“zoegirl: have u named the chicks?SnowAngel:yes, but i keep getting them mixed up. so now i call all of them "squishy." they're the collective squishy.zoegirl: *r* they squishy?SnowAngel: when you squeeze them,yes. but not in a yucky way.SnowAngel: they're growing on me, the little squishies. altho 1 of them pooped on my pillow.zoegirl: u let them on your bed?SnowAngel: they like it when i bounce them.”

“That's okay," you told me. "I like them better when they're dried up. I'll keep them for years. Until our Get Rid of the Roses anniversary.”

“It looks hard," said Michael. "Not squishy like poop.”

“mad maddie: I GOT ACCEPTED TO SANTA CRUZ!!!!SnowAngel: omg!!!zoegirl: maddie!!!! yay!!!!!mad maddie: i know! it's incredible!SnowAngel: *squeals and hugs sweet maddie*SnowAngel: tell us every single detail!!!mad maddie: well, i got home from school and saw this big thick envelope on the kitchen counter, with "Santa Cruz Admissions Office" as the return address. i got really fidgety and just started screaming, right there in the house. no one was there but me, so i could be as loud as i wanted.zoegirl: omg!!!mad maddie: i took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but my hands were shaking. i opened the envelope and pulled out a folder that said, "Welcome to Santa Cruz!" inside was a letter that said, "Dear Madigan. You're in!"mad maddie: isn't that cool? i LOVE that, that instead of being all prissy and formal, they're like, "you're in! yahootie!"SnowAngel: oh maddie, i am sooooo happy for u!mad maddie: i ran out to my car all jumping and hopping around and drove to ian's, cuz i knew neither of u would be home yet. i showed him my letter and he hugged me really hard and lifted me into the air. it was AWESOME.zoegirl: i'm so proud of u, maddie!SnowAngel: me 2!”

“I always liked that time of day, when people were shutting up their shops, putting the town to bed for the night, going home to do normal stuff with their normal families. I wonder if they got to enjoy being normal, to know just how terrific it was, or whether it was just invisible to them like air? Sometimes I got so pissed off at how easy the normal people had it that I just wanted to walk down the street shaking them and screaming into their squishy self-satisfied faces.”

“friends are like books you use them when you need them but u will always remember them”