Sisters Kanaya and Porrim Maryam moved from Dubai to New York City 3 months ago. The move took a better part of the year, and the duo were now crammed into a tiny apartment in south Brooklyn, but they were certainly both happier thanks to Porrim's new job as a marketing consultant to a large fashion agency. The only downside to their new situation was their living quarters. The apartment itself wasn't too bad; it fit their needs exactly. Unfortunately, the building was crowded, dirty, noisy, and devoid of Arabic speakers and Muslims.
Rose Lalonde was born in Queens, raised in Manhattan, and moved to Brooklyn 2 months ago. The move was from her mother's lavish penthouse to a single-bedroom, single-bathroom, hole-in-the-wall dump. Not only was the apartment itself shitty, but the building was crowded, dirty, and noisy. She worked every night at an equally shitty job: serving nearly every night at the local Applebee's. The only upside to her new situation was her neighbor, coworker, and best friend, Jade Harley.
Every shift they shared, Jade and Rose would ride the crowded, creaky elevator down together. However, one day, the elevator became slightly more crowded. As the coworkers tiredly stumbled into the elevator, they took their places next to the two sisters. Kanaya and Porrim were quietly chatting with each other in Arabic about the groceries they were going to get. They finished the mundane chat and waited in silence for the ground floor.
"Fuck, Jade." Whispered Rose quietly around the middle of the two sister's chat. "Who is that girl?"
"The younger one? Kanaya Maryam. They just moved here from Dubai." Jade said, a bit confused.
"She's quite attractive."
"Uh...yeah, I guess so!" Jade quickly ended the conversation as they all piled out of the elevator.
Around a week later, the groceries ran out. Porrim and Kanaya had their usual chat in their native language about the bread and eggs they needed to buy. It was all going well until Rose and Jade quietly stepped on the elevator.
"Jade, there she is again," Rose sighed aloud. "I actually can't fathom how beautiful she is."
Jade turned bright red and giggled slightly. "Rose, have you even said two words to her?"
"Of course I haven't," She glanced at Kanaya, barely a foot away. "I don't speak Arabic."
As they all piled out of the elevator, the two sets of girls resumed their respective conversations and went their seperate ways.
As the days went by, Rose and Jade ran in to Kanaya and Porrim more and more. Every time Rose would comment on Kanaya's beauty, Jade would giggle, and the sisters would remain silent. These meetings continued until one day, Kanaya and Rose met alone in the elevator.
It was 2 AM, Rose had just finished closing the resteraunt and Kanaya had just come home from a night with friends. The two wordlessly stepped into the elevator, shuffled their feet, and then awkwardly smiled.
"You could drown a toddler in my underwear right now," Rose giggled to herself.
"Are You Talking To Yourself?"
Rose turned on her heels to face a bright-red Kanaya.
"I...Am I what? What? You can speak English?"
"Yes, Of Course I Can Speak English!" Kanaya yelled. "Nobody Told You I Could Not Speak English! You Just Assumed! I've Been Hearing Every Single Word You've Said."
"I...apologize greatly. I can't believe I've been saying such crass things." The elevator opened on Rose's floor. "Please forgive me, I'm so sorry." She scurried off into her hallway, absolutely mortified. Keeping her head down, she swiftly knocked on Jade's door. After lots of frantic whispering and knocking, a half-asleep Jade finally answered.
"You didn't tell me she could speak English!" Rose growled. "Why on Earth didn't you tell me she could speak English?"
"It was hilarious!" Jade laughed. "And pretty flattering. That's what you get for assuming!"
"Flattering? It was flattering when I commented on how beautiful she is. It absolutely was not flattering when I told her we could drown an infant in my panties."
"Oh...oh no," Her eyes grew wide. "What are you going to do? She lives right upstairs."
Rose gave an worried sigh, "I guess I'll find out the next time she's free for dinner."