Turning on the shower, he thought of the wildly fancy bathroom at Charlotte’s house. It was funny to think of, but the bathrooms he liked weren’t fancy; this one, and the one at Seymour’s, and the one at Harry’s. They weren’t fancy, but they were home. He got in the shower. The one squirt that always went haywire hit him right in the eye. He laughed up into the warm water running over his ears.

Her fingers itched at the thought of a notebook, of a pen flying over the pages, of her thoughts, finally free to move, flowing out.

There’s as many ways to live as people.

No, you have to look like everyone else, then you’ll get by and no one will suspect you.

People who try to control people and change people’s habits are the ones that make all the trouble. If you don’t like somebody, walk away... But don’t try and make them like you.

I feel all the same things when I do things alone as when Ole Golly was here. The bath feels hot, the bed feels soft, but I feel there’s a funny little hole in me that wasn’t there before, like a splinter in your finger, but this is somewhere above my stomach.

Well, I’m going to be a writer. And when I say that’s a mountain, that’s a mountain.

I’m going to take you somewhere. It’s time you began to see the world. You’re eleven years old and it’s time you saw something.

Miss Elson came into the room and they all stood up and said, “Good morning, Miss Elson.” Miss Elson bowed and said, “Good morning, children.” Then they all sat down and punched each other.

Writers don’t care what they eat. They just care what you think of them.