“She stood in the mirror portrait very near Margaret, close next to her, good as a mother or a friend.”

“She shocks the hell out of me when she asks, "Did you get engaged, Jade? She looks at me seriously. It's really hard for me not to just laugh hysterically in her face, but I refrain from doing so because I'm a good friend, and I realize that she's in distress. But her next question very nearly blows me away.”

“I have not had so good of a week. Well, monday was a pretty good day, if you don't count Hamburger Surprise at lunch and Margaret's mother coming to get her. Or the stuff that happened in the principal's office when I got sent there to explain that Margaret's hair was not my fault and besides she looks okay without it, but I couldn't because Principal Rice was gone, trying to calm down Margaret's mother. Someone should tell you not to answer the phone in the principal's office, if that's a rule. Okay, fine, Monday was not so good of a day.”

“Good.” She seemed relieved, “They’re here.” She stood up andwalked to the front of the parking lot just as four beautiful, tricked-out Choppers, all manned by women, pulled in and halted next to the girl.“Check it out.” Angelina elbowed her friends, “Lesbians. In Texas .”

“She felt the shiver starting in the back of her spine, the mixed inkling of fear and excitement ignite in her. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. He should disgust her. Because of him, her friends had just given up their mortal lives. Her friend Jacob, had been attacked by Unseelie. People had died from the very hands that were now so close to her. The very ones she wanted close to her.”

“She stood in front of the mirror a long time, and finally decided she either looked like a sap or else she looked very beautiful. One or the other.”