She asked me what type of contraceptive I use. Underwear. Keeping it on prevents pregnancy.

Lucian was beginning to get used to hearing her small observations at night. More than anything, he realized he liked her voice in the dark. It made him feel less lonely.

For a moment I can't help thinking how decent he is - that there's some hope for him beyond the obnoxious image he displays. Maybe deep down he is a sensitive guy, who sees us as real people with real issues. I want to say something nice. Some kind of thanks. I stand there, rehearsing it in my mind. "Oh my God," he says, "did you see that girl's tits?" Maybe not today.

It's like geographical humor. You just don't get it unless you were there.

Imagine who she would be if we unleashed her onto the world. I think she would rip the breath from all of us.

She knows that feeling too. Of believing that each time someone says her name, it’s to tell her that something bad has happened.

My mother, unlike yours, never exchanged sexual favors for a piece of silver," he said, addressing the first insult by banging the boy's head against the trunk of the tree. "And," he said with another resounding thump, "although I'm very familiar with that part of the female body, I take offense at being labeled one.