“[Mr. Principi] "My question to you, class, is our species crawling toward re-enlightenment or limping toward extinction?"The smart aleck behind me. . . was threatened by my propensity to fight when he should have been afraid of Mr. Principi's question.”

“People always ask me that, how it feels to be an orphan. I don't know. I want to ask them how it feels to have a family.”

“My life before the flood was manageable; during the flood it was chaos. The National Weather Service only reported river levels, and at times, crest predictions. It didn't report or predict everything else that could go wrong.”

“The law is clear, but the situation has to do with the enforcement. Laws are used when the good people want something done for themselves.”

“What do your parents do? Do they travel a lot?"My brow wrinkled. "No, they don't." I was tired of the interrogation. "Do yours?"He blinked. "What?""Do your parents travel a lot? Are they still married? How many in your family? How old are you? What classes do you have? Boxers or briefs? What's your GPA? Do you always go around knocking strange girls off their feet and then hammering them with a barrage of personal questions?" I finished with a cocky smile.Tristan hid a grin behind his fist. Mr. Exotic levelled me a steady stare, a sly smile gaining momentum. "Do you always end up straddling the guys that do?"Tristan choked. My smile froze. Crap."And as for boxers or briefs." One hand went to his belt buckle. "I'd be happy to..."Double crap. I jabbed a thumb over my shoulder towards my house "I've gotta go.”

“...people in love always find a way...”

“Certain parts of your life, Dan, are directed by an almost desperate passion. Playwrights call it ends-of-the-earth type stuff. And it's good stuff.”