At school, our classroom had a small rodent zoo consisting of two rabbits, three hamsters, a litter of baby gerbils and a guinea pig. At first, I’d thought the teacher was raising snack food, which impressed me, being the first sign of intelligence she’d shown. Soon, though, I’d figured out the animals’ true purpose and left them alone, though I would never understand the appeal of petting and coddling perfectly good food.

When I glanced at the chair, it started to shake. I’d like to think it was scared of me, but I rarely invoked that response in living things, let alone inanimate objects.

He said "cool" like I say a Spanish word when I'm not sure of the pronunciation.

I must have been sound asleep if i missed all that shouting-Simon What shouting?-Derek you mean that Chole just told you she followed a ghost onto a roof, and you didnt blast her all the way to Canada?-Simon He's a little off this morning-Chole More than a little i'll say.-Simon

Dont talk to the crazy kids. I longed to shout back that we weren't crazy. I'd mistaken her kid for a ghost, that's all.

Do I pass, Dr. Saunders?

It wasn't until I was in my teens that I started admiring writers as inspirations for my own work, and my earliest influences there were Stephen King, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Richard Adams.