“I was isolated but not ostracized, ignored but not abused.”

“..."And then we played Ping-Pong—”“Not pool? I always assumed he was a billiards man—I mean, it’s so handy the way he keeps a stick up his—”

“Man, I hated not being able to figure someone out.And from the slightly uncertain look he gave me as we all went to class, I suspected he felt the same way.”

“I got lost in him, and it was the kind of lost that's exactly like being found.”

“I cursed myself not only for forgetting to turn my phone off but for ever thinking that having a rock music ringtone was cool.”

“He can’t ground her if he’s already killed her,” I pointed out when Juliana quoted this to me. “Well, he can, but it wouldn’t have the same impact.”

“I want a tutor,” Layla said. “It would make doing homework so much easier.”“Me too,” said Kaitlyn. “If Layla gets one, I get one.”“No daughter of mine will ever have a tutor,” Dad said.“What if we’re failing a course?” asked Layla.His graying eyebrows drew together. “If you fail a single course, young lady, we will pull you out of school and get you a job scrubbing toilets for the rest of your life.”