“If he goes for my nose again, I fink I'll hang him up by his little balls,' one of the Guard said, getting to his feet. Froi tried to ignore the mockery.'Nothing little about me,' he grunted. 'Don't take my word for it, Hindley. Ask your wife. She seemed happy last night, you know, with the size and all.”

“What did she say to you?""Nothing.""Oh, great. I have to try to get you out of this mess after you hit a girl for nothing," he whispered angrily. "Josephine, don't waste my time. You don't seem like a violent type. She had to have said something to rile you."I just don't like her. She's vain. She puts her hair all over my books when she sits in front of me in class.""So you hit her?""No ... yes.""A girl puts her hair all over your books, so you break her nose?""Well, I don't think it's broken, personally.""Doctor Kildare, we are not here to give a medical opinion. I want to know what she said to you.""God," I yelled exasperated. "She said something to upset me, okay?""What? That you were ugly? That you smell? What?"I looked horrified."I'm not ugly. I don't smell."He sighed and took off his glasses, sitting down in front of me and pulling my chair towards him. "I was just asking for a reason.""Never mind," I said."That creep out there wants -you to pay for his daughter's nose-job. Because of that nose-job she will be a famous model one day and you'll be working in a fast-food chain because you couldn't finish your Higher School Certificate due to expulsion. Now tell me what she said.""There's nothing wrong with a fast-food chain," I said, thinking of my McDonald's job."I'm really getting pissed off now, Josephine. You called me out of work for this and you won't tell me why.""Just go," I said, as he stood up and paced the room."I'll defend myself in court."He groaned and looked up to the ceiling pulling his hair. "God save me from days like this," he begged."Go," I yelled."Okay. Let him win. He's a creep. Creeps always win," he said walking to the door. "But don't think you're going to make it in a court room, young lady. If you can't be honest, don't expect to stand up in a court room and defend honesty.""She called me a wog, amongst other things," I said, finally. "I haven't been called one for so long. It offended me. It made me feel pathetic.""Did you provoke her?""Yes. I called her a racist pig due to some things she was saying.""Is she one?""God, yes. The biggest.”

“I've been waiting for you all night and day,' she said.Froi shivered. He realised that the words came from Quintana the ice maiden. Realised, as he felt his face heating up, that the idea of this Quintana waiting for him with excitement spoke to parts of him he believed to be dormant. And then she winked.'Did I do that right?' she asked. Her smile was lopsided and he saw a glimpse of the teeth.And Froi imagined that he would follow her to the ends of the earth.”

“We spoke about our dreams and how we always felt safe in them, no matter how bad everthing else seemed. He told me it was one of the best days of his life and then he took out his gun. A .22 rifle. And he leaned forward and whispered, "Forgive me, Taylor Markham." Before I could ask how he knew my name and what I was to forgive him for he said, "Take care of my little girl."And then he told me to close my eyes.And I've been frightened to do just that ever since.”

“And if I get a little chemically imbalanced in the head, like we all know I tend to get sometimes, and I don't want my parents or brother knowing, Will's like, 'We'll deal with it.' He's never said, 'I'll fix it up.' He just says, 'You're not up to going back to uni to finish your Honours this year? Big deal. There's next year. We'll deal with it.'" She nods. "That's what he does well.”

“What if she's all I give you in this life of ours, my love?" she asked quietly. "Then I'll shout at the goddess in fury," he said fiercely. "I'll beg to know why I've been given so much when other men have so little.”

“Men don't rape women because their women are ugly," cousin Jostien said, but there was a protest at his words. "That's what my fa said! He says that inside their hearts and spirits they are nothing but little men who need to feel powerful.”