“Wish all my corpses would do that.”

“My name is Chloe Saunders. I'm fifteen, and I would love to be normal. But normal is one thing I'm not. For one thing, I'M HAVING THESE FEELINGS FOR A CERTAIN ANTISOCIAL WEREWOLF and his sweet-tempered brother—who just happens to be a sorcerer—BUT,BETWEEN YOU AND ME, I'M LEANING TOWARD THE WEREWOLF. Not normal. My friends and I are also on the run from an evil corporation that wants to get rid of us—permanently. Definitely not normal. And finally, I'm a genetically altered necro-mancer who can raise the dead, rotting corpses and all, without even trying. As far away from normal as it gets.”

“All right, then. Emergency medical situation, take two.” He leaped to his feet, staggered, keeled over, then lifted his head weakly. “Chloe? Is that you?” He coughed. “Do you have my insulin?” I placed it in his outstretched hand. “You saved my life,” he said. “How can I ever repay you?”“Undying servitude sounds good. I like my eggs scrambled.” He held up a piece of fruit. “Would you settle for a bruised apple?” I laughed.”

“...in some ways I relied on that- someone to keep me thinking, keep me striving to do better, keep me from burying my head and praying it all worked out.”

“You didn't answer my question. Are you all right?"I didn't do anything"Yeah. You did." He looked at me. "You did a lot"-Chloe & Derek-”

“Do you like manga?" she asked after a minute. "Anime?""Anime's cool. I'm not really into it, but 1 like Japanese movies,animated or not.""Well, I'm into it. I watch the shows, read the books, chat on the boards, and all that. But this girl I know, she'scompletely into it. She spends most of her allowance on the books and DVDs. She can recite dialogue fromthem." She caught my gaze. "So would you say she belongs here?""No. Most kids are that way about something, right? With me, it'smovies. Like knowing who directed a sci-fi movie made before I was born.”

“Cosmo never speaks to my life. Its surveys always ask questions like How would you react if your lover announced he was taking a job in Alaska? and jumping for joy is never one of the options. Move to Alaska? Hell, my lover was thirty-seven and hadn't moved away from home yet. Where were the questions relevant to my life?”