Thundermuffs

Question

by Cindy Blobaum

MITCHELL (Rubbing arm): I’m not afraid of lightning. I just like it quiet.

THERESA: More shocking news is that lightning is what causes thunder. The air around lightning heats and cools so quickly that it causes a shock wave, a big noise that we call thunder. (Takes poster from top of dresser and waves it to create thunder)

MITCHELL (Squirming to get under covers): I’m not shocked, Theresa—I just like it quiet.

OLIVIA: Did you know that by counting the seconds between when you see a lightning flash then hear the thunder, and dividing by five, you can estimate how far away the lightning is? You should try it!

MITCHELL (Pulling cover over head): I can do the math. I just like it quiet.

RYAN: You know how some people believed they could bring rain when they needed it? Maybe we could do a reverse rain dance. Let’s all put on ponchos and bang on some drums to chase the rain away! (Sound of pouring rain)

MITCHELL (Shouting from under the covers): I don’t mind the rain, I just like it quiet. (As family members take ponchos out of dresser drawer, put them on, and take cans from dresser, MITCHELL sneaks out of bed, puts pillow in his place and pulls covers over it, looks under bed, puts something (ear-muffs) under his shirt and crawls through bedroom door to living room, then out the porch door. For about a minute, family pounds on drums and dances around, while rain and thunder can be heard. Then DAD motions for quiet—but storm effects continue.)

Thundermuffs, by Cindy Blobaum © This play is reprinted from Plays, The Drama Magazine for Young People with the permission of the publisher Plays/Sterling Partners Inc. 897 Washington Street #600160, Newton, MA 02460

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

What is it that Mitchell says bothers him?

(1 point)
Responses

He says he likes it to be quiet, not noisy.
He says he likes it to be quiet, not noisy.

He says he does not know how to do the math.
He says he does not know how to do the math.

He says he does not like being shocked.
He says he does not like being shocked.

He says he is afraid of lightning.

Answer 1

Mitchell says that he likes it to be quiet, not noisy.