˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

thirty-eight

cole hasn't been to school for a while, he stopped attending after the issue with mr. philips. autumn had told him that he left, but still he never showed. she knew it had to have been because of billy. "please promise me you'll stop." she begged him, wanting him to work harder at getting better. billy sighed, rubbing his forehead. "autumn, i have been trying. it's not my fault that cole won't come back to see it. i'd do anything for you, you know that. but this is just a bit harder for me." he holds her hands in his, intertwining their fingers. she nods, understanding his position. she knew that it wasn't primarily billy's fault, but he did have something to do with it. the two stood outside of the school house, standing in front of each other with fingers intertwined and billy's lips pressed to autumn's forehead. she smiles warmly at him, leaning more towards him and his heat. "let's go inside." he says, opening the door for her. she nods and enters the room, putting away her coat and hat. she waited for billy once she was finished, the two walking in simultaneously. the class was scattered throughout the classroom. the couple joined everyone, talking amongst themselves. marilla stood at the head of the class, watching curiously. she smiled at autumn and billy, admiring their likeness towards one another. she asks miss stacey about the desks, why she had moved them to the edges of the room. "i call it a forum for hands on learning." the young woman smiles, trying to begin her lesson. she calls for everyone to move into the circle as they had the day before. she asks if anyone knew what electricity is, receiving a couple of responses. light and electricity.

miss stacey goes on, explaining forms of energy and how it is created. the topic turns to light bulbs. autumn's home was filled with them, as she was wealthier. "with a light bulb, scientists have found a way to send electric currents atoms carrying energy into a full container full of gas of a different type of atom and when those two types of atoms meet they exchange their energy and create," miss stacey was interrupted by anne and gilbert. "light!" they say in unison, smiling at one another with amazement. miss stacey chuckles, "and so here in avonlea, with a little ingenuity and some prince edward island potatoes, we have electricity." she had created light using potatoes. everyone became excited, even billy. his eyes were wide with curiosity as he looked at autumn, wanting to be sure she saw what he had. she giggles at his amazement before turning her head to the door once she hears it open. in walks many of the parents, who had made up a group called the pmsc. they essentially choose who is best fit to teach the children. the women cleared their throats, hoping to gain miss stacey's attention. "why, hello!" she exclaims, rushing to mrs. pye and mrs. andrews. "good timing, we were just brightening our day. won't you join us?" the parents murmur, speaking with miss stacey. meanwhile, every child in the circle waited patiently. except for moody, that is. earlier in the lesson they had discussed matter, how everything is made up of it. from the walls of the school to chocolate cake, everything was matter. because of this discussion, moody had gotten the idea that perhaps the lightbulb tasted like chocolate. he said this aloud, "does it taste like chocolate?" anne, autumn, and gilbert all yelled out for him. "no!" they exclaimed, but they were too late. he had bit into the light bulb, burning his tongue and giving him a shock. "my child! my child!" mrs. spurgeon calls out, beckoning for someone to help him. miss stacey rushes to the boy, analyzing the area. "logic dictates that there are no shards under your feet, and i'd like to keep it that way." autumn volunteers to fetch a broom, earning a head nod from the teacher before she rushed to the supply cabinet. autumn grabbed the broom, speed-walking to miss stacey and moody, who stayed still through the entire process. what would become of miss stacey? surely the pmsc wouldn't continue to let her teach here. once the mess was picked up, mrs. spurgeon rushed to her son. "what if the glass had cut your face?" she scolds, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the teacher. he begs his mother to stop, repeating that it was his own fault. she denies his pleas, scolding him whilst looking at miss stacey. "you should have been sitting, safe and sound at a desk." mrs. pye nods, along with the other mothers. "we expect this classroom to be orderly and calm, and we expect you to conform to the curriculum." she says, glaring at the woman. miss stacey's face falls, saying that science is a part of the curriculum. "that wasn't science, that was prestidigitation!" mrs. andrews says, earning a scoff from marilla. this caught everyone's attention. marilla was typically quiet, rarely did she ever speak on such topics. especially in front of all the other mothers. the pmsc looked at her, waiting for an explanation for her action. "it was an excellent lesson." she says, looking at miss stacey. billy, jane, and prissy stayed quiet, embarrassed by their mother. "we want our children to learn, safely, what is required to prepare them for higher education." she says, looking at her three children. autumn speaks up. "but miss stacey has taught us so much! she wants to be here, she is dedicated to teaching us and she is perfectly capable of doing so." she folds her arms, looking at billy's mother. soon, the rest of the class began to speak out, supporting miss stacey. they say they dream to be like her, anne being the one who brings up her "tragical romance", which she is then given a sarcastic reply from the teacher. the group of mothers gasp, finishing the conversation with threatening miss stacey.

the walk home was dreary, autumn pondered on the thought of not having miss stacey. billy had wanted to walk home with his friends, which autumn was not particularly fond of seeing as the amount of trouble the three of them get into. so she walked home alone, taking the long way. in the distance, she can hear anne yelling at billy to leave the fox alone, followed by his laugh and footsteps. they came closer and closer towards her, until she could hardly see his blonde hair through the trees. she smiled to herself, the idea of billy being close helped her feel safe. that is, until she hears two voices behind her. it was them, and billy was farther away than before. "autumn! long time no see, huh?" jeff says, swinging his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer into him. kyle laughs, coming up next to the two. she ignored them both, walking faster. still, jeff's arm held her shoulders to his body. no matter how fast she tried to move, it was hopeless. "what do you two buffoons want?" she rolls her eyes, her heart secretly racing. jeff smiles creepily, locking eyes with kyle as they exchange a look. "oh, nothing. how are you and billy going?" kyle asks, now directly beside the girl. she jumps at his newly found presence, sending chills down her body. "we're good, seeing as you two haven't interfered." she said coldly, looking around for her blonde beau. the two chuckle, stopping in their tracks and let autumn continue walking. she stops, noticing that they were no longer with her. she turned around, meeting eyes with kyle who smiled sincerely. perhaps he was like billy, the way he is to please others. jeff had his back turned to the girl, looking around the woods. kyle quickly tapped his foot, whispering to his friend before making his way to autumn. "you need to go." he said forcefully, grasping her arm hard. she winced in pain, ready to kill him with a look. "i like you, you're good for billy. jeff is planning something bad and i'm trying to help you, okay? please, leave. run." his voice was low and raspy, trying to maintain a whisper while being loud enough for her to hear. he truly wanted to help her. autumn nodded, understanding his directions and silently slipped away while jeff wasn't looking. once out of view of the boys, she ran home.

///

i'm extending the final chapter to forty one! i'm sorry this took so long to update, i had to take a mental health break. i love you all.

xxx,
sofia rain