“Yeah, well, not many boys take their girls out on a duck shoot with them as target for a first date. You have to give me points for style.”

“Fine, I'll teach you,''Besides, there's only so many times a girl wants to fall on her butt in front of the boy she's out to impress.”

“But I’ve kept first of March as my birthday as I like to tease Zed about dating an older woman. And my parents wouldn’t understand if I told them about the soulfinder bond and tried to change it.”“They don’t know?”“Well, I think they’ve picked up that there’s something special between Zed and me but I’m not sure how I’d even start to explain to non-savants. I was exactly overjoyed when Zed filled me in about it all the first time.”“What did you do?”“Thumped him with a shopping bag and told him he was a jerk.”“Ouch.”

“Oh my gosh, don’t you both look pretty!” We looked like rejects from the auditions for The Sound of Music.“I will have to buy them – they are meant to be yours!” Karla waved her credit card around like a wand.“What a shame they didn’t have one in green for me. But then, it is a young girl’s style. I would’ve looked foolish.”

“Xav bounded out behind him. “Yeah, Phee equals You-She squared. I’ve been working on that one: like it?”

“I revised my opinion that the girl was timid. She appeared to have her giant well under control and a disturbing ability to know what I was feeling.”

“I'm a big boy. I can take it.You got into a fight.I'm also stupid.”