all too well // august horn av årnäs x reader

3

i nodded.

i walked and stood next to her then we began walking. we walked through another part of the girls dormitory which i hadn't seen before. eventually we reached a big room with a giant table in the middle of it.

there were other smaller tables with food around it, and girls sitting along the table.

sara and i walked into the room and they all greeted her. they immediately noticed me and began saying stuff in swedish that i couldn't understand because they were speaking fast.

"flyttade hon precis?" one of them said.

"ah ja, jag glömde det. vi hade en ny tjej som kom in från spanien." another one replied.

"pratar du svenska?" another girl said directly to me.
i tilted my head at her, trying to figure out what the said. my "understanding" of swedish only went so far. it usually took a bit for me to process what someone said and translate it in my head.

i knew the word "svenska.", it meant swedish. i put two and two together and realised she asked if i spoke swedish.

before i could answer, sara interrupted me.
"hon pratar bara engelska och spanska antar jag"

i looked at her then back at the girl who had initially asked me the question. i was grateful she replied before there was just silence and i ended up looking stupid.

"nej." i said quietly, shaking my head.
(no)

it felt as if everyone was staring at me now.

"um.. i don't speak it, other than small words, but if you speak slow, i can understand." i stated in front of everyone.

my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

the girl who asked me the question nodded at my response, and another girl spoke up.
"i'm madison, this is my friend felice." she motioned at the girl next to her. she was pretty; she had brown hair and tan skin.

"hello." she smiled at me.

she seemed really nice but i noticed she was staring at sara rather... rudely. maybe they didn't like each other?

i brushed this off and smiled back at her and the girl next to her.
"nice to meet you, i'm y/n... if i may ask, are you american?" i said to madison, noticing her perfect english. she was the only one without a swedish accent.

"yeah, i'm half american half swedish" she said.

"that's cool, i'm spanish."

madison gave me a small smile and turned her sight to sara, who i had just noticed left my side and was off in another table getting food.

"sara, kommer inte din familj från venezuela?"
"ja." she replied dryly.

"if you need help translating into spanish you can ask me or my brother, simon." sara said, turning to me.

from what i picked up, her family was venezuelan; so i didn't have to question that part. really the only part i questioned was why everyone seemed so warm towards me and everyone else but sara.

i smiled softly at her, feeling bad. i knew what it was like to be treated different.
"vosotros habléis español fluido?" i asked.
(you (plural) speak fluent spanish?)

her eyebrows perked up.
"si, nuestra mamá es de venezuela. siempre nos habla en español."
(yes, our mom is from venezuela. she always speaks to us in spanish.)

"ah vale, que guay."
(oh alright, how cool.)

even though it didn't look like it, i was ecstatic. there's no better feeling than being in a foreign place and finally finding someone who speaks your native language. it's -comforting in a way. like you have someone who has your back at all times.

felice motioned for me to sit down with everyone; having stood up the whole time i was in the dining room.
i did as she motioned and soon enough some other girls were speaking to me. they tried their hardest to talk to me in english. sara stayed kind of far away from me once i sat next to felice.

i realised hillerska wasnt going to be so bad after all. the girls were nice, and if sara's brother is as nice as her, there's nothing to worry about with guys either.