“Perfect days are just the world setting you up to rip you down.”

“Well, you know this world isn't perfect.' 'No, you're wrong. This world IS perfect, people just come along and mess it up sometimes.”

“i usedta live in the worldreally be in the worldfree & sweet talkingood mornin & thank-you & nice dayuh huhi cant nowi cant be nice to nobodynice is such a rip-offregular beauty & a smile in the streetis just a set-up”

“But it's enough, just having this day. It's the knowing there's something different, something special up there waiting. It's the knowing you could choose to change your days--climb up there and throw yourself right down the throat of the only and last and greatest terrible secret in the world. Except you don't climb up.”

“And then some days you wake up and everything's perfect.”

“That sucks, though," Wes said finally, his voice low. "You're just setting yourself up to fail, because you'llnever get everything perfect.""Says who?"He just looked at me. "The world," he said, gesturing all around us, as if this party, this deck encompassed itall. "The universe. There's just no way. And why would you want everything to be perfect, anyway?""I don't want everything to be perfect," I said. Just me, I thought. Somehow. "I just want—”