Shirbert in the Modern Era

Chapter Thirteen: The Presentation

It was the day Anne and Charlie were set to present their project on the Odyssey and Anne's mind was in a frenzy, even more so than usual.

Charlie was unaffected.

With every hour that passed, Anne edited the presentation in her head, rearranging sentences and points so that it was most convincing.

Charlie was perfectly satisfied with whatever Anne cooked up; he knew she had the highest grade in the class.

An added stressor for Anne was trying to do better than Gilbert. This presentation was a large portion of their grade and she desperately wanted to stay comfortably ahead of him in English; especially considering he was (just barely!) edging her out in Advanced Geometry.

Of course, she would never tell him she paid such attention to their rivalry. 

In all honesty, she didn't want him knowing that she paid attention to him at all. Especially considering how much of her brain had been clouded by thoughts of him recently.

He was like an electric current running through her mind. She shocked herself again and again with the memory of hugging him after the volley ball game, falling asleep with him on Charlie's couch, all the smirks and smiles and giggles they had exchanged.

She could be in the middle of a class, and one look at him was enough to make her lose focus. She was hyper aware of the way he bit his lip in confusion, the way his head tilted when he laughed, how he leaned back in his seat, hands grasping the legs of the chair.

She was cataloging little details about Gilbert Blythe; for what purpose, she could not imagine. 

For the umpteenth time that day, Anne pushed Gilbert out of her mind. She had a project to focus on.

Anne's class was going after lunch.

Anne couldn't bring herself to eat anything; the noisy cafeteria was grating at her nerves. She needed to be alone with her thoughts.

This is how Anne found herself, as she had many times prior, wandering through the library.

She sat down in her favorite row, and pulled out a battered copy of Pride and Prejudice. Anne felt herself relax just by running her fingers over the cover.

She flipped around, rereading passages she thought were funny or poignant. After a couple of minutes, she heard a commotion behind her, on the other side of the large bookshelf.

Anne whipped her head around to peek at whatever was making the odd noises she was hearing.

Her jaw dropped nearly to the floor when she discovered that the commotion was caused by her cousin Jerry sloppily making out with Jane.

Jane, one of her best friends.

Jane who was currently running her fingers up and down Jerry's back and chest.

Jane, who was well aware of Ruby's crush on Jerry.

Anne was in a daze. She quickly evacuated the library, but was sadly unable to wipe the image from her brain.

Anne's mind was harried with questions, none of which she had the answer to.

Why would Jane do this? Was it the first time? Had she seen Anne? Was she obligated to tell Ruby?

She was in such a state of shock that she forgot she was presenting until her feet carried her into Miss Stacey's classroom.

She picked a desk at random and sat, tuning out the chatter of her classmates.

She didn't notice when Gilbert sat down next to her, or when he spoke, his face quirked into a smile.

"What's wrong Anne? You're not nervous about presenting, are you?"