Sylvia and Crystal's First Encounter

It was a standard event for Crystal to go to the Literature Club every week. They'd meet every Wednesday, and would have a lovely time reading books and having discussions centered around them. Today started off a bit differently than usual, however.

"Everyone," the club leader, Ophelia, announced. "Please welcome our new member, Sylvia. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

The new floss in question, Sylvia, Crystal supposed, was a popfloss with doe-like features. She had crystal horns and a crystal halo, all of which reflected the soft light of the clubroom. As she stepped further to the front, she greeted the club members and gave a quick introduction. Crystal was instantly drawn to the pop, partially due to the floss' seemingly-sweet nature, and the amazing outfit she was wearing. Sylvia also seemed a bit nervous, so Crystal made sure to give a little thumbs up once Sylvia motioned to sit down.

Once the introduction was aside, Ophelia went on to announce this week's activity. Because the club had just finished their most recent novel, it was time to vote for a new book to read. Crystal quietly thought about how fortunate Sylvia came in when they were starting a new book, rather than when they were in the middle of one. When Crystal had first joined, she had done exactly that, and had felt quite awkward during the first few sessions.

Whilst Crystal was thinking, Ophelia went around and passed out ballots so that everyone could vote on the next book to read. Still somewhat caught up in her thoughts, Crystal skimmed the book list, pausing when she saw "Frankenstein" on the list of options. Crystal instantly got excited, due to having read the story when she was younger, and also having played with a doll that was based off of Frankenstein's monster. She quickly circled the title, and eagerly awaited for the votes to be tallied. Crystal crossed the fingers on her bottom right hand while anxiously tapping a pencil with her top left.

Much to Crystal's delight, Frankenstein was indeed the victor! She signed a cheer and crinkled her eyes in happiness. She let her mind wander to what the other members would think of the book while Ophelia explained that they'd start the book next week. Club meetings always ended early on voting days, but instead of leaving, most floss would choose to stay and chat until their usual end time.

While raking her eyes across her peers, Crystal's eyes caught on Sylvia. Crystal had been so caught up in her thoughts about Frankenstein that her thoughts of the new member had slid to the backburner. Being someone who always wants to make others feel welcome, she walked up to the pop and signed "Hello, I'm Crystal!" Although sign language is fairly universal throughout Carmella, Crystal had talked to people who didn't know the sign for her namesake, so she made sure to finger spell it for the new floss.

"Hi, Crystal! Nice to meet you! I suppose you already know I'm Sylvia."

Crystal was delighted that Sylvia seemed fluent in sign language, because that meant she didn't have to speak simply.  She happily signed "Yeah, I remembered from your introduction, haha. I hope that this doesn't sound weird, but your clothes are super cute! Where did you get them from?"

Sylvia shifted to display her clothes, replying "Thanks! It's not weird at all. My secret is thrift stores. They have so much variety it's hard not to find something you love."

Crystal fiddled her non-signing hands together, invested in Sylvia's words. "Really? That's super cool! I don't go to stores like that often, but maybe I should. Crystal made a mental note to look into local resale shops, before continuing "Well, on a different note, how are your liking your first meeting? Vote days are always short, but you should have a good idea of how things go."

"I'm really liking it so far. I'm super excited to read Frankenstein! It's been on my list of books to read for ages."

Crystal visibly perked up at that, and excitedly signed "Oh, did you vote for it too?"

Sylvia smiled in response and with a tilt of her head replied "I did! I assume that means you voted for it as well."

"Yeah! It might sound a bit silly, but I've wanted to read it for a while. I think I read a censored version of it when I was a kid, but I'd prefer to read the real deal, haha," Crystal quickly signed. Crystal's motions gave away her excitement by how wide her signs were being made. "That and I also want to know what one of my favorite childhood toys was based on! When I was younger I had this doll that was supposed to be Frankenstein's Monster's daughter, and I absolutely adored her."

"Oh, that's actually kinda cute."

At Sylvia's words, Crystal's signing somewhat froze when she realized that she had detoured the conversation. She scratched the back of her head before signing "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to ramble, I've just gotten back into revisiting stuff from when I was younger, and that's what immediately came to mind."

Sylvia didn't seem bothered in the slightest, much to Crystal's relief. "It's okay! It's always fun to revisit the things you were into when you were younger. Nostalgia is great!"

"I'm happy to hear you say that. I got a massive kick of it the other day when I went to the library and found a book I had completely forgotten about. It was called Out of My Mind, and I liked it so much I finished it in two days, haha"

"It was that good?! I might just have to read it myself."

Crystal was somewhat taken aback by Sylvia's answer, not having expected the pop to take an interest in it. She was excited at the idea of sharing one of her childhood books with someone, so happily signed "Oh really?! I'd love to share it with you! Just so you know, it's realistic fiction, so I hope that's ok." Crystal's signing had started to slow down, with her making a distinct effort to not seem like she was pushing the book onto Sylvia. She didn't want the other floss to feel forced into reading the story, and did her best to convey that.

To Crystal's surprise, Sylvia seemed to perk up, and responded with "I love realistic fiction! Have you read much of Jane Austen's works? They're some of my favorites. Perhaps we could do something of a book swap?"

"A book swap? That sounds super fun!" Crystal hadn't done anything like that before, and her appreciation for Sylvia was ever-growing. Not wanting to distract from the conversation thread the pop had dropped, she continued "And isn't Jane Austen that famous historical fiction author? I think my Mom has watched a bunch of TV adaptions of her books, and I've been meaning to research them more. Do you like her books?"

"Yup! That's her! Her books are great." Sylvia seemed to take a thoughtful pause, but with a sheepish grin continued "Of course... I'm a sucker for romance, so you'll have to form your own opinion. I'm sure you'll like them though."

Internally smiling at Sylvia's excitement, Crystal crinkled her eyes upwards and  snapped her right hand as she had an idea. There was a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone, seeing as Sylvia needed a book for the trade and Crystal had had some of Austen's books on the backburner for way too long. "Hey, would you want to swap one of your favorite books of hers? I'd love to try one out, and it sounds like you have good recommendations."

"Sounds good! I think I'll give you Pride and Prejudice. When do you want to meet up?"

Internally cheering, Crystal paused to think over her schedule, trying to think of a time that wouldn't be too weird. Tomorrow would be too soon, right? But Saturday might be weird if Sylvia commutes to campus. She anxiously tapped her fingers together before saying "Maybe on Friday? I don't have any classes that day, and it'll give me time to get Out of My Mind for you."

Sylvia seemed to think about it for a bit before replying "Sounds good! Does the afternoon work?"

Counting through the hours on her hands, Crystal then said "Sure! Would you want to meet around two? There's a really nice corner in the school cafeteria that I think would be a great place to hang out."

"I can't wait!"

After exchanging goodbyes, the two floss went their separate ways. Once she was out of sight in a different hallway, Crystal pumped her firsts and did a little happy dance. Sylvia was so cool!!! And she wanted to meet up!!! And read one of Crystal's books! A part of her was nervous at the idea of somehow messing it up, but the bigger part of her was able to counter those worries with how genuinely receptive Sylvia had been. Still smiling, Crystal pulled her phone out of her pocket to add the meet-up to her calendar. Friday was going to be a good day.