Noriko and Terry

[x-kaminari.livejournal.com]

Down in the medlab, Terry runs into Noriko and they largely fail to talk.



Noriko stared up at the ceiling. It wasn't that she was counting tiles - that would have been silly, stupid, and required far more concentration than she was really capable of. It wasn't that she was 'doing nothing', either. Doing nothing would have required her to be rather stiller than she was. It was kind of impressive, the quantity of pure fidget she was managing while lying flat on her back. Wriggling her toes, fingers tapping almost spasmodically on the coverlet, she was even blinking more rapidly than was really necessary. Not that she could control any of it - they might not be actual spasmodic twitches, but the whole package was pretty close.

She was pretty sure she'd do just about anything for a beer, let alone some sleeping pills. Anything to kill the buzz for a little bit.

Finally, unable to stay "still" any longer, she threw back the covers and slid her feet into the slippers she'd finally convinced the vile doctor to give her - they might be so uncivilized as to wear shoes in here, but she had manners - and set out into the hallway, looking for something to occupy her.

Terry wasn't watching where she was going, walking backward chattering at Dr. Voght. Luckily, she was listening for things moving behind her and she managed to step aside at just the right time. She turned and regarded the Asian girl with a startled expression that swiftly shifted back to good cheer. "Hi, you'd be the new student then. I'm Terry Drake." The summer back home had made her accent all the more pronounced.

Noriko had spotted Terry heading towards her, not looking, and had jerked away as the girl stepped aside, her move far less smooth and collected than the red-head's. She shot a stressed look at the doctor but, as usual, she seemed fairly impassive. Which, really, was better than the alternative. The other one was always frowning at Noriko, as though she were a personal disappointment. Dragging her attention back to the girl who had spoken to her, Noriko raked her hands through her spiky, short hair, as much to hopefully prevent the girl from offering to shake hands as to try and focus, trying to fight her way through the strange accented English. Eventually she shrugged. She'd probably said her name - that was normal enough. "I name Kikuchi," she managed somewhat laboriously. "Kikuchi Noriko. Yoroshiku." This last was said much more quickly, and accompanied by a head nod which might, in some far off planet, have counted as a respectful bow... had the recipient been blind. And stupid.

Blind, stupid and hadn't lived in the same house as Shiro for four years. Terry just smiled and deliberately switched her accent to something more British based, guessing that it would be easier for her to understand. "Good to meet you, Miss Kikuchi." Terry figured if she was saying her name Western style then it wouldn't sound anymore more awkward than calling her by her last name alone.

She caught the look over her shoulder. "Are you supposed to be wandering about or just resting? I hate getting stuck down here."

There was a flicker of... possibly alarm, possibly frustration, possibly something else in Noriko's eyes, but she quashed it almost instantly, replacing it with her standard look of unconcern that the doctors had become so very familiar with. "Shiranai," she said, shrugging in what would have been an indolent move, if not for the excess energy and speed. "Eigo wakanai. The drawled words might be no more comprehensible to Terry than her own were to Noriko, but the tone of universal teenage ennui translated beautifully. "I English... no."

Terry snorted, "Right. I'll take that as a yes. Do they teach that to you in school or something? I swear I've seen Shiro sound exactly the same." She frowned then shrugged, "Well, whatever it is you're supposed to be doing, you'd best get back to it before Dr. Voght or Dr. Grey come after you."

Again the rush of words and complex grammar went right over Noriko's head, and the girl's tone was pushing Nori's frustration into anger. "Zenzen shiranai, yo. Mou, omae iranai. Achike." The words might not be comprehensible, but their abruptness and tone suggested they weren't exactly polite, and the jerk to her chin as Noriko stepped back, putting space between herself and Terry pretty well said 'get out of my face' in any language.

Terry rolled her eyes and mentally gave herself a lecture on remaining calm and not getting upset at the new girl who was obviously in the infirmary for a reason and didn't speak English very well. And was a teenager. "I'm sorry. I don't have time for this. I'll mention to the doctors that you're up." She spoke more slowly this time but wasn't at all sure that the girl would understand anyway.

At the slower words, Nori unbristled, at least a little. She even recognized the 'I'm sorry', and said, "That's all right," the words coming out rushed together, clearly a phrase she'd learned by rote at some point. "I sorry. I's..." She paused, clearly trying to remember a word and, just as clearly, not managing. "I's... I's not interesting," she finally said.

Terry smiled a little, moods changing lightning quick but continued to speak slowly "I don't think that's true. Sure and you are very interesting. There's just a language problem." She looked down at the files in her hands then checked her watch. The school office would be closing in couple hours and she needed to get the papers there soon. "Is there anything that you need right now? Help?"

Fighting to find words in English made her feel slow and stupid and Noriko hated it. It didn't help that she understood about two words in five. Without realizing it her fingers had begun to beat out random patterns on her legs, just sort of twitching as she tried to work out what the girl had said, and what she was supposed to say. Finally she shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets to stop them. "I don't know."

Terry frowned again, but thoughtfully this time. If the girl did need help, Terry couldn't give it to her anyway and clearly they weren't going to be able to communicate very well (had Shiro been this poor in English? Probably not, he'd just been totally insufferable.) So what to do? "Um. Okay. Wait one minute and I'll get Dr. Voght for you."

Noriko sighed, partly in relief, as she caught Dr. Voght's name. She, at least, had some sympathy for Noriko's language failings, and didn't try to coddle her or talk to her like she was a child. But either doctor would probably send her back to her room, and the last thing Nori wanted was to get stuck in there again. She wanted OUT. "Please, no. Not... Is not... I's... Nan dake... To walk. I's to walk."

Walk? Well, that couldn't be so bad right? Terry nodded. "Okay. Walk. Just...stay down here?" She gestured around the infirmary. The last thing she needed was to get yelled at for telling a patient that they could just jaunt off. Not that Terry thought that Noriko would understand or listen if she did. Terry got that vibe from her.

Nori rolled her eyes. "Hai, hai, wakkata yo. Down. Hospital. Wakkata." Clearly it was a lecture she'd heard a lot.

Terry wrinkled her nose in sympathy and nodded, "Yes. Sorry." She checked her watch again. She really needed to run at this point. "I have to leave now. Good luck with your walking."

And that was obvious enough. Nori shrugged and took a step back. "Jya... bai-bai."

"Bye." Hey, look, something that actually sort of translated. Finally. Terry gave the Japanese girl a wave and ran off, literally jogging. But she made a mental note to find out more about the new girl anyway.