“Whats up?" he asked.Up, I thought."This," I said, looking down at the photo in my hand.Down, I thought.”

“You didn't even know my name, I thought. You're just repeating what he said.”

“Plus/minusPositive/negative1/0I can/ I can'tI will/ I won'tYou are/You aren'tI said/I thoughtI said "I will"/I thought "I can't"I thought "I can"/I said "You won't”

“She asked me what was wrong, and I told her I had to end it. She was surprised, and asked my why I thought so. I told her it wasn't a thought, more a feeling, like I couldn't breathe and knew I had to get some air. It was a survival instinct, I told her.She said it was time for dinner. Then she sat me down and told me not to worry. She said moments like this were like waking up in the middle of the night: You're scared, your'e disoriented, and you're completely convinced you're right. But then you stay awake a little longer and you realize things aren't as fearful as they seem.”

“Jesus died for our sins," Noah says solemnly."What?!?" I reply, choking back my thoughts."I was just seeing if you were listening.”

“I sing louder and he looks right at me, finally getting it, because what I am saying with the rise of my voice is that I know he understands what music is about, he has seen the Lord in it, even if it's not my Lord.”

“I liked this guy a lot. And I thought he liked me a lot, but in truth he didn’t really like me at all. He was my first boyfriend, and I made him my everything-he was my new life, my new love, my new compass point. I guess that’s the danger with flirts-you lose all sense of proportion. So I made a fool of myself, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. I was so devoted to him.”