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Description
2:16 PM.

Three hours ago, the room was dominated by the sound of four boys conversing in one language. Two hours ago, three of those boys were escorted out of the room. The room gained quiet. One hour after that, there was noise once more--tapping hands and feet belonging to the two teens left in the room.

Similarly, the last 20 minutes had seen varying degrees of impatience. The boy leaned back and forth on the couch, careful not the disturb the space the girl was sitting in. He adjusted and readjusted his bandana out of boredom, every now and then looking over to the his left to see what the girl was up to. This time, he found her looking back at him.

She was studying him. Or, at least, that's what he thought she was doing, until she scrunched up her face and spoke quickly in what he was pretty sure was Japanese.

2:56 PM.

He sighed. She scratched her head. He rested his head on his hand. She leaned back on the couch. 40 minutes of subtle charades and continuous charging of a language barrier higher than the Tower of Babel proved useless.

They were no closer to understanding each others' language than they were to knowing when the other teens were returning, or when they were going to be called.

3:03 PM.

Another slew of back and forth "conversation" (if it could even be called that) gave rise to a small, but highly important breakthrough. The girl, in a very Tarzan and Jane fashion, had pointed to herself and given her name. The boy followed. They smiled at their first successful correspondence.

Finally, progress.

3:29 PM.

They let the two teens out for refreshments four minutes ago. The boy, Tye, fumbles around in his pockets looking for enough change to purchase the lone bag of chips left in the vending machine. The girl, Asami (due to further problems in pronouncing her full name, she is dubbed 'Sam' by Tye), stands by the wall behind him, arms in her vest pockets, eyes drawn to a snack bar in the machine.

3:31 PM.

The boy turns. He's short a quarter, and he's hoping she had one--until he saw the object of her gaze. He realized why she had been staring at it so intently and checks the price.

He apologizes to the bag of chips before ordering two snack bars.

4:34 PM.

After returning to the room once again, the two continued their silent agreement to understand one another.

Half an hour was spent staring at each other, memorizing small facial movements, guessing what they meant, and cheering at accomplishments. The following half hour gave rise to a pantomime experience--acting out scenes from movies and shows to ask if the other knew of it, the same with music, the same with books. This time saw many judgmental smirks from the boy, and an assortment of faces from the girl. By the end of the hour, the two had bonded over shared interests, and debated (albeit with gestures) over multiple forms of media.

They had more in common than words could possibly convey.

6:10 PM.

The three boys had returned. Tye proceeded with the introductions, pointing to each as he went, and speaking slowly and clearly to make sure Sam understood. The triad watched in disbelief as the Japanese girl nodded and greeted each of them; the four of them had tried to converse with her for the entirety of the morning, giving up one by one until the noon arrived. The two teens who had been left behind shared a quick, subtle side glance. Then they smirked knowingly at the newcomers.

The time they had spent together proved something worth remembering.

There is one universal language, but you mustn't speak for it to be heard.

Description
2:16 PM.

Three hours ago, the room was dominated by the sound of four boys conversing in one language. Two hours ago, three of those boys were escorted out of the room. The room gained quiet. One hour after that, there was noise once more--tapping hands and feet belonging to the two teens left in the room.

Similarly, the last 20 minutes had seen varying degrees of impatience. The boy leaned back and forth on the couch, careful not the disturb the space the girl was sitting in. He adjusted and readjusted his bandana out of boredom, every now and then looking over to the his left to see what the girl was up to. This time, he found her looking back at him.

She was studying him. Or, at least, that's what he thought she was doing, until she scrunched up her face and spoke quickly in what he was pretty sure was Japanese.

2:56 PM.

He sighed. She scratched her head. He rested his head on his hand. She leaned back on the couch. 40 minutes of subtle charades and continuous charging of a language barrier higher than the Tower of Babel proved useless.

They were no closer to understanding each others' language than they were to knowing when the other teens were returning, or when they were going to be called.

3:03 PM.

Another slew of back and forth "conversation" (if it could even be called that) gave rise to a small, but highly important breakthrough. The girl, in a very Tarzan and Jane fashion, had pointed to herself and given her name. The boy followed. They smiled at their first successful correspondence.

Finally, progress.

3:29 PM.

They let the two teens out for refreshments four minutes ago. The boy, Tye, fumbles around in his pockets looking for enough change to purchase the lone bag of chips left in the vending machine. The girl, Asami (due to further problems in pronouncing her full name, she is dubbed 'Sam' by Tye), stands by the wall behind him, arms in her vest pockets, eyes drawn to a snack bar in the machine.

3:31 PM.

The boy turns. He's short a quarter, and he's hoping she had one--until he saw the object of her gaze. He realized why she had been staring at it so intently and checks the price.

He apologizes to the bag of chips before ordering two snack bars.

4:34 PM.

After returning to the room once again, the two continued their silent agreement to understand one another.

Half an hour was spent staring at each other, memorizing small facial movements, guessing what they meant, and cheering at accomplishments. The following half hour gave rise to a pantomime experience--acting out scenes from movies and shows to ask if the other knew of it, the same with music, the same with books. This time saw many judgmental smirks from the boy, and an assortment of faces from the girl. By the end of the hour, the two had bonded over shared interests, and debated (albeit with gestures) over multiple forms of media.

They had more in common than words could possibly convey.

6:10 PM.

The three boys had returned. Tye proceeded with the introductions, pointing to each as he went, and speaking slowly and clearly to make sure Sam understood. The triad watched in disbelief as the Japanese girl nodded and greeted each of them; the four of them had tried to converse with her for the entirety of the morning, giving up one by one until the noon arrived. The two teens who had been left behind shared a quick, subtle side glance. Then they smirked knowingly at the newcomers.

The time they had spent together proved something worth remembering.

There is one universal language, but you mustn't speak for it to be heard.