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Chapter Text

The sound of boots crunching the forest's earth echoed in the silent woods. Dawn had only broken, and farmers all around Avonlea were stretching in their worn but heavenly beds as their minds awoke for the new day. Grunts and heaves joined these crunches, forming a medley of someone, a girl, struggling to carry something heavy in a rushed manner.

Blonde hair swished, beaded with sweat from the struggle. A white, lace frilled bow hung haphazardly from her golden ringlets, on the verge of falling to the forest floor.

As the girl finally approached the Avonlea schoolhouse, she stopped to catch her breath, letting the large wooden board rest on the ground for a few short moments. Then, when her heart rate had returned to it's usual routinely rhythm, and she had wiped the unladylike sweat from her brow, the hurried girl picked up the board and took ten final but difficult steps.

She began her work, using the carpentry skills she hid from her classmates from her time volunteering to build homes for the unfortunate as a child, and hung the board on the vacant side wall of the school building. When the board was steady and centered, the young lady retrieved ten multicoloured wooden letters from her apron pocket and used the very expensive superglue she had borrowed - not stolen - from her Father's office to stick them to the wooden surface. This project had taken her several days to organise, collecting materials only when her classmates couldn't observe her, and, once again, borrowing tools from the storage closet when her Father worked late.

Stepping back from her creation, she nodded in approval.

As prim and proper as she was, Josie Pye could not deny her skill with a screwdriver.

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As the clock neared half past eight, students from the ages of six years old to seventeen neared the beloved Avonlea Schoolhouse.

Ruby Gillis walked with her younger sisters each morning, ensuring their safe arrival, but had recently began to be accompanied by Moody Spurgeon, the minister's son. This time in the morning allowed them to discourse many uninteresting things such as the weather, their families and their many homework assignments, but the two were always too timid to delve too deep into conversation.

Jane Andrews and Tillie Boulter had walked together to school each morning since they were seven years old. They had been joined by Priscilla Andrews prior to her graduation the year before. Their topics of discussion had changed drastically over the years, from bragging about new dolls their mother's had purchased them, to ranking their male classmates by looks. Wherever the pair went, a medley of girlish giggles could be heard a mile away.

A group of boys would follow the two girls, but not closely. Billie Andrews and his goons would strut towards the schoolhouse, sometimes stopping to kick a rock or tree, just to prove their newfound "masculinity".

The tragical Gilbert Blythe walked to school alone, taking advantage of the crisp morning air and silent woodlands to wallow in the sadness he refused to let show to anyone else. He wasn't always so woeful. Sometimes he would daydream of his future as a doctor, or fondly remember walking the same path he was on with his dear Father on his first ever day of school. More recently, his morning ponderings had consisted of red hair and past spelling contests. But he would never admit that out loud.

As more and more young scholars began to gather around the schoolhouse, a group of young boys discovered a new bulletin board that hadnt been there when they went home for the weekend. They called for attention from the other young Avonlea citizens, who all came quickly, curious as to what the children could have found.

The children and lowerclassmen lost interest quickly, but the members of the graduating class stayed put, taking in the new development.

"A.. take notice board?", questioned the newly arrived but tired looking Josie Pye, looking curious. The sparkle in her eye went unnoticed by her peers.

"Oh my goodness, Josie, there's a note up here about you and Billy!", giggled Tillie.

All of the girls gasped, apart from Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and Diana Barry, who had just found the crowd of teenagers, and were looking in confusion at what they were all so interested in.
The boys nudged eachother and murmurs flitted across the group.

'Billie Andrews walked Josie Pye home from the hockey match on Saturday.'

"Who could have posted this?", questioned Diana with an excited grin. Jane snuck a glance at Josie, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"Seriously, Josie? How long did this take you to set up then?", asked Jane, seeing right through Josie's act of shocked but flattered surprise.

"Jane, I did not post this notice! Here I was thinking it was you, seeing as you chaperoned me and Billy on that stroll.", Josie replied through gritted teeth. She prayed that her hard work wouldn't have been for nothing, and that the mystery of the board could stay intact.

Thankfully for Josie, her prayers were answered. The other girls were too busy fantasising about the romance of mysterious, anonymous notes and the boys were too busy looking on in fear at the expectation in each young ladies eyes.

However, Anne stood back from the small crowd and rolled her eyes at the prospect of the board. Later, when Diana asked her opinion of it, she shared an honest answer.

"I think it is a very sweet way of igniting a courtship, however, I am not building any expectation to be posted for. I know already it will not happen and I do not wish to dissapoint myself."

Diana thought to herself about Anne's deep-rooted insecurity in herself. How could she not see that she was a lovely, intelligent, beautiful girl? But then she could understand her fire-headed friend's mindset, when all she had ever been told since birth was how worthless and ugly she was.

Diana was not the only one pondering Anne's statement. Gilbert Blythe had overheard their conversation from his desk across the aisle, but had kept his head buried in his book so as to not draw suspicion. He too wondered how Anne could not see her own beauty, when it was all he could think about most days and nights.

That's when he decided to prove Anne wrong, as he had so many times before.

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"Anne Shirley-Cuthbert has a real knack for storytelling."

These words greeted Anne the next day as she arrived at the schoolhouse. Her female classmates fluttered around her, gasping and giggling as the boys stood back, still reading the other notices.

"Josie Pye has a nice laugh."

"Diana Barry is a wonderful pianist."

"When Ruby Gillis smiles my heart sets alight."

Even amidst her shock, Anne's eyes landed on that final note before fleeting to Moody Spurgeon, who was almost saying "thank you" to her with his eyes. Ruby Gillis was trying to help her fellow girls to decode who could have written of Anne, but she too couldn't help herself from looking questioningly at the boy.

The friends continued to ponder the notice all the way to lunchtime, very much to Anne's dismay. Today, the class were supposed to learn trigonometry, but by the time the lesson was over Anne still could not differentiate a hypotenuse from and adjacent line. The giggling and passing of notes that surrounded her was simply too distracting. Anne made sure to let her friends know how annoying and disruptive this topic of conversation was, but the girls simply couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry, Anne, but this is just so out of the blue! We know that Billy is the one posting about Josie, and we know it's most likely Moody posting about Ruby. When it comes to my notes, and I say this most humbly, it could be anyone of our male classmates. But you, Anne, a girl who turns her nose up at almost every single boy she knows? I am not saying I did not expect it, or that I do not understand it. You are a fine, beautiful girl with excellent prospects, who wouldn't want to court you?"

Diana quickly assures the red-head so as to not set off her insecurities before being swiftly interrupted by Jane.

"So, we are so very interested in your notice as this boy has not revealed himself one bit, proving he must really like you!"

"Maybe he's nervous!", Tillie managed to get out between giggles.

"Oh, girls, it's just so very confusing! I didn't wish for a notice, and I didn't expect to feel such a.. such a thrill after receiving one. I too wish to know the writer, but I do not intend for these adolescent shenanigans to distract me from my studies!"

Anne's words made some of the girls reconsider the importance of the board, but Josie Pye turned around and looked Anne dead in the eye.

"Oh, poor you, Anne. Distracted from your studies. Too bad, seeing as there's no future husband on the horizon for you. Only good old Queens. How sad, to have to work for your own money. I pity that you will never know the warmth of true family."

Anne, well used to Josie's cruel outbursts, did not even bat an eyelid. She took a bite of her apple before looking back at Josie.

"I'm sorry Josie, I shouldn't have insulted your take notice board. I know it means an awful deal to you."

A smug grin plastered upon her face as she spoke. The backhanded apology was not lost on Josie, but she chose not to respond, instead asking Jane about her new bracelet.

Of course, Anne and the girls were not aware, but their entire lunchtime conversation had been overheard by one Gilbert Blythe.

He had been enraged by Josie's words to Anne, but also grateful in a self-serving way.

They had given him the best idea for his next notice.

Chapter Text

As Anne walked to school with Diana the next morning, nerves filled her at the prospect of another note.

"Oh, darling Diana, I am confused. Part of me wants another note from whoever this secret admirer is while the other part of me absolutely, positively despises this whole ordeal."

Diana glanced over at her bosom friend with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Anne, I understand you fully. But, tell me, who do you think this admirer could be?"

Anne thought for a moment. There wasn't that many eligible suspects, but she couldn't deny that Diana's very question hadn't kept her up last night.
Billy was already snagged by Josie, not like anyone else wanted him. Moody was absolutely enchanted with Ruby, and the Pauls and Tilly have their own debacle to handle. This left few to consider. Charlie, maybe? But he had never had more than a friendly word for her. Also, Anne is sure she saw him penning a note for Jane Andrews yesterday after lunch.

Gilbert Blythe could be an option, but an option so dangerous that Anne was afraid to consider him.

"I couldnt possibly tell you". Anne and Diana continued to ponder the rest of the way, until they caught a glimpse of a crowd and could hear giggles in the distance.

'No.', Anne thought. She couldn't do this. It was too humiliating. But also it was too romantic it made her heart feel like bursting.

The two approached the board and Anne pushed through the small crowd as politely as possible to check it.

To her dismay, and happiness, there indeed was another note.

"Anne Shirley Cuthbert has a beautiful home and family, warmest in Avonlea."

The note made her gasp and she felt a strange sensation in her chest. The note before had been flattering, but this was something else.

It was as if the writer knew all of her deep insecurities to do with family and patched them all up with his ink and loopy, cursive letters.

Diana sighed and told Anne the note was beautiful and true. Then, the girls' attention moved to a note from one of the Pauls.

"Tilly has a nice nose."

"A nice nose? Is that seriously all that I get next to Anne's poetical beauty?", the girl huffed.

In the distance, one Paul hit the other, laughing at him as he blushed in embarrassment.

Gilbert Blythe was quiet that morning, not wanting to miss a single comment Anne could make about his note. What he said had been true, but still inspired by Josie Pye's comments the afternoon before.

He hated to think that Anne believed her. That she would never marry or bear children. Gilbert was positive that Anne would make magnificent Mother and Wife, even though the thought made him a bit bashful.

However, Anne was quiet also, joining Gilbert in pensive silence. That note really meant a lot to her, but also confused her even more.

Later, Anne asked Marilla about the Take Notice board.

"Oh, we had something like that ouselves back in the day. Except we called it the Lovebird's Locker and it was a small, wooden box hidden on a tree outside the school. You would leave a message and leave a leaf from the tree on the desk of who you wrote to, to notify them. Then, you checked back the next day for a response."

Anne thrilled at the romance of it. How private and intimate that would be, instead of being complimented for the whole school and town to see. Deep down, she had to admit she loved it though.

"Don't forget that Gilbert, Bash, Mary and the baby are coming for dinner in an hour.", Marilla noted before rushing outside to fold laundry.

"What."