133
" This is a dream. It has to be, because the three of them can’t be SN, and I’ve had dreams like this before, when they’re all there—Liam, Ethan, Caleb—morphing into each other, swapping shirts.
But no, Caleb is in gray. Ethan is the Batman. And Liam is wearing a button-down, because unlike his friends, he rotates his wardrobe. One point for Liam there.
If this is a dream, next they will break out into song. Serenade me with “The Girl No One Knows.”
No one is singing.
This is not a dream. "
― Julie Buxbaum , Tell Me Three Things
135
" Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re so weird,” she says. I look at her, or at least her chin, and discover that an offhand comment by Kit can disrupt my respiration. “But good-weird, you know?”
Good-weird.
Good-weird is what I’ve been telling myself I am for years, when being just plain weird was too much of a burden to carry. Good-weird is the only solution to the problem, when normal isn’t a viable option. Good-weird may very well be the opposite of cool, but I’ve never aspired to cool. At least not the version of it I’m familiar with.
“Thank you.”
“Speaking of weird, I have a random question for you. What can you tell me about quantum mechanics?” Kit asks, and a shiver makes its way from the bottom of my spine all the way to the top.
Miney suggested that I think up some small-talk ideas in case Kit came back to my table today.
Top of my list?
Quantum mechanics.
It’s almost enough to make me reconsider the entire concept of fate. "
― Julie Buxbaum , What to Say Next
136
" Anyhow, high school is just…The. Worst.”
“Funny that you became a high school teacher, then,” I say, and she laughs again.
“Something I should talk to my therapist about. Speaking of which, you could speak to the school counselor if you want. We have a psychiatrist on staff. A life coach too.”
“Seriously?”
“I know, right? Finding ways to justify the tuition. Anyhow, if not them, feel free to come talk to me anytime. Students like you are the reason I chose to teach.”
“Thanks.”
“By the way, I look forward to your and Ethan’s ‘Waste Land’ paper. You’re two of my brightest students. I have great expectations.” Dickens is next on the syllabus. A literary pun. No wonder Mrs. Pollack was destroyed in high school.
“We intend to reach wuthering heights,” I say, and as I walk by, she reaches her hand up, and I can’t help it—dorks unite! nerd power!—I give her a high five on my way out. "
― Julie Buxbaum , Tell Me Three Things