Anne with an E - A Modern Remake

Season 1 Episode 2, Spin the Bottle (1)

It was after school, and Josie had instructed the class to stay after Mr. Phillips dismissed them. With the help of the class, they moved the desks and chairs to the side, making room for a circle in the middle. Josie had brought an empty milk bottle, which she had been clutching in her arms, ordering others about. 

"We're going to play spin the bottle. When you spin, whoever the bottle lands on, you must kiss. On the mouth. It has to be boy-girl, boy-girl. Jerry, switch places with Ruby. Charlie, switch with Tillie. Anne, go sit next to Moody, uh Cole, switch with Diana." 

The children obediently stood up and exchanged places. Anne, in particular, could not understand why Josie was orchestrating this humiliating, tormenting game. Her morning hadn't gone exactly great; being beat up by Billy, Josie calling Cole a freak, the class laughing while she read poetry aloud, and Jerry being shamed for not having learned to read. The last thing she wanted to do was to exhaust her energy by participating in some ridiculous game masterminded by Josie Pye. But as Diana pleaded with her to stay, she sighed and decided she would give it a try, though the only thing she wanted to do was to snuggle up in her bedroom and plunge into a sea of thoughts. 

Anne had spent the majority of the school day pondering over the events of this morning. How she stumbled across this charming piece of work whose name she learned was Gilbert. When their eyes met that morning, Anne felt a swarm of butterflies in her stomach. She brushed off the perplexity of emotions that she was feeling as they were foreign to her; she had never witnessed love nor had she ever expected to experience it. After the class laughed at her ever-so-expressive mode of presenting poems, Anne scanned the room to find Gilbert, Charlie, Cole, Jerry, and Diana greeting her with warm applause. She was confused, bewildered, and just utterly flummoxed by their reactions. She understood that the brilliance that danced in her eager eyes was rarely anyone's cup of tea, so why Gilbert? Why Charlie? 

Gilbert did not care to participate in the game but was persuaded after Moody and Charlie begged him to stay. His mind had been racing all day, thinking about the mysterious redheaded girl, Anne, as he counted down the hours to dismissal so he could have a chance to properly introduce himself to her. He promised himself he would study to pursue his vocation in medicine, but all his academic endeavours seemed to have gone out the window when he met Anne. As Josie introduced the rules of the game to everyone, the tiniest radiant thread of hope crossed his mind. He'd secretly hoped that when it was his turn to spin the bottle, fate would point it toward Anne. He smiled softly to himself, stealing glances at the girl, whom he was simply enchanted with. Gilbert, having lived in Avonlea since birth, was familiar with all the girls around the area—they simply wouldn't leave him alone. Yet, none had gone even as close to capturing his heart the way Anne Shirley Cuthbert had the day they coincidentally on their way to school. 

The only thing Jerry wanted to do after classes was to walk home with Anne so she could teach him how to read again. As he went to collect his coat and flat cap from the cloakroom, he saw Anne by the window, muttering something along the lines of Fine, I'll stay. Jerry quickly returned his belongings to the coat hanger and walked toward Diana, Anne, and Cole, asking them what all the commotion was. Diana quickly told Jerry that Josie Pye had organised an activity for all of them to enjoy and that he was to stay as nobody was leaving, not even Anne. Jerry heaved a euphoric sigh of relief, covertly overjoyed with Anne's presence. Jerry had not noticed that Diana had been staring at him all day; watching his fluffy, dark hair sway with the wind and his eyes that only seemed to glisten when he was with Anne. 

Diana had been in love with Jerry ever since she visited the Cuthberts with her parents and Aunt Josephine a year ago. From a high socioeconomic sector of society, Diana knew that her parents would never approve of her affairs with him as he was poor. She had been secretly getting to know Jerry behind her family's back, oftentimes wandering into the barn while he was working and singing to him while he stacked hay. To her, Jerry seemed to be interested too. At least, he was engaging in conversations with her in French, singing along with her, and sharing laughter. It had been a shame that the Cuthberts hadn't sent Jerry to school as Diana so desperately wanted him to accompany her there. Deep down, Diana knew that even if her parents disapproved, she was going to prove to them that love was more than material things. She had previously thought of discussing her forbidden love with Aunt Jo but refrained from doing so in case she sold her out to her parents.