El Deafo

Cece daydreams about her date with Mike. He gives her a rose, and she replies in French: “Pour moi?”, and he says, “It’s beauty sha’ll ne’er surpass the one you wear upon your breast” (203). Later, Mike asks Cece to take part in an experiment. He walks downtown, and they test the distance of the Phonic Ear. It isn’t what Cece imagined in terms of a date, but the children in the neighborhood think it’s cool. For the first time, the Phonic Ear is cool. Martha is also fascinated but doesn’t stay for the experiment, despite Cece’s pleas. Instead Martha meets up with Mike and talks about her anxiety around Cece’s eye injury. Martha admits she misses Cece. When Mike returns, he asks Cece to use the Phonic Ear at school. Cece is worried about getting into trouble but also wants to please Mike. She agrees. As the day ends, Cece is hopeful about a budding friendship with Mike and a reconciliation with Martha. 

The next morning on the bus, Mike asks Cece to use the Phonic Ear to help them play during quiet math without