florenciasleiman

[florenciasleiman]

CAELA.

“i’m sure it wasn’t too terribly long. plus, i wouldn’t be too worried about it - people kind of turn into monsters if they don’t have their morning coffee. people need to realize that this kind of stuff happens, especially around here.” 

“ i mean, i can’t say i blame them, i’m a complete zombie without my coffee. they’re probably just not in the right mindset to think anything through and get cranky over whatever happens. ”

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MERCURY.

“Sign language is just a matter of memorization, really. No conjugating to be had.” She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I get that. Have you ever switched in the middle of a word? I feel like that’d be funny.”

“ that’s definitely a plus. conjugation is a bitch. but after a while it gets pretty instinctive. except for irregular verbs, they’re the true evil in humanity and must be destroyed. ” she laughed. “ oh, no, never in the middle of a word. i’m not sure how that would even work, but it would definitely be funny. my brain is probably not ready for that yet, though. ”

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THEO.

“very true. have you ever been after a customer who chewed out a barista for no reason at all and you had to awkwardly walk up to the counter and apologize on behalf of this random stranger because shit was brutal? it’s the worst. ah, can’t relate i’m afraid. can’t remember the last time i’ve spoken to my parents but that’s life.”

“ unfortunately, yes. i never really know what to say but i just want them to know that i was absolutely revolted by the other person’s behavior, so i end up smiling a lot and making jokes to break the ice and like, tipping them extra. huh. my parents and i are actually pretty close, but maybe that’s because i’m an only child ?? i mean, i don’t even know, are you an only child ?? i’m just like, making assumptions. ”

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ANGELICA.

“that’s super cool ! how did you come about learning five languages ?” angelica put on her best american accent. “thanks, babe. somehow accents aren’t too hard for me. it just takes practice, and listening to people speak.”

“ my parents are diplomats, so i used to live all over as a child. learning the languages of each country was sort of a survival instinct. ” florencia told her with a light chuckle. “ see, i can copy them when i’m watching a tv show or something and i just repeat the person’s lines, but when i don’t have that guidance, i get completely lost. australian accents are really hard to do, though, you’re lucky you just have one naturally. ”

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PENELOPE.

Listening to her LENGTHY r e s p o n  s e has caused her to NOD out of respect ―― make it seem like she was ACTUALLY listening to her explain herself. ❛ Right. Well, it’s AMAZING to hear that your extensive list of LANGUAGES is put into use. Your parents must be REAL proud of you. ❜

a small chuckle escaped florencia’s lips, leaving behind a lingering smile. “ i’m not sure i put them to use too much when i’m around these parts, but it’s certainly fun when i get to do so. my parents would probably be prouder if i didn’t mix them up so much, though. ” 

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HAMZA.

“i got you sister, my old lady shouts at me in somalian, then complains under her breath in arabic and then goes on to brag about me in english to the white neighbour lady. so to get back at her i do some sassy spanish, she’s still picking up on it. languages are sick fam, wallah if acting fails imma be a tourist guide or some shit.”

“ the sad part is that my parents know way more languages than i do, it’s not even funny. sometimes they’ll communicate with each other in mandarin or something, just so i won’t understand. but see, that’s what i’ve always told them ! if i don’t make it as a costume designer, i can always be a translator or something. i mean, i’m actually quite shit at translating, so we might end up competing for that tourist guide job. ”

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MARY-ANNE.

“Wow, that must be difficult.” Mary-Anne frowned, eyebrows scrunched. “I mean, I’m only fluent in English so I don’t really know how that would feel, but yeah, that seems pretty tough.” She then smiled a small smile. “But, I think you can do it. Believe in yourself.”

a small laugh fell from florencia’s lips at the woman’s words. “ i mean, it’s pretty cool, but it can get annoying when i can only remember a word in a certain language and stuff. i’ve been slipping into spanish a lot less than i used to when i first got here, though, so maybe i can do it. ”

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THEO.

“poor woman must’ve been so confused. damn. thirty minutes talking to parents?”

“ to be fair, if you work at a starbucks, you’re probably used to worse. and i mean, i hadn’t talked to them in a little over a week so there was a lot to catch up on. ”

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AALIYAH.

“well here you are in sunny california. that’s a shit ton of languages you speak.”

“ so i keep forgetting. but yeah, my parents are diplomats and i used to move around a lot when i was younger, so i picked up a few different languages along the way. ”

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ANGELICA.

“and to think i sometimes struggle with turning off my korean, and australian accent on set. you’re here juggling four languages.”

“ five, actually. but i cannot do accents for the life of me, so i applaud you. ”

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PENELOPE.

The actress wasn’t QUITE sure how to r e s p  o n d to the other as she had her lips PURSED into a thin line. ❛ I’m SORRY. I’m just trying to GRASP the idea how you spoke in ―― not one ――  but two EUROPEAN languages when I’m like, 90% sure that the person who took your order SPOKE to you in English. ❜ Penelope replied with her tone dipped in complete APATHY with a pinch of CONFUSION.

“ i mean, she actually didn’t speak to me, ‘cause i was on the phone, so she just kinda looked at me expectantly and since i was speaking to my parents in spanish i blurted out my order in the wrong language which just totally messed up my brain, you know ?? ”

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CAELA.

“it sounds like your morning is starting off very… interesting.” caela said as she took a sip of her own coffee. “hopefully you got your coffee after all of the confusion though.”

“ it was a struggle and a bit embarrassing, but i was able to get my caffeine fix after all. the people waiting behind me who were late probably wanted to kill me, but hey, it happens. ”

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HOLDEN.

“ aw, florencia, you never do get old. ” in looks or personality. she was always different, yet somehow the same woman he always knew. “ i can’t even speak in spanish without tripping over my tongue. ” high school language courses had done him wrong.

“ well, that’s the american school system for ya. por lo menos significa que puedo burlarse de las personas en español sin que ellos sepan. that’s always fun. ”

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DARCY.

“and then there’s me who got lost at wallahi…” darcy probably botches the pronunciation, despite having just heard it aloud. an embarrassed flush overtakes her fair cheeks and she giggles nervously. “i can barely order coffee in english, knowing only english.”

“ wallahi is arabic for i swear to god. ” flo gave out a small laugh, flashing a smile at the girl. “ to be fair, i speak five languages and sometimes i forget words in all of them. ” she shrugged with a playful eyeroll.

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AURORA.

                    “ sounds like a struggle in a half, ” aurora laughed, tossing some hair over her shoulder. it was almost dramatic in fashion–but not quite. “ i have a tendency to do the same thing with asl alter i skype with my brother. i mean–i speak at the same time, but people always look at me like why is this bitch waving her hands around like that ?? ”

“ honestly, i don’t think i’d have enough hand coordination for asl. and i can’t imagine speaking at the same time, i mean, i’d probably get so confused. you must be at a whole other level to be able to do both. ”

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MERCURY.

“Sounds like a fun problem to have,” Mercury said, “When I volunteer with the kids in the hospital, I have a hard time remembering that not everyone knows sign language. Once, I tried to tell my husband I wanted Southwest food for dinner, and I didn’t realize he didn’t know ASL. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to do that with different spoken languages.” She laughed quietly, pushing hair behind her ear.

a chuckle escaped florencia’s lips as she nodded. “ oh, shit, really ?? i’ve always wanted to learn asl, but i only know the alphabet. which is a start, i guess. but with spoken language it kind of depends who i’m with, you know ?? like, if i’m living in the united states and constantly speaking with american people the standard in my brain is english, but then i talk to my parents who speak all the languages i do and i just kind of switch in the middle of a sentence without noticing. ”