The Next Morning

The next morning, Roxanne and her three children ate breakfast together. Estella sat quietly beside her, allowing the boys to feed her. Her cheeks puffed up adorably, like a chipmunk's. Roxanne's heart softened at the sight of the obedient little girl, but she also felt bad for her. She believed Estella had wanted to talk the previous night.

With that thought in mind, Roxanne gazed affectionately at Estella. "Essie, would you like some buns?"

Estella nodded eagerly.

Roxanne picked up a bun but didn't place it on Estella's plate. "If you want one," she said, "tell me in words."

Estella blinked, seemingly stumped.

Roxanne's brows furrowed in disappointment. "If you don't talk, I might not understand what you want, and I'll worry about taking care of you. Essie, can you try talking? Don't worry, I'll help you. We can do it slowly."

Hearing this, Archie and Benny put down their forks. "Let's do it together!" they exclaimed. "We want to hear Essie talk, too!"

As their expectant gazes fell on Estella, she looked at each of them. Her fists clenched as she forced out a grunt, "Mm!"

Roxanne and the boys were delighted by her soft, adorable voice. Their eyes lit up in surprise. Roxanne hadn't expected Estella to actually talk.

Despite wanting more progress, Roxanne knew she shouldn't be impatient. She stroked Estella's hair adoringly before placing the bun on her plate.

At kindergarten, Estella's jovial mood was noticeable. "Essie, you're in a jovial mood today, huh?" Pippa remarked, seeing Estella's grin.

Estella beamed and nodded happily.

"We're helping her learn how to talk!" Benny chimed in.

Pippa assumed they were joking. She had taught Estella for some time without ever hearing her speak.

However, Archie and Benny were serious. They were even discussing ways to encourage Estella to talk during class.

Between classes, Estella went to them to play, as usual. But Archie was acting strangely. He frowned and demanded, "What do you want from us?"

Puzzled, Estella looked at Benny. (She wanted to play with Archie and Benny, as they usually did.)

Benny added sternly, "Hurry up and tell us what you want. Archie and I are busy!"

Both boys were treating her coldly. Estella remembered how they had initially ignored her. She enjoyed playing with them recently and grew flustered. She grabbed the pencil and paper on Benny's table to write.

To her surprise, Archie pocketed the pencil. "Talk to us," he said. "Otherwise, we won't know what you mean."

Estella sadly gripped the edge of the desk.

"Didn't you promise Mommy this morning that you'd learn to talk slowly?" Benny asked. "If you can't talk, you can call our names. We've been calling your name, Essie, but you've never said our names!"

Estella parted her lips, but nothing came out. She became anxious and was about to cry.

Seeing this, Archie and Benny gave her the pencil instead of forcing her to speak.

However, for the next few days, the two boys grew distant from her, both at home and at kindergarten. Whenever Estella approached them, Benny would huff angrily, "We treated you well, but you wouldn't even call our names! We're going to ignore you!"

Estella was devastated.

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