All right. Normal rules apply." "Right." The man walked off, leaving us. "What are the normal rules?" I asked. "He walks away and has a tea break and doesn't ask any questions.

I envisioned huge piles of the Elf Hotel flying off the belt, taking down everybody in sight. I had seen pictures of that Elf Hotel - it had sharp candy-cane spires that could easily impale someone. If anyone was ever going to be killed by an Elf Hotel, it would be my parents.

We study there a lot because... what other choice does society give us, right? It's Starbucks or death, sometimes.

Something about her suggested that her leisure activities included wrestling large woodland animals and banging bricks together.

You can never visit the same place twice. Each time, it's a different story. By the very act of coming back, you wipe out what came before.

No sausage?" he asked. Apparently my pork consumption habits were a matter of public record.

I could pretend, at least, and if I pretended long enough, maybe I could make it into a reality.