“I am a runner. That's what I do. That's who I am. Running is all I know, or want, or care about.”

“And since you know what a tree-climbing weenie I am, I think it's pretty clear that I'm willing to do anything to get her to talk to me. Man, I'll dive after her into a chicken coop full of poop if that's what it takes. I'll ride my bike all the stinkin' way to school for the rest of eternity if it means being with her”

“Summers there are awful! Winters there are awful! Why do you stay? You ought to run away! Hop a train! Stow away on a bus!What am I saying? You could just buy yourself a ticket.It would be interesting to talk to you if you did it the other way, though.We could compare scars and bruises.It might be fun.”

“I've decided this is all your fault, Ms. Leone. I've run away before, you know, but stowed away or jumped trains or broke into buildings, I just ran away and got caught. But I think all that stuff you told us about the Underground Railroad got lodged in my subconscious, and somewhere inside it gave me the strength or courage or insanity to really get away. So see? This is all your fault.”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink tonight.I hate shelters.People coughing and snoring and hacking up who-knows-what.It’s a nightmare.But I do have clean teeth.”

“I operate under the assumption that people don't notice the good in me. That's just how things always seem to play out. I get blamed, while con-artist kids like Venus, and Camille, and Gemma get believed. But the rescue lady noticed. In the background, just observing, she noticed.”

“...and I realized that Garrett was right about one thing- I had flipped.Completely.”