038.

                                    

                                          
	It's not like she didn't know about the surprise party being prepared for Anne... In fact, she's taken part in the whole planning process, sneaking around the redhead's back while trying to make all the smallest details perfect. But Marianne still finds herself startled when she hears Diana's cries for help coming from outside; their pleasant morning cut short as they all rush out of the door.
	An ugly snort escapes her lips, though, as Jerry shouts something about the Barrys being dead. Marianne's hand flies up to her mouth with the intention of covering it, but the short sound doesn't miss Marilla's ears. The older woman looks at her, scandalised, ready to scold her niece for being so careless with such grim news.
	"Don't worry," the girl rushes to make her aware of how the matters truly are, leaning in to whisper into her ear "it's just a ploy to get Anne to the Barrys." At least, Marianne hopes so. It would be truly unfortunate if Diana's parents had indeed passed suddenly and she just told Marilla not to mind it.
	Before she has a chance to let her thoughts run in that direction, Jerry says, "This has nothing to do with Anne's birthday." And the boy winks, not subtly at all.
	Marilla rolls her eyes, most likely remembering the ways of her own youth. But she's great at playing along, actually, going back inside before returning with two coats in her hands. She passes one of them to Anne before handing Marianne the other. "You should go, too. Perhaps you shall be of use once."
	Alright, she appreciates Marilla's attempts to keep Anne unaware of the surprise, but she needn't have said that. Marianne is on the verge of turning to her with a 'hey!' on her lips when the older woman practically shoves her forward, urging her to run after the birthday girl and her friend.
	And that's what Marianne does. For a while, she even tries her best to keep up with the other two, only giving up on her resolution when she feels sharp pain beginning to radiate in her side.
	After all, running was never one of her preferred activities. And after eating so much of Marilla's cake just minutes ago - it's an actual torture.
	Marianne has never been happier to see someone's house. Right now, Diana's sitting room, with all the girls shouting 'Surprise!' at once and the decorations, and the cake, seems like the Holy Grail itself. Honestly, she could well enough fall to her knees and kiss the floor.
	Her own voice is among the shouting, too. Marianne shrugs off her coat, chuckling as Minnie May greets them by saying, in that sweet, child-like manner, "I hope you were worried sick about me."
	She watches in amusement as Anne is pulled over to the table set with all the sweetest cakes and tarts, treats made specifically for the occasion. It warms Marianne's heart to see tears of joy forming in the girl's eyes as she takes in everything they've prepared.
	"You did all this?" Considering how wide her imagination is, Anne surely seems very much in disbelief.
	"It's all for you."
	Words of gratitude leave Anne's lips over and over again as the girls take their places by tha table, wasting bo time before starting to devour all the tasty treats. Suddenly, Marianne forgets about the amount of cake she's just eaten - everything in here is most definitely an eye-candy and she supposes she wouldn't mind seeing for herself whether they taste just as good, too. Especially that pretty little thing with strawberries on top.
	"Mm!" Anne seems to share Marianne's thoughts on the cake. She takes a moment to swallow the last bite before continuing with her story, "And then... and then Jerry yells: 'Her parents are dead!" her voice changes as she tries to impersonate the boy, earning yet another laugh from her listeners.