Disclaimer: Anne of Green Gables, all characters, places, and related terms belong to L. M. Montgomery and Sullivan Entertainment.
Carrots, Carrots!
Chapter 1: Carrots: Name Calling
Gilbert Blythe paused in his reading to stare at the girl sitting across the aisle from him. Her blazing red-carrot hair was in the usual two braids, allowing him a good view of her profile.
He would not have exactly called her pretty, with her countless freckles and red hair; but there was something sort of dreamy about her, and she had such large grey green eyes that Gilbert was very intrigued by her. Here was a girl very different from the other girls of Avonlea.
Anne Shirley, he thought to himself, Anne with an "e." He couldn't help smiling as he recalled her words to Mr. Phillips about the spelling of her name.
His smile faded a bit, though, as the girl stayed bent over her book, either unaware of his stare or simply ignoring him. He folded up a small piece of paper into a ball. Checking to make sure Mr. Phillips was occupied with helping Prissy Andrews in the back of the classroom, Gilbert tossed the ball of paper into Anne's lap. Diana Barry, seated next to her, looked over at him before glancing at her friend. But Anne still did not turn her head towards him.
Gilbert was now feeling a bit frustrated at his unsuccessful attempts to make her look at him; indeed she should look at him! He had never had trouble getting a girl's attention before. He started folding up another piece of paper and then paused. Why not do what he had done to all the other girls? A triumphant light filled his eyes. Now Miss Anne Shirley would surely pay attention to him!
A smug smile tugging on the corners of his mouth, he leaned across the aisle, tugged on one of the red braids, and hissed, "Carrots, Carrots!"
His trick worked, though not producing the desired effect. The words had barely left Gilbert's mouth when Anne was on her feet and glared down at him, fury in her eyes, a great contrast to the shy girl he had first spotted at one of the Sunday picnics. And unconsciously he shrank under her glare.
"How dare you!" she shouted in a loud voice.
And then he winced in surprise as she slammed her slate down on his head, breaking it into pieces! For a moment he stared at Anne in disbelief; she returned his gaze, her anger replaced by shock.
"Anne Shirley! What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Phillips demanded sternly, quickly coming up to them.
"It was my fault, sir," Gilbert said, his eyes wavering between his teacher and Anne. "I was teasing her."
But he was spared any punishment for his part; Mr. Phillips placed Anne in front of the blackboard where she stayed the rest of the day, and wrote on it one hundred times, "Anne Shirley has a very bed temper."
Gilbert felt guilty for getting Anne into trouble, for it really was his entire fault. But he had no idea she would take his name calling so sorely. He had not meant any harm; he had just wanted to talk to her. He was determined to make it up to her, and so he waited outside the schoolhouse when she was kept after class.
Eventually she came out, her face tired and glum. She allowed Diana to take one of her arms, and they started to leave the school yard. Gilbert quickly went after them.
"Anne, wait!" he called, and the girls stopped. Diana glanced at him, but Anne looked forward. Feeling uncertain, he went on, "I'm sorry for teasing you about your hair. Don't be mad at me for keeps."
The girl with grey green eyes looked at him only once: her face stern and a little pale, her eyes hard and full of renewed anger. No words were uttered. Her face spoke of her refusal to accept his apology. She turned her face away from him and walked on, her head up high. She did not give him one backwards glance.
Gilbert stared after her, amazed. She had not forgiven him and apparently would be mad at him for keeps. It now would be a lot harder than he had thought to get to know her.
Several of his friends called to him, and he went off with them. But while the boys joked with each other, his thoughts stayed centered on one Anne Shirley.
TBC…