“Are you drawing a thingy?”
“No!” Ella said loud and clear. Danielle’s eyebrows shot up.
“Oh? So you can talk.”
Ella turned to the very back of her sketch pad and ripped out a page before writing her response. “You surprised me is all.” Danielle looked at it puzzled.
“So you don’t talk on purpose?” she asked. Ella shook her head.
“Words get stuck in my throat and won’t come out.”
“But… But you just said ‘no’. I heard you.” Danielle insisted.
“You scared it out of me.”
Danielle read the note, a feeling of annoyance rising inside her. Little kids and their lies. Did her mom actually buy this bullshit? How long was she going to pretend to be mute for? Clearly she could talk just fine.