“I did want to spend the ball with you.”

“Ugh. Why did I have to have so many thoughts? Why couldn't I just be a normal girl and bask in the glow of finally knowing that the boy I wanted wanted me back?I slipped in the back door,and as I did, one of the maids gave me a quick curtsy. Ah,right. Because I wasn't a normal girl.I had hoped to get back to my room without seeing anyone else, but I met Cal on the landing. Wonderful."Hey," he said, taking in my disheveled appearance. "Why are you up so early?""Oh,I was just,you know, exercising." I jogged in place for a second before realizing that I probably looked like a mental patient."Okaaay," Cal said slowly, confirming my suspicions.”

“When someone tells you somebody’s been murdered, laughing is probably not the best response. You know, for future reference.But laughing is exactly what I did.”

“You could've just let me bleed to death and saved yourself a lot of hassel."Cal scowled at him. "I did it for her.”

“You hate him for what he did, but you miss him.”

“I rubbed my hand over my chest, just above my heart. Mrs. Casnoff watched with a look of concern. "Did he hurt you?""No," I told her. "He didn't."Nowhere you could see, at least.”

“Was there no time in there he could have said, "Oh,hey,meet me at the magical bookcase at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow,cool?"And what the heck did he want to do at that bookcase?”