𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 ᵍⁱˡᵇᵉʳᵗ ᵇˡʸᵗʰᵉ

01

-🌸-

CHAPTER ONE

If a flower from a cherry blossom tree was a person, it would be Penny Swanson.

With her golden hair that ran through the family and green eyes darker than an emerald necklace, her parents took great pride in their daughter. Margot and Vance Swanson thoroughly enjoyed putting her in pink frilly dresses and lacing flowers through her hair. Penny was the height you would expect a thirteen year old girl, despite the clean white boots her mother placed on her feet.

Christian was like that too, blonde hair, tall, deep blue eyes. Penny had heard the words, your brother is so handsome, too many times in her life. The Swanson's set out an image all parents used when comparing their children. It was always: "Why can't you be like that pretty Penny down the lane?" or "Christian Swanson is always so polite, you should talk to him about your manners."

Penny knew that parents used her as a way to make their children find the motivation they didn't have. Honestly, she didn't quite know how she felt about it.

The Swanson's had an image of the perfect family. With their good genes and their wealth, Penny and Christian were always expected to put their best foot forward when it came to school, or picnics with the rest of Avonlea.

Yet, only one of the siblings really got the message.

Penny walked beside her older brother, basket, slate and school books in hand. Christian walked beside her, sneaking glances in her basket which held lunch for the two of them. As he stuck his hand into it, Penny pulled it away, smoothing out the lace cover on it. "Stop trying to take food."

"It's our food." Christian shrugged. "And I'm hungry."

He frowned as Penny began to step away from him. "Come here."

"No you're going to hit me."

Christian rolled his eyes, dragging his feet behind his sister in boredom as the two continued to walk to school. Penny never liked school that much. She went to see her friends. Not to learn. She didn't understand most of the things Mr. Phillips spoke about, leading her to be one of his least favorites. She got help from her father whenever she needed something.

Christian on the other hand, was smarter than Penny in all aspects of education. When tests rose, the two swapped notes in class. Christian giving her the answers or mouthing them to her in class, and Penny repaying him by baking him whatever cakes or tarts he wanted.

Penny often thought Christian did better than her in school because of his friends. His best friend was Gilbert Blythe, the top student in class. Gilbert often turned up at the Swanson household to finish schoolwork with Christian, or to just spend time with his friend. Because he was best friends with her brother, he too often helped Penny when he saw her struggling at the kitchen table, hunched over a math's problem.

Penny and Gilbert were friends, and because he was around so much, they had formed a slight brother sister bond. They were childhood friends, but that was all that they would be. 

Penny made an effort not to talk to Gilbert as much as possible in school hours out of respect to Ruby. But out of school, she spoke to him when he spoke to her first. Ruby didn't mind Penny talking to Gilbert, seeing as she spent time with him often. Ruby trusted her friend, and Penny would rather lose everything than break a friends trust. 

As the two siblings continued walking down the lane, a wide grin made its way onto Penny's face at the sight of a girl wearing a blue dress dancing down the second pathway. The Barry's and Swanson's were neighbors, the two pathways of their houses leading into one. At exactly seven each morning, the two girls met up at the connecting pathways to walk to school together.