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21 " Those antidepressants Dr. Huang gave her were some kind of miracle drug. I considered giving them a try, but I didn't think they'd work for me. I had no cause to be happy. I felt sad with good reason, and it wouldn't be right to mess with that feeling. I thought I ought to just stay sad for a while. "
― Natalie Standiford , How to Say Goodbye in Robot
22 " I felt like you could open a door in my hollow, tin chest--just flip it open, easy--and see my heart throbbing, raw and bloody and sore. You could even reach in and squish it if you wanted to. I didn't want anyone getting close enough to open that door and see that mess (250-251). "
― Natalie Standiford
23 " I'll never forget Jonah's face. A light poured out of him and became the spirit of the room, like a genie released from a bottle after centuries of darkness. "
24 " I have a rotary phone from the sixties, it take forever to dial, which keeps me from making impulsive calls. "
25 " Those who love only half of him do not live him at all. "
26 " Before he sat down, my internal heat-seekers sensed what was coming my way: deep blue eyes that melted girls like Velveeta in a microwave. I tried to resist those microwave eyes, but sometimes there's no defense against them. I had a feeling I'd be seeing him weeping over my coffin later that night. "
27 " You're a big sister?' I was shocked. She seemed so good-natured and compassionate. "
― Natalie Standiford , The Secret Tree
28 " The whole summer stretched out before us, long, hot, endless.September flashed like a tiny red warning light in the distance, but if I squinted, I could ignore it. I decided to squint for a while.'It's going to be wonderful,' I said. "
29 " I reached for the phone and dialed his number. I listened to it ring. It rang on and on. I imagined the phone crying out in his empty room.I didn't count the rings, but it felt like hundreds. Could Mr. Tate hear them echoing through his house? Was I torturing him? Making him scream in frustration, pressing his hands to his ears to block out the noise? If he wanted to make the ringing stop, all he had to do was pick up.Maybe he had unplugged Jonah's phone. Maybe he couldn't hear the ringing at all. "
30 " I almost can't believe you won first place, because the painting deserves it so much, and people who deserve to win hardly ever do. "
31 " He's more of a Death person than a Dinner Roll person... "
32 " I don't care, I don't care, I don't care what they think. "
33 " I think ghostliness is a good quality. "
34 " I just wanted to say something about him, to shoot his spirit out over the airwaves and see what it will do. Maybe he'll come to one of you and give you something you need. Help you get rid of the blues, or keep the sun from catching you crying. A lot of you believe in ghosts. I've heard you say so. "
35 " Throughout history, big changes always start with a girl meeting a boy.""No they don't," Jane said. "They start with somebody being assassinated. "
― Natalie Standiford , Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters
36 " he's stuck with them, so he makes the best of a bad situation. he's a hero because he makes something good out of a life he doesn't want. "
37 " I had to admit he looked nice. He has very regular features and straight teeth. I'd just read that even, regular features are universally recognized as beautiful. So no matter what I think of Brooks as a person, I'm genetically programmed to find him attractive. I resent that. "
38 " Sounds pretty bad. Are you sure about this?""Oh, I'm sure.""Well, I don't know what we can do to prepare, except say our prayers.""Good luck with that, Herb. God died in 1945. "
39 " He's as bad as my mother. Maybe worse. He's a market-research consultant. He studies people's facial expressions to see how they feel about commercials and products. He used to be a psychologist but he makes more money helping big corporations dupe the public. The worst part is he can look at your face and say 'Your upper lip just twitched! Anger! You're angry. Don't try to hide it from me, young man. Why does it make you angry when I say those pants make you look like a girl? Doe you have something against girls? Perhaps some unresolved Oedipal feelings? "
40 " This year I have Sister Mary Joseph for Religion. Right away I could tell she was going to become my archenemy. She has a stony face with a mean squint; Clint Eastwood in a wimple. She trained the squint on me and decided I was trouble from the get-go. "