“Hey Clara-Bell, how’s it going? Are you going to eat that?” Using his stupid pet name, he pointed at the vomit-like mass called peach cobbler.“No, you can have it. You like to eat more than me.” “What can I say? I’m a growing boy with a hollow leg.”

“Hi Clara. I thought you would need someone to walk with today, so here I am.” Sorin, her friend that lived in the trailer park around the corner beamed at her from the sidewalk. Maybe not the best looking, but he was a sweet boy, and someone that Clara considered a friend. And like her, he didn't fit in at school either. His strange obsession with science fiction books and obscure poetry may have been the catalyst for that reputation.”

“Quaint stone cottages lined the cobblestone streets, and an immense ocean lay to the far right, dozens of pirate-like ships riding its gentle waves. In the distance, a castle towered up to touch the blue-gray sky, its tallest spears hiding in the misty cloud cover. Paradise.Sorin stood up beside Clara.“What is this place?” “It’s where I belong.”

“I have to confess I’ve crushed on you since the sixth grade.” Sorin traced the edges of her face with soft fingers.“Good for you; I just figured out that I have a crush on you.”

“His ears reached for the sky in a fight to see which one could be the most pointed.”

“No, you’re the girl I’m in love with. I love you more than my own life,” Jack declared fervently. “If anything happens to you Maia, it will be over for me. I’m never gonna come back from losing you—not in ten, not in fifty years. So I’m asking you not to throw away what we have on some fucking job someone else can do. I’m begging you to give what we have a chance. You’ve done your time; it’s OK to slow down, babe. I promise you, I’ll make it my life’s priority to make you happy.”~Jack to Maia”

“I woke up this morning for three minutes. I rolled out of bed, put on my slippers, and stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. That was all I could take. I went back to sleep. I didn’t go back to bed. I just went back to sleep. I slept all day. I sleep most days. I’m asleep when I go to school, asleep when I’m telling the barista which form of caffeine I prefer. It never wakes me up, but I spend $3.50 on it anyway. I’m asleep when my professors are talking, asleep when I go to the store to pick up milk. Sometimes I wake up, but it’s terrifying so I go back to sleep right away. I want to wake up. I want to have a reason to wake up.I brush my teeth every night before bed and wonder how many times I will brush my teeth before they are clean enough to never brush again. I eat lunch and wonder how much more I will have to eat until I’m full enough to never eat again. It’s easy to sleep through routine; I guess that’s why I stay here. I wish I could be done with this life so I could finally sleep properly.”