If there was ever an incentive to learn a new language, this was it.
Uma was flipping through the book and scribbling down every word she couldn't read as if she were making her own personal codex. She heard the door jiggle and, with reflexes that would've saved her voice if she'd had them weeks ago, she chucked a pan at the opening door. She heard a familiar "Oof!" from Hamaron as she bolted her ass upstairs.
Holy shit, holy shit!
She jumped onto her bed and kicked her feet with a massive smile on her face. This was amazing! She kept flipping through the book with the obsessiveness of a fifteen-year-old on AO3.
29/14/79: Today he tried to make me a necklace of flowers with the help of young Vivi. It fell apart, of course, but oh my...
The tone in which Uma narrated the book in her head made it seem like a play written by Shakespeare himself. IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER!
Uma was about to flip the page when she heard the door of Serosa's room creak open. The yawning of what sounded like Uma's impending doom came her way. She scrambled to hide the book, which failed miserably; she half-hid it under her pillow and scattered whatever other books she had upstairs to make it seem like she was being productive and not a pervert.
By the grace of whatever god believed in Uma, as Serosa opened the door, the light was shining directly on: Fantastic Floras for Finding by Fantastic Flora.
Serosa glanced up, appearing annoyed for a moment. Shit... she knows I took it. Uma's mind began to race. Crap, she's gonna kick me out. Dammit, Uma, why'd you have to go and—
Serosa walked over, looked at the notes of the words Uma couldn't understand, and wiped a tear from her eye. It caught Uma completely off guard.
"These are big words. Where'd you learn this?" she asked, looking proudly at Uma.
"I... uh... wha?" Uma tried to divert Serosa's eyes from the diary—which was currently peeking out from the pillows—by shoving a random page of Fantastic Flora in her face.
Serosa blinked. "You're into flowers?"
Uma just nodded rapidly. Yes. Yes, I am. I loveeee flowers.
Serosa took this as extreme enthusiasm and beamed. "I'm so proud." She sat down and patted Uma's head. "I'll bring you breakfast."
As Serosa walked out, Uma just stared at the door. Guess this is what I'm doing today. Before breakfast arrived, however, Uma thoroughly checked the hallway and tiptoed into Serosa's room to return the diary. Even as she exited, it seemed to whisper to her, calling her back. She almost gave in, but the sound of Serosa's footsteps pulled her out of the trance.
Soon enough, Serosa brought her a platter, which only made Uma feel guiltier.
"Hamaron and I are going out. I'll see you later," Serosa said, patting Uma's head. This only served to fuel the "fanfiction" in Uma's head, but she shut it up and grabbed her board.
Gonna walk around later.
She could feel the spelling error, but Serosa got the message and smiled. "Be careful, dear."
Eventually, after what sounded like a long argument about where they were going to eat, both Hamaron and Serosa left the house. Uma spent some time reading her books. She'd become strangely interested in a book about dancing—apparently an ancient tradition even older than the ones back home, and people hold dancers in one of the highest regards. And plus for once, the movements weren't meant for thirty-second videos, and there were no repeating "trends."
Uma felt the urge to learn, but out of fear of judgment from the "mean girls" in town, she reckoned she'd go out to the patch where she and Vivi had planted their seeds. Anything to get out of the house.
The path there was simple—Vivi had tried to make a nursery rhyme out of the directions, but Uma had immediately forgotten it. She still made it to the patch, though. She set down her books and flipped through the guides, finding a routine she liked and trying to start the movements.
To say she "ate shit" would imply that her dancing wasn't already shit. That realization only pissed her off to the point where she decided she was staying there until she got it right. It took longer than necessary. By the time she got the start down, she told herself: Just a few more steps. Then she got to the middle and figured she'd do the other half tomorrow. After these, I'll go home. But she nailed the next steps easily and figured, Well, I'm so close to the end, might as well finish. By the time the sun set and glowing flowers bloomed, Uma had thrown up thrice and had barely mastered the final steps—a very quick set of twirling and stepping motions that gave her a mean headache.
I really gotta know when to stop.
She felt more vomit trying to escape and decided to just lay there. She felt a deep "self-reflection" moment coming on and shoved that down, too. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment, staring at the stars.
Then, she realized she was out far later than she was supposed to be. She ran her ass back home, where Serosa was waiting on the front porch, a book in hand.
Fuck