. Gilbert has won."

The boys all cheered and the girls groaned, but Anne and Gilbert didn't move. Anne turned to Gilbert, inhaled deeply, and stuck out her hand.

"Congratulations," she said.

"I didn't know the answer, either," Gilbert said. "I just got lucky."

Anne nodded and walked back to her seat, but Gilbert was still watching her as Charlie clapped him on the back.

Gilbert (to Anne): Who would have thought we would have made such a good team?