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xp_logsJennie meets the last of her suitemates, and Sooraya manages to shock her not once, but twice.
Jennie flung open the door to her room and tossed her bookbag on the bed with one hand triumphantly, while still clutching her English essay in the other. An A plus. Not bad for someone who missed the first month of classes. And since Crystal wasn't currently in the room, a little celebration was in order.
A few minutes later, Everclear's "I Wanna Be a Rock Star" began blaring out of her room, loud enough to be heard in the hallways.
The music was certainly loud enough to be heard by her suitemates, and it shook Sooraya out of the sleepy state she had gotten into by listening to her English tapes while lying on her bed. Sitting up, she listened to the loud music for a moment before deciding that she probably wasn't going to be able to concentrate on the tapes for the time being. Not that she minded - as time wore on, the tapes were beginning to get more and more boring. Maybe she would start watching more TV now to pick up on American slang and sayings.
Pushing open her door, Sooraya headed to the kitchenette for a glass of water. She was unable to keep from peeking at Jennie's room as she returned, hoping to devise the meaning of the blasting music. In her short experience at the mansion, songs that loud meant one of two things: either the person listening was very happy, or very upset. She hoped for Jennie's sake that this was the good eardrum-punishing.
Experience had taught Jennie to notice when she was being watched. She paused in mid-celebratory dance to notice the girl in a colorful headscarf peering at her curiously. Aha. The last of the new suitemates. Jennie reached out quickly and turned the volume on her stereo down.
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you? I didn't think anyone else was going to be in for a while."
"Oh, no," Sooraya said, shaking her head emphatically. "No, it is fine. I am only thirsty," she added, gesturing to the glass of water in her hand. "But the music, it is fine. Thank you."
The music was at window-rattling levels, but Jennie had heard Sooraya was polite. Jennie stuck out her hand. "My name's Jennie Stavros. Or Jennie, or 'hey you.' I answer to all three," she smiled.
Sooraya smiled; this was a joke. It was a sign of her acclimation to the mansion that she actually got this. "I am Sooraya," she replied, taking the girl's hand as she had learned to do. "Sooraya Qadir," she clarified.
"Nice to finally meet you." Jennie gave Sooraya's hand a squeeze. "So, how did you come to this fine school? Blow something up? Parents ship you off? Wake up in our medical facility?" Jennie noted that this really was the mansion's way of 'where are you from? what school did you go to?'
"I came... with Nathan. From Afghanistan." Briefly Sooraya wondered how much to divulge of her own story. It wasn't that she was particularly ashamed of it, but she was aware that it was a bit strange. "He was rescued me there. From... bad people."
"Rescued from the bad people? Hmph." Jennie put her hands on her hips. "You would think that was strange, but not around here. I'm here because I had no place else to go and I need 'protecting,'" she used her fingers as quotation marks. "Not like they've done a bang-up job, but was also technically my fault..." she sighed.
Sooraya's eyebrows knit together. "But you are safe now," she said, a little worriedly. "And the people here try very hard to do good things. It is good you are here."
"Considering I have no place else to go? Yeah." Jennie shrugged and smiled. Though that wasn't technically true anymore. But all of her friends were at the school, plus she was doing so well, it would be stupid to try to leave anyway. "Yes, no, I am very safe here. It was out there when things got a little....difficult?" Jennie waved a hand airily. "It's why I wasn't here to meet you when you first showed up. Must of been right after I left, too."
"Oh, I see." Sooraya nodded gravely, thinking back to that summer. "It was a surprise, to be here. I do not think I was meaning to come. But Nathan said it is a good place to be... better than the place I was."
Jennie tilted her head at the younger girl. "What was the place like? I know it was Afghanistan, which I sadly don't know thing one about, so I can't even guess at what it's like."
"It was... I do not know to explain it. It is very beautiful country, but the people can be... not good some of the times. I have lost my family, people took me... they made me work for them. I was not happy." Sooraya bit her lip, linking her hands together and letting her eyes come to rest on the floor.
"Oh man, that's not cool," Jennie gestured for Sooraya to come into the room. "You wanna sit down? Plenty of space. You said that Nathan was the one who helped you out?"
Sooraya nodded and eventually took a seat on one of the desk chairs, perching there as if she didn't know how long she'd be staying. "Yes. He saw me, with the man. And he saw that I am... different. So he gave the man money to let me go. Like... a paying."
"He...he bought you?" Jennie looked flabbergasted for a moment. Two suitemates, what are the odds?. "That's um, well, not as unique as you would think. And not as bad as some others." Jennie wasn't going to comment on the prostitution some of the earlier students seem to have favored, no way, no how. "It's like you said, at least you're here now, right? I mean, it's probably not all that fun to come to place as...different as here, but it's still better than the alternative?"
"Oh, yes," Sooraya said earnestly, nodding. "I like here very much. The people are good, and I am learning… I am glad to be here. It is a good place. I am having friends, too. That is nice."
"Yeah, the people are sometimes the best part," Jennie said, smiling. "Inmates running the asylum and all that. Uh, well...anyway. So what do you like to do, Sooraya? Any music or movies you like?"
"I like Buffy, who kills vampires," the other girl replied. "It is a good TV show. And it is helping me to learn more English."
Just when Jennie had thought the other girl couldn't stun her anymore. "Buffy? Excellent show. Great role model. I'm not sure it's the sort of English you should be learning, but I have a friend who mangles it on a daily basis, so what do I know?." She smiled at the younger girl. Things had been so different when she had returned, and she still wasn't sure she liked it, but at least some of her earlier trepidation was starting to melt away.
"It is for slang, yes?" Sooraya said, still smiling. "So I will understand my friends more better. And I can say things are the ubersuck." She said this so easily, eager to slip in a word to show how proficient she was becoming. "Like homework. Homework is the ubersuck."
Jennie erupted into giggles. "Oh yes, homework will always be the ubersuck."
Jennie flung open the door to her room and tossed her bookbag on the bed with one hand triumphantly, while still clutching her English essay in the other. An A plus. Not bad for someone who missed the first month of classes. And since Crystal wasn't currently in the room, a little celebration was in order.
A few minutes later, Everclear's "I Wanna Be a Rock Star" began blaring out of her room, loud enough to be heard in the hallways.
The music was certainly loud enough to be heard by her suitemates, and it shook Sooraya out of the sleepy state she had gotten into by listening to her English tapes while lying on her bed. Sitting up, she listened to the loud music for a moment before deciding that she probably wasn't going to be able to concentrate on the tapes for the time being. Not that she minded - as time wore on, the tapes were beginning to get more and more boring. Maybe she would start watching more TV now to pick up on American slang and sayings.
Pushing open her door, Sooraya headed to the kitchenette for a glass of water. She was unable to keep from peeking at Jennie's room as she returned, hoping to devise the meaning of the blasting music. In her short experience at the mansion, songs that loud meant one of two things: either the person listening was very happy, or very upset. She hoped for Jennie's sake that this was the good eardrum-punishing.
Experience had taught Jennie to notice when she was being watched. She paused in mid-celebratory dance to notice the girl in a colorful headscarf peering at her curiously. Aha. The last of the new suitemates. Jennie reached out quickly and turned the volume on her stereo down.
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you? I didn't think anyone else was going to be in for a while."
"Oh, no," Sooraya said, shaking her head emphatically. "No, it is fine. I am only thirsty," she added, gesturing to the glass of water in her hand. "But the music, it is fine. Thank you."
The music was at window-rattling levels, but Jennie had heard Sooraya was polite. Jennie stuck out her hand. "My name's Jennie Stavros. Or Jennie, or 'hey you.' I answer to all three," she smiled.
Sooraya smiled; this was a joke. It was a sign of her acclimation to the mansion that she actually got this. "I am Sooraya," she replied, taking the girl's hand as she had learned to do. "Sooraya Qadir," she clarified.
"Nice to finally meet you." Jennie gave Sooraya's hand a squeeze. "So, how did you come to this fine school? Blow something up? Parents ship you off? Wake up in our medical facility?" Jennie noted that this really was the mansion's way of 'where are you from? what school did you go to?'
"I came... with Nathan. From Afghanistan." Briefly Sooraya wondered how much to divulge of her own story. It wasn't that she was particularly ashamed of it, but she was aware that it was a bit strange. "He was rescued me there. From... bad people."
"Rescued from the bad people? Hmph." Jennie put her hands on her hips. "You would think that was strange, but not around here. I'm here because I had no place else to go and I need 'protecting,'" she used her fingers as quotation marks. "Not like they've done a bang-up job, but was also technically my fault..." she sighed.
Sooraya's eyebrows knit together. "But you are safe now," she said, a little worriedly. "And the people here try very hard to do good things. It is good you are here."
"Considering I have no place else to go? Yeah." Jennie shrugged and smiled. Though that wasn't technically true anymore. But all of her friends were at the school, plus she was doing so well, it would be stupid to try to leave anyway. "Yes, no, I am very safe here. It was out there when things got a little....difficult?" Jennie waved a hand airily. "It's why I wasn't here to meet you when you first showed up. Must of been right after I left, too."
"Oh, I see." Sooraya nodded gravely, thinking back to that summer. "It was a surprise, to be here. I do not think I was meaning to come. But Nathan said it is a good place to be... better than the place I was."
Jennie tilted her head at the younger girl. "What was the place like? I know it was Afghanistan, which I sadly don't know thing one about, so I can't even guess at what it's like."
"It was... I do not know to explain it. It is very beautiful country, but the people can be... not good some of the times. I have lost my family, people took me... they made me work for them. I was not happy." Sooraya bit her lip, linking her hands together and letting her eyes come to rest on the floor.
"Oh man, that's not cool," Jennie gestured for Sooraya to come into the room. "You wanna sit down? Plenty of space. You said that Nathan was the one who helped you out?"
Sooraya nodded and eventually took a seat on one of the desk chairs, perching there as if she didn't know how long she'd be staying. "Yes. He saw me, with the man. And he saw that I am... different. So he gave the man money to let me go. Like... a paying."
"He...he bought you?" Jennie looked flabbergasted for a moment. Two suitemates, what are the odds?. "That's um, well, not as unique as you would think. And not as bad as some others." Jennie wasn't going to comment on the prostitution some of the earlier students seem to have favored, no way, no how. "It's like you said, at least you're here now, right? I mean, it's probably not all that fun to come to place as...different as here, but it's still better than the alternative?"
"Oh, yes," Sooraya said earnestly, nodding. "I like here very much. The people are good, and I am learning… I am glad to be here. It is a good place. I am having friends, too. That is nice."
"Yeah, the people are sometimes the best part," Jennie said, smiling. "Inmates running the asylum and all that. Uh, well...anyway. So what do you like to do, Sooraya? Any music or movies you like?"
"I like Buffy, who kills vampires," the other girl replied. "It is a good TV show. And it is helping me to learn more English."
Just when Jennie had thought the other girl couldn't stun her anymore. "Buffy? Excellent show. Great role model. I'm not sure it's the sort of English you should be learning, but I have a friend who mangles it on a daily basis, so what do I know?." She smiled at the younger girl. Things had been so different when she had returned, and she still wasn't sure she liked it, but at least some of her earlier trepidation was starting to melt away.
"It is for slang, yes?" Sooraya said, still smiling. "So I will understand my friends more better. And I can say things are the ubersuck." She said this so easily, eager to slip in a word to show how proficient she was becoming. "Like homework. Homework is the ubersuck."
Jennie erupted into giggles. "Oh yes, homework will always be the ubersuck."
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