The Quiet One

Chapter 4

She loved learning new things but her environment became detrimental. She was so worried about upsetting her parents or not knowing the right answer. She began doubting her answers and rethinking how to try and keep facts inside her mind. When she would have a rough day at school her parents decided to take her out somewhere. Her mom and dad switched off teaching her because of their work schedules. Most of the time, her parents decided that a restaurant was the best place to go. She did not particularly like going to restaurants. Since they took breaks from schooling to go out, most of the time they encountered older people. She does not like older people; they seem to whisper the most. She can hear their whispers from across the room. And she can tell that they are about her when they ask, "Why can't she speak?" or say, "The poor mother having to deal with that". Whispering makes her nervous because of those words. She knows that when people whisper it is to not be heard. Before she stopped talking she whispered too. She now rationalizes that if she doesn't want to be heard, she should remain mute. She is also somewhat hoping that her unspoken words will give power to her written words. She also hoped that it would give more meaning to her words. Her parents only saw it as attention seeking, though. They believed that the only possible reasons for her sudden mutism are bad. After being homeschooled for a while, she decided to try and convince her parents to let her go back to school.