What writers think bilingual people do: *flawlessly translates between two languages to other characters with exact speed and accuracy*
What bilingual people actually do: *someone who only knows Spanish asks me* "¿Qué significa 'gossip'?" *it is in that moment that I forgot all Spanish I ever knew or will ever know as I scramble to find a way to describe it.* "Es como... uh... es cuando la gente habla de otra gente... cuando no están allí. Pero... uh... normalmente, no es bueno." *makes unrelated hand motions to somehow better convey the word*
[[Translation: "What does 'gossip' mean?" "It's like... uh... it's when people talk about other people... when they're not there. But... uh... normally, it's not good."]]

What writers think bilingual people do: Quieres salir conmigo- oops, sorry! I just slip into Spanish without realizing it sometimes, haha. Do you want to hang out at the amusement park on Tuesday?
What actual bilingual people do: *thinks what I want to say in English and then translates it to Spanish mentally as I'm saying it out loud* Quieres salir conmigo a... eh.... what's the word? Uh.... *makes wave sort of motion with hand to convey a rollercoaster* Quires salir conmigo a la parque de cosas divertidas el martes? *hopes what I said made enough sense because I forget uncommon nouns a lot*
[[Translation: "Do you want to come with me-" & "Do you want to come with me to... eh..." "Do you want to come with me to the park of fun things on Tuesday?"]]