“Maybe I’ll come back as somebody else.I’ll be the wild-haired girl Adam meets in his first week at university. ‘Hi, are you on the horticulturalcourse as well?”

“Well, hi, CeeCee," I said. "Hi, Adam. Nice of you two to drop by. Ever heard of knocking?""Oh, please," CeeCee said. "Why? Because we might interrupt you and your precious Jesse?"Jesse, upon hearing this, raised his eyebrows. Way up.”

“Well,” said Adam, as Poirot went out. “First girls’ knees, and now draughtsmanship! What next, I wonder!”

“Now, for the first time, he's seeing that there really is a way out of this, and it's all so simple. You don't have to run away. You just meet somebody special and step sideways into a parallel universe.”

“Chris hops out of the vehicle, wearing a tight black tee. He pulls his hair back and throws his backpack over his shoulder, looking read to punch somebody out. Or maybe that's his happy face. I don't know.”

“Her name is Denise, and she has green eyes and red hair. Well, this week. Last week her hair was dyed blonde, and she had blue eyes. Or maybe that was a different woman. I don’t know. All I know is that she is my soul mate.”