“Mrs. Spence picks up a roll of toilet paper from the counter and scrunches her nose.Ask Caymen about that, Xander says.Great, now I have to explain to his mother about my vandalism? Your son called...”

“His hands still on his shoulders. Hi, he says. Sorry. For what? For the fact that you are such a big flirt. He laughs. Youre the one in my lap. I was just sitting here minding my own business. Just...”

“My hands still on his shoulders. Hi, he says. Sorry. For what? For the fact that you are such a big flirt. He laughs. Youre the one in my lap. I was just sitting here minding my own business. Just ...”

“I turn my head so that he doesn't see my smile and secretly curse him for making me feel special.”

“Note to self: Caymen is very good at sarcasm.If youre recording notes for an official record, Id like the word very stricken and replaced with exceptionally.”

“His eyes are so intense I want to look away . . . or never look away, I cant decide.”

“Zachary smiles, and I wonder if he's felling different. Because standing out here waist deep in Gossimer Lake, next to my best friend, I'm feeling different-light and good and maybe even holy.”

“Don't make me sit through reality.”

“My wishing star glowed slightly and winked back at me. I could almost hear its voice, tinkling like wind chimes and church bells, reassuring me that everything would return to normal.”

“I was happy, but happy is an adult word. You don't have to ask a child about happy, you see it. They are or they are not. Adults talk about being happy because largely they are not. Talking about i...”

“Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be r...”

“I walked over to the hill where we used to go and sled. There were a lot of little kids there. I watched them flying. Doing jumps and having races. And I thought that all those little kids are goin...”

“Promise YourselfTo be so strong that nothingcan disturb your peace of mind.To talk health, happiness, and prosperityto every person you meet.To make all your friends feelthat there is something in ...”

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.”