Simone Elkeles

“Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks.”

“That wouldn't fit my right testicle”

“Brittany, I love hangin' with you. Shit, when I get to school I scan the halls lookin' for you. As soon as I catch sight of these angelic streaks of sunshine," I say, fingering her hair, "I know I can make it through the day.”

“Nothin'," Alex says. "We'll talk later, chica. It's not a big deal." "Don't chica me, Alex," his bride snaps. "I think she's gonna deck him," Ben murmurs, amused.”

“A veces hay que alejarse de la multitud para ser una mejor persona. No siempre es fácil, eso es seguro. Pero es correcto. Y a veces hacer lo correcto se siente muy bien.”

“—No, la próxima vez que te bese durará un largo, largo tiempo. Y cuando lo hayamos hecho comprenderás que estar excitado no es sobre la experiencia.”

“— ¿Me estas siguiendo? —ella pregunta, pero no se encuentra con mi mirada. —Si —le digo.— ¿Por qué?— ¿Honestamente?Ella me mira, sus cejas enarcadas. Le doy la única respuesta honesta y verdadera que tengo.—Estas donde yo quiero estar.”

“—Te diré a lo que es real. Real es que yo estaba en la cárcel durante el último año, quedándome en conjunto con los distribuidores de drogas y consumiendo una porquería de basura como alimento, que ni siquiera tu perro tocaría. Real es no poder usar la maldita ropa interior propia y ducharte con veinticinco pollas de otros tipos todos los días mientras los guardias vigilan el reloj. Real es que mi vecina de al lado que camina como si estuviera en equilibrio sobre unos zancos, porque la pierna está tan jodido por el accidente. Brian, tu percepción de la realidad es totalmente errónea.”

“Es difícil mantener todo igual cuando las mismas cosas lucen y se sienten diferentes.”

“Cómo me gustaría poder retroceder al año pasado y empezar de nuevo. La vida no te permite hacer eso. No es posible borrar el pasado, pero voy a tratar de hacer que otras personas lo olviden.”

“Say something, Amy," Miranda insists. "Something positive. I'm sure it'll make you feel better.""Okay, Miranda. I've got it." I motion the girls to lean in close to hear my words. "At least I'm not dead."How's that for positivity?I have to admit it does make me feel better.”

“I flip open my phone to text Jessica:Me: Guess who's pregnant?Jess: u?Me: Get real.Jess: ur mom?Me: yepJess: Mazel tov!?Me: Don't congratulate me, plzJess: Could b worseMe: How?Jess: Could be u?Me: I'm a virgin.Jess: Nobody's perfect.”

“..Some things aren't measured by their size, but by their importance.”

“She looks up at me with those vulnerable eyes. “What if it means something?” She asks.“What if it does?”“Promise me it won’t mean anything.”I lean my head back on the couch. “It won’t mean anythin’.” Aren’t I supposed to be the guy in this scenario, laying down the no-commitment rules?“And no tongue,” she adds.“Mi vida, if I kiss you, I guarantee there’s gonna be tongue.”

“No offense, but your mom is strange. She's a hit MILF, but totally off the wall."I take my hand back."Eww! Colin, you just called my mom a MILF! I'm completely grossed out!”

“Alex probably brings his dates sharp knives as gifts, in case she'll need one when she's out on a date with him.”

“he thinks of it as playing good cop/bad cop. Except we play bad gang member/worse gang member.”

“I want to be wherever you are.”

“Man, my girl is one tough chick when she wants to be. I wonder if it has something to do with thosebig, comfy granny panties she’s got on.”

“Mildred waves Carlos over. 'Let me look at you.' She eyes him up and down. 'I saw you when you walked in. What's with all those tattoos? Makes you look like a hooligan.''I suspect I am a hooligan,' he says to her. 'Whatever that means.”

“When I look out [the window] at the big houses on either side of the road, it's obvious we've entered the rich side of town. Poor people don't post signs like NO TRESPASSING, PRIVATE DRIVE, PRIVATE PROPERTY, MONITORED BY CAMERA SURVEILLANCE. I should know because I've been poor my entire life, and the only person I know who ever posted a sign like these is my friend...and he actually stole the sign off a rich guy's yard.”

“Stop thinking about Michael," Tuck orders. "He was cute.""So is a hairy ferret but I wouldn't want to date one. [...]”

“Est-ce que nous nous sommes embrassés, hier soir ?- Oui.- Eh bien, ça n'avait rien de mémorable, je ne m'en rappelle absolument pas.Alex éclate de rire.- Je rigole. Non, on ne s'est pas embrassés. Quand on le fera, tu t'en rappelleras. Toujours.”

“I'll tell you what's real. Real is that I was in jail for the past year, rooming with drug dealers and eating crap food your dog wouldn't touch. Real is not being able to wear your own frickin' underwear and showering with twenty-five other dicks every day while guards watch. Real is my next-door neighbor who walks like she's balancing on stilts because her leg is so fucked up from the accident. Brian, your perception of reality is totally off.”

“Do I even know how to be real?”

“The end of one thing is just the beginning of another.”

“Sometimes we have to prove to others we're strong even where we're not.”

“You can run from some problems, but then you get caught up in others.”

“The threat of taking something away makes us appreciate it more.”

“Sometimes moving on takes effort. Sometimes moving on is harder than it looks.”

“And I’m yours,” I tell him. “Forever and always and then some.”

“You’re not the only one in this relationship who loves achallenge,” he says. “And just so you know for the future, I like my double-chocolate chipcookies warm and soft in the middle . . . and without magnets glued to them.”

“That’s not the only reason I’m stayin’, chica. I can’t leave you any more than I could walkout that door right now while my leg is busted up. I was just thinkin’ . . . should we tell yourparents now or later?”“Tell them what?” I ask, eyes wide.He kisses me softly, then says proudly, “That we’re in a serious, monogamous, committedrelationship.”“We are?”“Sí. And when I get out of here, I’m gonna fix the door to your car.”

“Do you ever lose the ego?” Westford asks me.“Yeah.” When his daughter kisses me, my ego flies out the window.”

“Just so you know, I’m goin’ to enlist.”“I’m proud of you. But why?”I groan against the pain but manage to give him a half smile. “I want to make sure Kiara’s got a boyfriend who has more to offer than a hot bod and a face that could make angels weep.”

“I want a one hundred percent guarantee that they’ll all be fine.” Itell Mrs. Garcia.She pats my knee. “Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in life.”

“K,the lady at the store said yellow means friendship and red means love. The rosary is the only thing I own that has value to me. It's yours. I'm yoursC.”

“A garter. You’re supposed to take it off and keep it as a memento. K-k-kinda like a trophyfor going far sexually with a girl. It’s stupid, really. And kind of d-d-degrading if I think aboutit too m-m-much.”“I know what it is,” he says, amusement evident in his voice. “I just wanted to hear yourexplanation.”

“Want to get in trouble with me, Carlos?”

“Do I hear a challenge?” she whispers, “Oh, Carlos. You know I can’t resist a challenge.”

“I want to make sure Kiara’s got a boyfriend who has more to offer than a hot bod and a face that could make angels weep.”

“What happens when I break one of your fuckin’ rules?”

“And for those of you who want to start any trouble, I have a zero tolerance policy. . . .”

“Brittany Ellis, I'm goin' to prove to you I'm the guy you believed in ten months ago, and I'm gonna be the successful man you dreamed I could be. My plan is to ask you to marry me four years from now, the day we graduate."'And I guarantee you a lifetime of fun, probably one with no lack of fightin', for you are one passionate mamacita . . . but I definitely look forward to some great make-up sessions. Maybe one day we can even go back to Fairfield and help make it the place my dad always hoped it would be. You, me, and Shelley. And any other Fuentes or Ellis family member who wants to be a part of our lives. We'll be one big, crazy Mexican-American family. What do you think? Mujer, you own my soul.”

“You're so critical. Oh, God, I'd do anything for you to stop blaming me for every little thing that goes wrong. Love me for who I am. Love Shelley for who she is. Stop focusing on the bad stuff because life is just too damn short.”

“And just so you know for the future, I like my double-chocolate chip cookies warm and soft in the middle...and without magnets glued to them.""Me, too. When you decide to bake me some, let me know.”

“Did I ever tell you that Alex loves you so much he got your name tattooed all over his body? Hell, he even got your name branded into the back of his neck.""They say 'LB,' Carlos. The initials for Latino Blood.""No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. He wants everyone to think that, but in reality it means Lover of Brittany. LB, get it?”

“He laughs. "Put some clothes on so you don't scare poor Kiara with your morning hard-on."I look down at my shorts. Sure enough, I've got la tengo dura in front of Kiara and Tuck. Shit. I reach out for the first thing I can grab and put it in front of me to shield myself from view. It happens to be one of Kiara's stuffed animals, but I don't have much choice right now."That's Kiara's Mojo," Tuck says, laughing. "Get it? Mojo?”

“...there's no rule book or game plan when it comes to the grim realities of our lives.”

“Then what sport do you play?"Carlos puts down his food. Oh, no. He's got a rebellious gleam in his eye as he says, "The horizontal tango."-------------------------------------------"Dancing really isn't a sport," Brandon tells Carlos, oblivious to the shock at the rest of the table."It is when I do it," Carlos says.-------------------------------------------Brandon turns to my dad with big, innocent eyes."Daddy, do YOU know how to do the horizontal tango?”