“I'd assumed he'd be old and burly with a side order of crotchety.”

“In fact, there was an ancient bearded guy in the corner who looked like he'd probably palled around with Mary Shelley.”

“I'd spent the past six months trying not to think about all that had happened last fall. To have it all read out to me in Dad's emotionless voice...well,let's just say I was beginning to wish I'd stayed in the pond.”

“If I cried any more tonight, I'd probably turn into a dried-out husk.”

“It sounds dumb, but one of the first things I'd thought of was that I'd look like the Vandy: covered in swirling purple markings, even on my face. It wouldn't be an easy thing to explain away in the human world, but I was hoping "crazy spring break" might work.”

“Of course I'd feel butterflies when a guy who looked like that said something so swoon-worthy.”

“Somehow, my whole existence had become a really complicated word problem. I'd always sucked at those.”