frostl

Hm... Then I recommend you head over to the reading room. They have some dictionaries you could borrow. Would you like me to take you? Do you know the way?

...I would, if they didn't replace all the plants and doorplates.

Hm?

Nothing! I can go by myself, thank you!

*muddled pronunciation*? or is it *muddled pronunciation*?

A word that looks like weeds, and behind is a hook that looks like a tail... Does this mean 'starry sky'?

*muddled pronunciation* ...'lost'...'witness'......

'tears'...'drunk'......

'Tears drunk, look at lost starry sky, light up, passing by crazy young people'......

'Sad light, but it can't be done, throw it away, throw it away, dance and cry'?

I've written down the meanings of each word, but what does the line actually mean...?

Is it even meant to be understood? Or did I read it wrong? But that's what it says in the dictionary, so there shouldn't be any problems.

What's going on...

Tears drunk—♪♪Throw away, throw away, dance and cry♪ Um...

...That sounds so weird, and so bad! There's no way they sung it like that. Now I'm even more annoyed!

...I really can't do a single thing right.

Frostleaf throws off her headphones in a huff, and a fragmented voice seeps out from the earcups, floating into her ears.

Hm—hm-hmmm♪ Hmm.......hm-hmm......♪

♪Hmm...Hm-hmm...♪

I don't believe it.

The gifts from her fellow operators were still piled up on her desk, and Frostleaf takes out a vocabulary book she'd put away in a drawer.

'I, eat, biscuit. Subject, verb, object.'

'I happily eat, the, delicious biscuit. Adverb, article, adjective.'

'...Using modifiers can make your sentences more rich and complete.'

Then that 'tears drunk' is actually...

'Drunk on tears'? If I add the words before it, 'Why not,' then it becomes 'Why not get drunk on tears'? It's still a weird sentence, but kinda... beautiful?

Oh, I read this wrong earlier, this word is supposed to be 'review' —why do they look so similar? 'read, review, browse,' They have similar meanings, and this one looks like a flying fowlbeast.

A flying fowlbeast...? Wait, is this the one from the doorplate? ...'Reading Room,' a place where you can read books. Oh... so that's what it means.

And that word from the other day that looks like two burdenbeasts, is 'prohibited,' and that means... 'not allowed.'

This one is 'movie,' the thing they invited me to last time. And 'catalog,' I've seen this in the cafeteria and infirmary... I got sidetracked. Let's move on.

...Alright, so this line could mean something more like 'We frantically spend our youth, trying to light up the night sky.'

'So why not we get drunk on tears, and pretend to be a cluster of lost stars.'

'Yet we hope to illuminate the other sky.'

Huh... I still don't really get it. Why did they say 'Don't look at me, I am just a disappointed person, trying to get you back' at the end?

What does that have to do with the stars, the night sky, getting drunk, and being young? The last few lines sound more like what Tom said to Katy after they broke up and he was trying to get her back...

I don't get it... what does it mean?

Frostleaf lies on the dormitory floor, her gaze wandering aimlessly across the notices and posters put up by her roommates on the walls.

Hmm...?

'Reading Room,' 'prohibited,' 'food and drink,' 'next week,' 'movie to watch,' 'catalog.'

Is that what it means? The words I got wrong earlier are here too...

Woah, I can understand it?

...Hm—hmm♪ Hmm.......hm-hmm......♪

We frantically spend our youth, trying to light up the night sky♪

So why not we get drunk on tears, and pretend to be lost stars♪

Yet we hope to light up another sky♪

It sounds so different now, like the words I heard the other day in that movie...

I finally finished checking all of it, and it doesn't seem that complicated. Seems like its just about romance?

Sounds like a young person wanting to get back together with their lover after they broke up, and they feel like a lost star...

But I don't get what it means to light up the sky... Why would they want to do that?

Frostleaf puts away the vocabulary book in her hand, and crumples up several sheets of paper.

She stretches her neck, and walks out of the dormitory, where she had been for a long time.

The hall outside is still a hall, and the room is still a room, but—

'Instructions for Rhodes Island Operators'

'Today's Cafeteria Menu, featuring a Leithanian head chef!'

'Oranges sent from home, feel free to eat them!'

'Don't forget about the event in Perfumer's garden today!'

'The snack shelf has been restocked!'

She suddenly realizes she can understand all these previously meaningless symbols. The doorplates, the menus, the notices, they all have their own meanings.

In a way, it felt as if she suddenly belonged here.

Oh, Frostleaf! Where are you headed?

I, I... Hold on, Frostleaf, wait up!

...'Rec Room'!

Like I was saying, Frostleaf, you put too much flour in, and now the meringue has collapsed and the biscuits are gonna come out real hard!

See, just like I said, right?

But you did great for your first try!

Want to taste it yourself?

...Oh, man! It really is hard as a rock!

Pfft, hahaha.

The meaning of 'Rec Room' is... a super hard biscuit.

Frostleaf opens her vocabulary book, and next to the words 'Rec Room,' draws a circle that could be seen as a biscuit with three small figures crowded together.

......'Garden'!

You were called Frostleaf, yes?

I don't know the meaning behind your codename, but it reminds me of the autumn leaves after the frost descends. Mm, a beautiful image.

Try smelling this fragrance, does it make you feel like you're in a maple forest with snow falling everywhere?

Mm... smells refreshing... and like dry leaves?

That's right, I concocted this one based on your name. It's alright if you didn't enjoy yourself today, but if you ever do spark an interest, you're always welcome.

'Garden' means... a maple forest after snow has fallen.

Frostleaf flips through the vocabulary book, finds the word 'Garden,' and draws a maple leaf next to it.

......And 'Cafeteria' is......

If you can't read the medication instructions, then what about the menu?

Here, I'll explain it item by item. They have separate sections today: this side is by a Victorian chef, and that side is a Columbian chef. They both taste pretty good!

But you—you should eat from <i>this</i> section, where the food is both delicious AND nutritious!

I'll read out the menu, and then you can decide what to eat, okay?

Thanks...

The 'Cafeteria' is a place where I can fill my plate up everyday, with the diagrams Hibiscus drew for my pills.

Frostleaf draws a plate of food and a piece of paper covered with words.

Originally full of messy notes, page after page of the vocabulary book is filled with variety of small doodles, as if each word has taken on a new meaning.

Frostleaf!

Frostleaf—! Don't run away—the instructor told me to tell you we can ramp up our training exercises tomorrow!

*pant* *pant*...

Jessica, can I borrow your pen again?

Huh? Yeah, here!

What are you drawing, a... table?

Yeah, on top of it are 'headphones,' 'vocabulary book,' and 'potted plants.'

What's the small pot and shed next to 'wilderness' and the group of people next to 'battlefield'?

Ah, that's my life before I came here. We had a shed out in the wilds, and people would look for us when they needed something done. The lucky ones survived, most would never return.

That must have been hard...

Erm...I don't know, actually. It's always been like that, ever since I was small. I was even a little uneasy coming here at first.

Um, what did you draw next to the word 'hall'?

A crying Feline's head.