The Hired Boy |Ruby Gillis & Jerry Baynard|

Five | help from Anne

"Jerry!"called Anne, marching through the lower level of the Cuthbert's barn. "Jerry Baynard!"

It was Saturday afternoon and Marilla had sent Anne to bring Jerry his dinner. Anne stopped in her tracks and looked around the barn, a plate of food in hand. But there was no Jerry is sight. Only Belle and a few cows blinking at her dolefully as she chewed hay. Anne smiled at them.

"Hello, dearies," said Anne. "You haven't seen that boy anywhere have you? No? I suppose he must be up in the loft."

Anne lifted her skirts and approached the ladder leading up to the hayloft.

"Leave it to Jerry to make me climb up a ladder with this confounded plate in my hand," grumbled Anne.

However she made it up with a fair amount of ease and emerged into the warm, grass-scented hayloft.

There were mountains of hay everywhere. Anne supposed Jerry must be working on the other side of the piles. She set off upon finding him and soon turned a corner and spotted him. He was sitting on a heap of hay.

"Jerry!" Anne exclaimed. "Finally — what are you doing?"

Jerry jumped at the sound of her voice and hastily stowed something out of sight. His face turned red.

"Anne," he said, jumping to his feet. "What're you doing here?"

Anne narrowed her eyes at him. "It was my barn first and I have every right to be here. Besides, I've brought you your dinner so you should be grateful."

"Oh, merci. Thank you," he said, moving forward to take the plate.

Anne squinted at the boy. He seemed out of sorts, and though her imagination was quite vivid, she couldn't fathom why.

"Are you alright, Jerry?" asked Anne.

"What? Oh. Oui. Yes," he said through a mouthful of bread. "I'd better go take care of the animals."

Without another word, Jerry hurried away. Anne watched him go, her mind turning. Slowly she turned on the heel of her boot to face the heap of hay where Jerry had been sitting. Anne considered Jerry to be one of the least mysterious people she knew. What could he be hiding?

With only a small qualm about disturbing Jerry's privacy, Anne went down on her knees and and began searching amongst the hay for whatever it was Jerry had hidden there.

A million possibilities raced through Anne's mind. Perhaps they were love letters? Maybe it was a knife and Jerry was secretly a murderer? Or maybe he'd broken something of value to the Cuthbert's and was too ashamed to admit it.

Anne's freckled face lit up in triumph as her hands fumbled upon something hard and rectangle. Anne pulled the object from beneath the hay. She stared down at one of her very own school books.

Anne had not been expecting that.

Down in the lower part of the barn Jerry absentmindedly ate his dinner and tended to the animals. He'd completely forgot about Anne until he heard her say, "Jerry?"

Jerry looked around and found the redhead standing before him.

"Anne, you are still here?" asked Jerry. "Why did you not go back —"

Jerry saw was Anne was holding in her hands. He froze in the middle of hanging up a cow's water bucket. Water splashed out on to his trousers but he didn't even notice.

"Jerry, why did you have my schoolbook?" asked Anne.

"I was not stealing," said Jerry quickly. "I was only borrowing. I was going to return it to you before Monday."

"I didn't think you stole it," said Anne. "But why did you have it?"

"I can explain. I just wanted to — I was trying —" Jerry hung his head slightly. He would have to tell her. "I was trying to read it, but —"

"Jerry," interrupted Anne. "You don't have to hide it! You could just ask to read it."

"But I can't," said Jerry. He was ashamed at himself for feeling like he might cry. "I can't read it, Anne. It is too difficult. I didn't understand any of it. No one ever taught me."

As Jerry spoke, Anne's forehead had been moving into an expression of greatest sympathy. But when Jerry finally looked up at her with a pitiful expression, Anne smiled.

Anne walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jerry, I will teach you," said Anne.

"Y-you will?" said Jerry in amazement.

"Of course," said Anne. "What are friends for? Besides, I know what it's like to feel like you can't academically keep up with everyone your age. I often struggled with that when I first started going to school in Avonlea but now I am top of my class." Her expression suddenly became disgruntled. "Except when Gilbert is top." Anne shook the unpleasant thought away. "Everyday after school, after you've finished your chores, you and I will go over history, reading and math." Anne was beaming. "It will be incredibly fun!"

Jerry looked hopeful. "Do you think I can learn? I do not speak
English so bad anymore, but it is so difficult to read and write."

"Of course you can learn, Jerry," said Anne. "I believe anyone can learn anything at any age as long as they set their mind upon it."

"Thank you, Anne," said Jerry. "You are a good friend."

Anne beamed.

"Sometimes," added Jerry teasingly.

Anne's beam turned to a frown. "I'd be careful Jerry Baynard, or I might change my mind."

Anne left the barn and Jerry returned to work, smiling and whistling to himself cheerfully.

Jerry had always wanted to go to school, Anne seemed to enjoy herself there a good deal of the time, but now it was becoming urgent. Jerry was fifteen. He was embarrassed that he did not know things other boys his age did. And maybe if he knew more, people would think of him as more than just a hired boy.