The next morning, as I sit down at the table, I know something's different. The plates aren't out yet, and I don't smell pancakes like I usually do at this time. Is something wrong?

"Morning, Rosa!" Callie calls cheerfully from the kitchen. "Come on in!"

I slowly enter the kitchen, wondering what's going on. Callie turns to me, holding plates.

"Sorry it's not ready yet!" She says, giving me a bright smile. "Marie wanted waffles for a change, so it took a little longer to make!"

What are waffles? I wonder, looking at her quizzically.

She leaves the kitchen, smiling over her shoulder at me. I take that as an invitation to follow, and go after her.

"Oh, that's right. You probably don't know what waffles are." She says, her face falling.

I nod, inching closer to see what she's carrying. She smiles and leans down, allowing me to see what's on the plates. 

"See? These are waffles! They're kinda like pancakes!" She explains.

I stare at them, trying to form an opinion. They're circles, like the pancakes, but there are squares in the big circle. How is it like that? What made that happen?

"Anyway, why don't you try one?" Callie says, setting one of the plates at the table in my usual place. "Marie and I will eat when she gets back!"

I nod again, taking the fork she's offered. Then it hits me.

Where's Marie? I write.

Callie smiles. "She went to get some things for your writing lesson today!"

Writing lesson... I'd completely forgotten! Excitement shoots through me like a lightning bolt, followed by nerves.

What if I don't do it right? Will I be able to do it?

"Come on, writing's fun!" Callie says, taking my hands and squeezing them. "Besides, Marie's a great teacher! She helped me when I was first learning. I wasn't very good at sitting still and paying attention."

I can't imagine her as a kid. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me. She's grown up in a totally different world from the one I have.

"Go on! Try the waffles!" She says.

I glance down, realizing I'd completely forgotten about eating. I clumsily cut a piece with the fork and knife, still unused to such utensils, and take a small bite.

She's right, it does taste quite similar to pancakes. The sweetness is still there, just differently shaped. Do pancakes and waffles know how similar they are? Are they like Octolings and Inklings, very similar except for a few physical traits? Does that mean they hate each other like we seem to, or can they not think at all? Perhaps someday, one of them will be decided as the 'better' one.

"Well?" Callie asks, smiling.

I smile, taking another bite. That's all Callie needs. She beams, then runs to get something from the kitchen.

"Try it with the syrup!" She says, upending the container over my waffles.

I spring back in alarm. What if she uses too much? Will she drown the waffles? Can they swim?

"Don't look so worried! See? There's nothing to worry about."

To my great relief, she didn't drown the waffles. They look exactly the same as before, just with the syrup on it. I imagine syrup on waffles tastes very similar to syrup on pancakes, so it seems relatively safe.

"Even better, huh?" She asks, after I've tasted it.

Before I can respond, the front door opens. I run to give Marie a hug, relieved she made it back okay. What if something had happened? Lots of people leave and don't come back...

"Yay! Now we can get started!" Callie says excitedly, pulling me over to the table. 

Marie follows, holding a large bag. From it she pulls a book and a small rectangular container.

"Here." She says, opening the container and handing me a pencil. It's blue, a color I've come to love.

I take it, feeling how slippery it is. Did Marie find it in the water?

"It's a new pencil, Rosa. It'll take getting used to." Marie says knowingly.

Where do pencils come from? I write in Octarian, the thought striking me. Do they grow somewhere?

"They're wood!" Callie says. "When a tree falls over, we use it to make pencils!"

Startled, I glance down at the pencil in my hand. This is a tree?

"Don't think too hard about it." Marie says, giving me a small smile. "Let's get to writing."

She opens the book, revealing...nothing. The page is blank. What happened to this book? Where are all the pictures?

"This is where you'll practice writing." She says, seeing my alarmed expression. "It's just paper, Rosa. We call these notebooks. There's not supposed to be anything there."

"YOU get to write it!" Callie chimes in.

Oh...so it's paper, pretending to be a book? I wonder, feeling more confused than before. But since they both are waiting for me, I nod and smile.

"The first thing we're going to teach you is how to write your name." Marie says.

I nod again, tightening my grip on the pencil a little.

"We're going to start by writing an R. Like this."

Marie takes a pencil of her own and makes a few marks on the page.

"Now, your turn."

After studying the R carefully, I try to mimic it as best I can. It's incredibly difficult. My R looks nothing like Marie's, but they both smile at me.

"Good job!" Callie says, beaming.

Marie nods. "Let's keep writing it, until you feel more comfortable."

I continue to copy the letter. As I write it over and over again, it becomes more like Marie's.

"Nice. Now, the O."

We repeat the process for O, S, and A. It takes me a lot of tries to make them look like Marie's, but the smiles on their faces encourage me to keep going.

"Now, write one of each, all in a row." Marie says at last.

I carefully form an R...then an O...S...A.

"You did it!" Callie squeals, hugging me. "You wrote your name!"

While Marie doesn't hug me, she smiles. "Well done, Rosa."

Overwhelmed by their praise (and hugging), I look down at the letters. I know what my name looks like in Octarian, and now I know what it is in Inklish.

"Here's a list of all the letters. Copy any that you like, while I grab some breakfast." Marie says.

Callie and Marie leave, and I'm left with the daunting page of letters.

What should I try to write? I wonder.

As I look at the C, an idea strikes me. I immediately try to copy it, then another letter...and another...and another...

I'm completely lost in my task. All I can focus on it the letters, slowly becoming recognizable through my clumsy lines. At long last, I put all the letters together.

I exhale, seeing them as if for the first time. Excitement flows through me, followed by anxiety.

What if...I did it wrong?

"What did you write?" Marie asks, holding out her hand for the paper.

I hesitate, then hand it to her. My heart stills at she reads. Please, let her like it...

Finally, she looks up at me. "Rosa, this is beautiful."

I let out my breath, leaping forward to hug her. She hugs me back, smiling wider than I've ever seen her.

"Let me see!" Callie demands, grabbing for the paper. 

As she reads what I wrote, she gasps.

"Oh, Rosa..."

Before I can comprehend it, she's grabbing me in a hug. I hear her sniffle.

"Rosa...thank you."

The paper flutters to the ground, with two words written there:

C A L L I E

M A R I E