“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.”

“I glared at him. "Matt said he got a pep talk at his test. I don't rate a pep talk?""You want a pep talk?" He made a fist with one hand, then punched it through the air in a victorious motion. "Go get 'em. You've got twenty-eight minutes.""Dude, do not join the pep squad.”

“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.”

“Lisa's friendship was less of a choice than a fact of life. It worked out well - kind of symbiotic, actually. I beat up anyone who messed with her, and she made sure my homework got done. Fair trade, right? Honestly, if not for Lisa's constant nagging, I'd probably still be crouched in our kindergarten sandbox eating glue and playing Neferet demons.”

“Y'all probably watched a lot of television.""We didn't have TV.""Nintendo, then?"He shook his head."Fantasy football? Xbox?" I frowned. "Please tell me you had Angry Birds.""We had a library," he said, "and a few educational magazines.""Huh. Well, that's just tragic.”

“You were just too nice to tell me to buzz off.""I did tell you to buzz off," he pointed out. "Several times.""I'm not the best with feedback.”

“She broke up with you again, didn't she?"He flopped back in his chair, lanky legs hooked at the ankles. "She also reserved a tuxedo for me with a cummerbund matched to her formal dress. I sense ambivalence.""Very perceptive.”