The next morning, Penny got out of the house a little ahead of Anne. Once she realized, she stopped in her tracks, waiting for the young girl.

Anne came out after an unusually long time. Stranger still, there was an evidently crushed look on her face.

"Anne?" she asked as the redhead passed. "Are you alright?"

"Could our walk be silent today, please?" Anne mumbled, her voice choked up.

Completely thrown off guard, Penny quietly obliged. Although she loved talking to Anne, she had a lot on her mind that morning, too.

•••

Penny ate lunch alone that day. Anne had finally spoken up to invite her to join the girls, but Penny refused. She knew of Mr. Phillips and Prissy's first kiss, and she already knew that would be the topic of conversation. Penny wasn't sure she could stomach that.

She missed her lunches with Gilbert. They weren't the type to gossip or chatter on and on, but his company always made her feel safe.

Penny was pulled out of her thoughts as she caught Josie walking up to Cole out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but she could see Josie storming back to the girls moments later.

"Cole is a freak!" she exclaimed.

"Josie Pye, you take that back!" Anne, who was blocked from Penny's view behind the blanket, immediately retorted. "Cole is my friend!"

Penny couldn't help but smile.

There was the Anne she knew.

•••

Penny ended up leaving school without Anne that day. Apparently, the kids were playing another game of Spin the Bottle, and Anne was required to show her face since she didn't kiss anyone last time.

Although she understood the appeal, Penny never took an interest in the game. She had always refused to give away her first kiss to someone she did not care for.

After greeting Marilla and Matthew, she ended up shutting herself in her room for the rest of the night. She had much more homework to do than normal. She also wanted to get to sleep quite early since she'd be spending the entire next morning at her home before school. She had seen snowfall a few times, and she wanted to make sure the farm was completely prepared for winter.

Though she found it odd that Anne never came to say hello or good night, this was completely forgotten as she fell into a deep sleep promptly at sundown.

———
AN: ok i'm fiddling with the timeline with the hair dye thing a bit but it's bc it works better in my head sorry bout it