The preceding teacher had trained the children to be in their places at her arrival , and when Anne entered the schoolroom she was confronted by prim rows of `` shining morning faces '' and bright , inquisitive eyes . She hung up her hat and faced her pupils , hoping that she did not look as frightened and foolish as she felt and that they would not perceive how she was trembling . She had sat up until nearly twelve the preceding night composing a speech she meant to make to her pupils upon opening the school . She had revised and improved it painstakingly , and then she had learned it off by heart . It was a very good speech and had some very fine ideas in it , especially about mutual help and earnest striving after knowledge . The only trouble was that she could not now remember a word of it . After what seemed to her a year ... about ten seconds in reality ... she said faintly , `` Take your Testaments , please , '' and sank breathlessly into her chair under cover of the rustle and clatter of desk lids that followed . While the children read their verses Anne marshalled her shaky wits into order and looked over the array of little pilgrims to the Grownup Land . Most of them were , of course , quite well known to her . Her own classmates had passed out in the preceding year but the rest had all gone to school with her , excepting the primer class and ten newcomers to Avonlea . Anne secretly felt more interest in these ten than in those whose possibilities were already fairly well mapped out to her . To be sure , they might be just as commonplace as the rest ; but on the other hand there MIGHT be a genius among them . It was a thrilling idea . Sitting by himself at a corner desk was Anthony Pye . He had a dark , sullen little face , and was staring at Anne with a hostile expression in his black eyes . Anne instantly made up her mind that she would win that boy 's affection and discomfit the Pyes utterly . In the other corner another strange boy was sitting with Arty Sloane ... a jolly looking little chap , with a snub nose , freckled face , and big , light blue eyes , fringed with whitish lashes ... probably the DonNELL boy ; and if resemblance went for anything , his sister was sitting across the aisle with Mary Bell . Anne wondered what sort of mother the child had , to send her to school dressed as she was . She wore a faded pink silk dress , trimmed with a great deal of cotton lace , soiled white kid slippers , and silk stockings . Her sandy hair was tortured into innumerable kinky and unnatural curls , surmounted by a flamboyant bow of pink ribbon bigger than her head .
Judging from her XXXXX she was very well satisfied with herself .
Testaments classmates expression eyes face hand lashes places rest ribbon