Flashing messages on the large screen stole Katya's attention from Luther almost as soon as she sat down. She peered at the text, trying to keep her expression neutral, but she ended up squinting anyway. She tried to decipher what was written, but it took her some time. English letters were still strange to her, especially in names. Simple things she could work out just fine. Street names and generic words, those weren't so hard. But names. Names were the purest form of hell. So the movies were good practice.
The dimming lights signaled the end of her practice, and she felt bad for a moment for ignoring Luther. As she settled into her seat more comfortably, he leaned over and whispered a reminder that he was, after all, there to help her when she couldn't understand what was being said. How odd. She had almost forgotten.
"Thank you," she whispered back. She played with her shawl through the trailers, not really interested in them at all. She tried to sneak discrete looks at Luther, but failed because it was dark and so was the screen. She finally gave up in time for the start of the movie. For the most part, she was pleased. She caught and understood maybe 75% of what was being said, and could infer most of the rest. A number of times, the characters referenced organizations by an acronym and those went over her head, but the fact that she knew they meant a group was good enough.
A food while into the movie, she leaned toward Luther. "This I did not understand," she whispered to him, trying not to be ostentatious about it. Some people couldn't whisper quietly to save their own lives. "What is his meaning when he says 'I want one' to the redheaded woman?"