“Here is a girl who is pretty in a quiet way. I bet she's had a very sad life.”

“You're a very pretty girl...Did you know? Once upon a time, I had a pretty, pretty boy.' She reached forward and touched my cheek with one manicured hand.”

“She had been the quiet, rather plain girl, with a surprisingly sharp tongue if she was put out, lovely eyes and pretty hair and a way of looking very directly at one. Now he had to admit that she had become more important to him than anyone else in the world. The idea of a future without her wasn't to be borne. She had by some mysterious metamorphosis become more beautiful than anyone else he had ever encountered.”

“How come she never got sad?”She did get sad, Booboo. She got sad in her way instead of yours andmine. She got sad, I’m pretty sure.”Hal?”You remember how the staff lowered the flag to half-mast out front bythe portcullis here after it happened? Do you remember that? And itgoes to half-mast every year at Convocation? Remember the flag, Boo?”Hey Hal?”Don’t cry, Booboo. Remember the flag only halfway up the pole?Booboo, there are two ways to lower a flag to half-mast. Are youlistening? Because no shit I really have to sleep here in a second. Solisten - one way to lower the flag to half mast is just to lower theflag. There’s another way though. You can also just raise the pole.You can raise the pole to like twice its original height. You get me?You understand what I mean, Mario?”Hal?”She’s plenty sad, I bet.”

“I’ve been around many girls who have been super outgoing. And a lot of times, they would say to me, “Why are you so quiet? What’s wrong with you?” And I’m like, “I don’t know. That’s just the way I am.” So if I found the perfect girl she would totally get that and say, “You’re quiet, and that’s the way I love you.”

“You’ve never told me about your love life, Scarlett. You’re a very pretty girl. You must have a boy shacked up somewhere for your personal delights. I’d bet it’s a booky one, overtones of Harry Potter and a lot of black T-shirts.”