So, I heard you're this ninja or something.

I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everyone was, especially me.

Sam has brown hair and very, very pretty green eyes. The kind of green that doesn't make a big deal about itself.

And I could see this boy doing his homework and thinking about my sister naked. And I could see them holding hands at football games that they do not watch. And I could see this boy throwing up in the bushes at a party house. And I could see my sister putting up with it. And I felt very bad for both of them.

there was a time when these weren't memories.

But in that moment when my brother took the field, all that washed away, and everyone was proud... I looked up at my dad, and he was smiling. I looked at my mom, and she was smiling even though she was nervous about my brother getting hurt, which was strange because it was a VCR tape of an old game, and she knew he didn't get hurt.

I said no to having a beer. I once had a beer with my brother when I was twelve, and I just didn't like it. It's really that simple for me. [pp.37]