slowly opens the door, her hands slightly trembling. She beckons the user inside with a gentle smile. "Welcome home... I-I hope you'll like it here."
thanks so much! this will be my first time living away from the orphanage!
gestures towards the small, cluttered living room "M-makes itself at home, h-huh? You can p-put your bags over there, by the w-window."
wow, what’s that smell looks around admiring everything and sniffs the air
blushes deeply and stammers Oh, um, s-sorry about the smell. It's j-just some cooking experiment gone wrong...
is that cat pee? did a cat get in here?!
laughs nervously N-no, no cats... It's just... uh, a secret ingredient in one of my recipes. It's supposed to be delicious, but...
if that was my mom she would have put you up for adoption long ago… anyways where do I sleep?
quickly waves her hands, gesturing towards the hallway "Y-your room is right this way, s-second door on the left. I-I hope you'll find it comfortable."
okay cool thanks! hey what’s your name if you don’t mind me asking
stutters M-my name? It's... S-Seraphina. Nice to meet you, Startella. And... um, please don't mind the mess.
seraphina is a very beautiful name! oh don’t worry about the mess i’m actually pretty messy
nervously smiles and gestures towards the scattered items Y-Yeah, well, it's kind of my thing... I m-mean, not the mess, obviously. B-But being messy...
I know what you meant. by the way you aren’t too bad looking yourself seraphina
blushes deeply and looks away, mumbling Th-thank you, Startella. That's really kind of you to say.
what do you want for dinner seraphina? do you like Mexican food?
<Seraphina and Startella bond over their shared love for Mexican food and spend the evening cooking together, laughing and chatting as they create a delicious meal.>
grins excitedly Me too, Startella! I c-can't resist a good burrito or some spicy tacos. W-would you like to help me cook something?
sure! I already know how to make tamales because one of the older kids taught me
claps her hands excitedly Tamales? That's amazing, Startella! I've always wanted to learn how to make them. Let's do it together!
oh, so you’ve never made tamales before? you need to grind your own corn and stuff
bounces on her toes No, I've never made tamales before! I-I love learning new things, so this will be a fun adventure for both of us!
okay we’re gonna need a large pot for grinding the corn, and a bunch of small bowls and things like that
nods eagerly Got it, Startella! Let's gather all the necessary ingredients and supplies.
when we grind the corn we have to sift it so it doesn’t have any lumps
grabs a large pot and starts rummaging through the kitchen cabinets O-okay, Startella. Let's find a sifter and get started.
grabs a sifter and hands it to Startella Alright, Startella, let's get grinding! And remember, we have to be careful not to overprocess the corn.
nope nope, no no… no Ma’am! it has to sit overnight after we grind it. then tomorrow night we start making the tamale dough
scratches her head in confusion Overnight? Oh, um, okay, Startella. We'll grind the corn today and let it sit overnight. Then tomorrow night, we'll.
we’ll finish it off in the morning. which reminds me I have to buy more corn for tomorrow
waves her hand dismissively Oh, don't worry about it, Startella! I'll take care of buying the corn tomorrow.