(Untitled)

[easiertohate]

Boredom, a noun. The state of being bored, tedium, ennui. It didn't matter what she called it. Whether she referred to it as dullness, doldrums or weariness. It all equaled the same thing to her. Ros Myers found herself trapped on an island and bored

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[unit_girl]

Jo had always found that the best things you can learn weren't in books at all, so she never went near the books on the shelf. Which wasn't to say she didn't find it interesting how it all changed every day.

But more interesting than that was this room, where she could find people to chat with. The woman in there had a terrible shirt on, but Jo could say the same about herself, so she made no comment.

She settled herself on the couch and peered over at the book the woman was reading. "Oh, it's all symbols," she said. She could never quite work out how anyone could read symbols.

[easiertohate]

There were moments when Ros wondered if everyone in this place was were as genuine and darling as they appeared. It set her teeth on edge, though she forced herself to smile politely at the young woman.

At least she wasn't American.

"Actually, the symbols are letters and words. All letters are merely symbols, shapes with meaning, representing something else."

How did these people survive?

[unit_girl]

"I know that," Jo replied, defensively. "But they don't look like English so you can't even guess how to pronounce them."She could understand how to learn European languages, having learnt French at school, but ones with funny symbols were another thing entirely.

[easiertohate]

"I believe that's how anyone from a culture that doesn't use the latin alphabet feels when they try and read a western european based language, wouldn't you think?" Ros had little time for fools or for intolerant thinking, not at all amused at the irony in her opinion.

[unit_girl]

"I suppose so." But since she wasn't from a culture that didn't use the latin alphabet, it didn't really make any difference. "What language is this one?"

[easiertohate]

"Yemeni Arabic," She said simply, looking back at the page, "A bit different than what I'm used to."

[unit_girl]

"Oh, is there more than one version?" Jo peered at the book more closely. It looked like it could be Arabic, from what she'd seen of it, but beyond that she didn't know. "What are you used to?"

[easiertohate]

Ros kept hoping the woman would go away, keeping her answers brusque and to the point. However, upon being asked questions on a topic she was so interested in, it was hard to not answer completely.

"Just as there are different dialects in English. Perhaps more extreme. There is Modern Standard but middle eastern and north african are variances within that. There are many more as well, some more common than others."

[unit_girl]

"Oh, I see." That made sense. "Do you they have different symbols too, or just different words?" Jo was almost surprised to find she was quite interested. But then she wasn't averse to learning, she just wasn't so fond of learning in school.

[easiertohate]

Ros reminded herself that she had offered to teach this very thing at the school. Of that would be different, she told herself, that wouldn't be her free time.

Though what wasn't free time here? "Different symbols as well," she answered sharply.

[unit_girl]

"So if you know a different dialect can you work out what the new symbols mean from that?" She smiled, hoping to appease the woman slightly, given her tone. "You must be very clever to know all this."

[easiertohate]

"Sometimes yes and sometimes no," Ros gave the woman a stiff smile. "Actually, I am rather."

[unit_girl]

Jo was glad she never had to try reading any of this stuff. "Do you know any other languages?" She ignored the woman's other statement - she'd got used to that sort of thing from the Doctor.

[easiertohate]

"Hmm?" Ros' eyes had dropped back to the book, hoping the girl would desist. When she saw it wasn't so she flicked it shut, "Spanish, French, a smattering of others. And you?" She smiled sweetly at the end. Too sweetly.

[unit_girl]

"I did French at school, but I haven't really used it since." She hadn't really used it much there either, really. "What do you do with all those languages?"

[easiertohate]

"Used them," She bit back the rest of her response. "In my work mostly. I worked for the government."