I laugh, mirthless, a mad laugh. I savor the scowl on her face, the hate in her eyes. She was like a machine; she was cold and emotionless, bound by logic alone. And I broke her.

I think it's a human tendency that's been around for a while to try to be as good as possible to prove your worth.

Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.

Nothing else is all right.” His whisper tickles my cheek. “But we are.

His absence will haunt their hallways, and he will be a space they can't fill. And then time will pass, and the hole will be gone, like when an organ is removed and the body's fluids flow into the space it leaves. Humans can't tolerate emptiness for long.

Or you can stay frigid," says WIll, his green eyes glinting with mischief. "You know. If you want." Christina throws a roll at him. He catches it and bites it. "Don't be mean to her," she says. "Frigidity is in her nature. Sort of like being a know-it-all is in yours." "I am not frigid!" I exclaim. "Don't worry about it," says Will. It's endearing. Look you're all red.

I like to think I'm helping them by hating them. I'm reminding them that they aren't God's gift to humankind.