Chapter Fourteen:
Magnificent And Blissful
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Anne! Anne did you hear the news?" Mabel asked excitedly as she clapped her hands together, "It's...it's...it's.. outstanding! It's groundbreaking!
It's revolutionary!"

"What news? What is it? No, no, no! Wait, wait, let me guess! You saw her too?" Anne took Mabel's gloved hands into her mittened ones and spun her around the school yard. Mabel ignored the stares from her surrounding classmates as her face deepened a shade of red.

"Sorry, saw who?" Mabel tilted her head.

"Why, the woman on the bike, of course! In pants!" Anne exclaimed, separating their hands to jump around excitedly. "She's our new teacher!"

"In pants?"

"In pants!"

"Woah.." Mabel's shoulders slumped as images of Anne in pants flooded her, "She sounds.. amazing."

"She's our future!" Anne exclaimed, gripping Mabel by the shoulders and shaking her violently.

"What's our future?" Ruby asked, appearing with Josie and Diana by her side.

"Pants!" Mabel screamed, giggling shortly after. This attracted the attention of the boys near by for a brief second.

"Pants?" Diana looked shocked, "I'm not so sure about that, Mabel."

"But it's true! I saw a woman, riding a bike, wearing pants! It was-"

"Revolutionary!" Mabel cut her off.

"I agree!"

"Oh, Anne, Mabel.. you have the strangest of ideas." Ruby shook her head, leaning over and placing her milk into the freezing pond.

"Oh, girls! I forgot! My mother asked if any of you would like to join my family and me to see the Nutcracker?" Mabel suddenly remembered, hoping Marilla would agree to let Anne go.

"I'm sorry, Mabel." Diana shook her head, glancing at Anne, "My mother would never agree to that."

"I'll have to ask mine." Josie asked, "I've missed our outings together."

Mabel smiled softly at the taller girl, "So have I."

Anne furrowed her eye brows, as she watched them, an unfamiliar feeling bubbling in her stomach.

"I won't be able to make it either." Ruby frowned, "My mother said what those ballerinas wear is simply... well, wicked."

"That is so terribly unfair!" Mabel groaned, the sound of the school bell ringing gaining her attention.

She and Anne quickly turned and ran to the door.

"Well, my mother was talking to Mrs. Pye and she said that the PMSC felt that Miss Stacy is probably unsuitable."

"But she rides a motorbike!" Anne argued, holding open the door for Mabel, Josie, Diana, and Ruby.

"And wears pants!" Mabel cried, letting the door shut behind her.

"Exactly! Miss Stacy seems modern and thrilling!"

"I heard she's a spinster." Tilley said, taking off her coat.

"I heard she's from the mainland!" Ruby giggled.

"Why would an unmarried woman come from the big city to here? There's a scandal somewhere, you'll see." Mabel quickly followed behind Josie and Ruby as they continued to gossip about her.

"My mother hated Miss Stacy on sight."

"So did mine." Prissy spoke, "Here's a recipe for disaster: Show up an hour late-"

"Dressed like a man." Jane interrupted.

"To tea with the progressive mothers. She may as well have hung a noose around her neck."

"Mine did too.. as well as Catherine."

"Catherine hates everyone." Josie rolled her eyes, "Really, that girl is a tragedy."

"That's not very nice.." Mabel furrowed her eyebrows, "She's my sister."

"She still hates every person she comes across.." Josie shrugged.

"Don't disparage Miss Stacy! You don't even know her. I think she sounds spectacular!"

"I'm going to help pave the way for Miss Stacy. I know just how it is to be new and judged harshly."

Mabel felt every bone in her body freeze once she heard the sound of Billy Andrews' voice.

"That fox? Yeah, it's gonna be dead meat!"

"Fox? What fox?" Anne spun around to face Billy.

"The one with the dark tail that's been stealing chickens." Moody explained, glancing at Ruby briefly.

"Well! There's no fox here. So how's about you put then gun away. I'd like to live to meet the new teacher."

Mabel let out a quiet laugh, covering it with a cough as Billy glared at her.

The door opened and the sound of several things dropping and hitting the ground attracted Mabel's attention.

"Oh.. oh, no." Mabel whispered as she saw Miss Stacy standing there, looking quite flustered.

A makeshift globe rolled until it stopped at Billy's foot.

"Ha! I just laid the world at your feet, didn't I?" Mabel giggled, shaking her head. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Here you go, little lady." Billy winked, handing the globe to her.

"My name is Miss Stacy. Please take that gun outside, a classroom is no place for a weapon."

"Sure.. I was just about to do that."

"Miss Stacy is my new ideal!"

"What a pretty room! So many windows. I love to see green!"

"She seems to be a kindred spirit!"

"I think I just might enjoy coming to school now!" Mabel laughed, leaning on her hand.

"Alright! Let's get to know each other. Please stand up."

"She's not wearing a corset!" Josie gasped.

"Oh, dear.."

"Now, please move all the desks to the side and sit on the floor!"

"The floor?"

"We're going to form a circle and make Introductions!"

Mabel clapped her hands together, stepping over the bench and helping Anne move the desk to the side.

Once all the desks were moved, Mabel took a seat next to Josie and Diana.

"You'll say two words that represent yourself, using the first letters of your given name and surname." As Miss Stacey spoke, Anne stared up at her with joy, causing the woman to look away awkwardly. "I'll start."

She stood up, glancing at each face around the circle before speaking. "Muriel Stacy. Mischievous.. scholastic."

"Those would be my descriptions if we had the same initials.." Anne sighed dreamily.

"Let's start with-"

"It's like we were separated at birth." Mabel and Diana shared a look as she continued to speak.

"Ruby Gillis." Miss Stacy said, ignoring Anne's words.

Ruby pushed herself up from the floor before speaking, "Romantic.. girl? Ruby Gillis!"

"Well done." Miss Stacy smiled at her.

"Ruby has a crush on-"

"Gilbert Blythe!"

"Oh, um." Gilbert scratched the back of his neck. "Global-"

"He traveled the world for a year."

"And bookish."

"Everyone think he's the smartest student. But I won the spelling bee."

Mabel sighed deeply as she closed her eyes, shaking her head.

Oh, Anne. You mustn't spread everyone's business around.

"Mabel Barnes?"

"O-Oh.. um.." Mabel shakily stood, glancing down at Anne. "Uh.. magnificent and.. bo-bodacious."

"Oh! Very interesting." Miss Stacy complimented as she sat back down.

"She has a horrible uncle."

Mabel's jaw fell open as she squinted at Anne. Making it very obvious, she scooted closer to Diana.

"Priscilla Andrews."

Oh, no.

"Pragmatic and actualized." She said proudly.

"She left our former teacher at the alter."

Prissy's smile fell as she slowly sunk back down to her knees.

"Perhaps you'd like to share your comments with the class?"

"Anne, please-" Mabel tried to warn, but Anne continued anyway.

"Oh! Well, it's no secret that Prissy was afianced to our former teacher, Mr. Phillips, but justifiably fled the wedding. I'll be happy to fill you in about everyone in Avonlea, because I was an outsider once too and I know how hard--" Anne continued to dig herself deeper and deeper into a hole.

"No need to provide me with gossip. I don't condone it."

"O-Oh, but nothing I said is a secret!"

Except mine. Mabel scoffed quietly to herself, not being heard by Anne but certainly being heard by Diana.

"If someone needs me to know something, they'll tell me. Why don't you take your turn? What's your name?"

"Anne.. Anne Shirley-Cuthbert." Anne said unsteadily as she stood up. "Anne. Uh, uh.. Anne.."

"I'm sure you'll think of something later, why don't you see me after class. Moody Spurgeon?"

~~

"And I made a terrible impression on beautiful Miss Stacy!" Anne cried, shaking her head.

Diana and Anne walked together, Mabel having decided to walk home with Ruby.

"That's true, but it's nothing-"

"Everything I said came out wrong!"

"That's true, too, but it's always-"

"You can fix this, Anne. First, you apologize to Mabel.."

"Apologize? For what?"

"You must be joking. For bringing up her uncle, the uncle! You know how sensitive that is for her."

"Oh, my word! I've made a terrible mistake!"

"And then I'm sure any essay you make will be brilliant and resolve things!"

"Gilbert will not outpace me either! Just because he already knows his stupid vocation. You heard it here, Diana: I'm going to apologize to my dear Mabel and then write the best essay in the world. The world!"

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ Word Count: 1495 }

{ A/n: So unbelievably excited for the next chap that im writing it rn and posting it Christmas eve/day. also when she's high on imagining anne in pants 🥰🥰 }

{ Edited: No im numbing my brain watching reality tv }