𝓐 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓐𝓭𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 || 𝓖𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽 𝓑𝓵𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓮

Flora's Vendetta

Of all the four seasons, winter was the worst. Flora didn't like the cold, nor did she enjoy the snow which made the walks to and from school more like hikes to and from school. And she certainly did not like when her brothers came home to hug her with their jackets covered in snow. Of course, they knew how much she disliked it, which was why they never missed an opportunity.

But at this moment, Flora didn't care that it was winter. At this moment, all that mattered was this competition.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, Flora maintained that these competitions were the very reason she walked this earth. Without a chance to show that she was the best, what was the point of all this? She needed to prove that she was at the top. She needed to prove it to everyone. And she would.

Flora Thompson never passed up a chance to participate for the girls in the spelling bees. As much as she despised reading passages in front of the class, she was proud to answer questions or spell words. She was proud to do anything that showed her classmates how intelligent she was.

She had to win.

Of course, Flora knew that her competitive spirit was frightening. Oliver told her so, Diana and Ruby told her so...The twins, not so much. They tended to encourage her, which had to contribute to how it ended up this bad. Either way, Flora didn't care how much it scared her friends. She would fight until she won, and she would settle for nothing less than total victory.

Cheers would fill the class every time someone got a word right. As always, the competition was boys against girls. However, as always, there was only one person who Flora really considered her competition.

No matter how hard she tried, she hadn't yet managed to beat him. That said, Gilbert Blythe never managed to beat her, either. It seemed that neither of them was willing to give up, which always meant that Mr. Phillips had to put the contest to an end himself. And because of that, Flora became more and more determined every month.

She had to beat him. Even if it was the last thing she ever did, she had to beat him.

"Too easy! Too easy!"

"Boo!"

Of the eight that started out, only five were left; three on the girls' side and two on the boys'. It's true; when reading aloud at her desk, Flora would try to make herself as small as possible. But during spelling bees, she always stood tall at the front of the class. Her posture reflected her confidence; no matter what word Mr. Phillips called, she would spell it out with ease.

She hadn't misspelled a word in two years, and she wasn't about to break the streak now.

"Spell "amorous"."

"Amorous," Tillie nodded. "a-m-o-r...u -- "

Mr. Phillips groaned out loud. "Wrong. Sit down." The boys cheered. If Flora wasn't so focused, she might have noticed their teacher looking at one person in particular. "Spell "gorgeous"."

Moody went next. "G-o-r...g-i -- "

Another groan. "Ugh, sit down, you butcher of beauty." After patting Gilbert's arm, Moody returned to his seat. "Spell "captivating"."

Not a challenge in the slightest. Flora didn't hesitate. "C-a-p-t-i-v...a-t-i-n-g."

Mr. Phillips blinked in disinterest. "Correct." Once the girls' cheers died down, he turned his back to them again. "...Ostracize?"

Gilbert furrowed his brows on the boys' side of the room. "O-s-t...r-a-c...i-z-e."

Flora rolled her eyes. Mr. Philips still didn't face them. "That would seem to be correct." Gilbert smiled as the boys cheered again. "Haughty."