“Good grief," Alec muttered."Be afraid," Katie quoted. "Be very afraid."Alec squinted at her. "That sounds familiar. Revelations?""David Cronenberg. It's a long, scary story.""I like scary stories.”

“Tell her I got detention for defending her honour," Alec shouted in the distance."Did he really?""Well, he got detention, but mostly for calling Akira a close-minded troglodyte," she said.”

“Plus, I can't look at him the same since I ran into Mrs. Marino at our family reunion. It's not comforting to learn you've made out with your cousin.""Third cousin once removed," I argued. "It's hardly incest.""Life is like a box of chocolates, Lisa," Katie noted around a half-chewed carrot stick. "You never know what you're going to get."Lisa narrowed her eyes, confused. "Did she just quote Forrest Gump at me?""It's Matt's fault," I said. "She lost a bet and now anytime his name gets mentioned, she has sixty seconds to drop a relevant movie quote.""That's insane.""Yup," Katie piped in, "insanity tuns in my family. Its practically gallops.""Classic." I high-fived her.”

“Something simple-minded and morally vacuous? A hamster, perhaps? Maybe Veronica?""Excuse me!" Veronica griped form the back table."Those are gerbils, Mr. Charbonnet, not hamsters. And I'd thank you to minimise the insulting commentary.""My apologies, sir." Alec nodded. "The gerbil is a noble beast. I shouldn't have compared it to Veronica.”

“Relax. This isn't the scary part yet.""Mmm, not helpful.""Try to think about puppies," he suggested. "No wait, not puppies. Think about kittens. Demons don't eat kittens. Too many hairballs.""Hey, maybe we could try not talking for a while.”

“Quit that." Lisa jabbed an elbow at my ribs."Quit what?""Quit looking at him like that," she warned in a hushed tone. "I'm not kidding, Amelie. He's dangerous. He boils kittens in ritual sacrifice."Katie wrinkled her nose. "He does not, Lisa.""You don't know that.”

“Just because a guy wears glasses and smiles at you doesn't mean he's nice." Lisa dug around in her purse for a tube of lip-gloss. "Maybe he's a visually impaired cannibal. Did you ever think of that? Like one of those serial killers you love so much.""I don't love serial killers," Katie argued, defensive. "Not romantically, at least.”