"My father's name is Russ. He is funny and bald," Hannah translated. She was practicing for her speech about her family for French class.
Emphasis on the adjectives.
"What does it say about me?" Mia begged.
"Hmmm... let's see...'My sister Mia is cute and smart.'"
"Oh, oh! Do me next! What about me?" asked Caleb.
"My brother Caleb is ten and mean," Hannah read aloud.
"Really, Hannah? Really?" Caleb was unusually indignant. I thought he was going to stomp his foot on the floor for emphasis.
"Well," Hannah stalled, scrambling for a suitable reason, "I'd already used a bunch of other adjectives, and we're not allowed to repeat any..."
"Brown hair, Hannah. You could have said, 'My brother Caleb has brown hair.'"
This was a surprise to everyone, because Caleb routinely claims to have never heard of the grammatical concept called adjectives.
Those who are familiar with this denial technique might describe his behavior as deceptive.
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