“This is what birds see. Only they're free and safe. The very opposite of me.”

“They're betting on how long I'll live!" I burst out. "They're not my friends!""Well, try and pretend!" snaps Effie. Then she composes herself and beams at me. "See, like this. I'm smiling at you even though you're aggravating me.”

“Whatever the opposite of fine is, that's what I am.”

“Want a sugar cube? [...] They're supposed to be for the horses, but who cares? They've got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I . . . well, if we see something sweet we better grab it quick. [...] You're absolutely terrifying me in that get-up. What happened to the pretty little-girl dresses?”

“I flee what I can't fight. What can only do me harm.”

“How are you managing? And don't say you're fine."It's true. Whatever the opposite of fine is, that's what I am.”

“They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!”