“You're not a sucker. You're just nice. You give people the benefit of the doubt.”

“No,' I said, shooting him a look. 'But you don't have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.'You don't have to assume the worst about everyone, either. THe world isn't always out to get you.'In your opinion,' I added.Look,' he said, 'the point is there's no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anything. so you're left with a choice. Eitherhope for the best, or just expect the worst.' If you expect the worst you're never disappointed,' I pointed out.~Ruby and Nate, pg 259”

“But you don’t have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.”“You don’t have to assume the worst about everyone, either. The world isn’t always out to get you.”

“There's something nice about the silence of a car ride in the dark, going home. When you were tired of the radio and conversation, and it was okay to just be alone with your thoughts and the road ahead. If you're that comfortable with someone, you don't have to talk.”

“It's a funny feeling, being suddenly airborne. Just as you realize it, it's over, and you're sinking.”

“Being nice was the ideal, the one place where people didn't get loud, or so quiet they could scare you. If you could just be nice, then you wouldn't have to worry about arguments at all. But being nice wasn't as easy as it seemed, especially when the rest of the world could be so mean.”

“So you should remember that, when you're thinking about what other people can deal with. Maybe it's not so bad.”