The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1) QUOTES

21 " Another idea came to me, and this time I acted instantly. Using my knees, I shoved all my weight to the right as I leaned backward. The mix of movement and direction was enough to rock Viggo's balance. We both toppled to our sides on the grass. As we made contact with the ground, there was a second where Viggo's hold loosened on my arms. I managed to slide them out in front of me and then break his hold on my neck enough for me to squirm and twist until I was facing him, our noses inches apart. I froze, realizing just how close we’d come to each other. Closer than we’d ever been. I paused for a few seconds to take in the details of his eyes, his dark lashes, every hue of green in his irises and the way they seemed to gleam as he looked back at me. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

22 " taken and I might not be here now. We might still be living in the orphanage, or maybe I would have taken a job and started earning enough to become his official guardian, and for us to move into our own home. Tim might have begun an apprenticeship. Why has this man come to see me? He had entered armed with a crossbow and a shoulder bag. I eyed the bow's loaded tip. Perhaps I had been right about the wardens not wanting to wait until the main labs opened. Perhaps he was going to finish me off sooner: now. I had no idea why a man of such high status would do it personally though, and he didn't move any closer. He strode to a chair near the clock and sat down, his weapon resting casually on his knee. Then he let out a subdued cough, clearing his throat. "I have some news for you, Ms. Bates," he said, his voice nasally and off-puttingly high-pitched. “Ms. Bradbury passed away in the hospital about an hour ago.” My heart stilled. “I also have a proposal for you,” he went on. “A proposal that I suspect you will not refuse." He paused for a moment, scrutinizing me. "A situation has led Her Majesty and the Court to find use for a person with… your type of background. We have been watching the detention facilities, waiting for the right young woman to whom we may offer this opportunity." “Opportunity?" I managed. "You took defense lessons with Ms. Dale up until the age of fourteen, did you not?" he asked, as though I hadn't spoken. I nodded. "The opportunity involves embarking on a mission which, if successfully completed, would suspend your sentence. It would allow you another chance to redeem yourself and reintegrate into society. Your previous crimes would be erased from your record. Forgotten about. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

23 " We crept as quietly as we could through the sludge, toward the edge of the vaporous water. I continued to reassure Tim in whispers that Cad would be waiting in his rowboat, just like he’d promised. Only a little further up… but as we reached the river's border, neither Cad nor his boat were anywhere to be seen. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

24 " without being owned by a man, and even with a husband she was limited. She couldn't go out by herself, she couldn't work, drive, or own money or property. I'd even heard that their physical appearance and clothes were dictated by the man, if he so chose, and arguing was completely taboo. Women were dependent to a humiliating degree. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

25 " A woman in Patrus had about as many rights as a pet animal. She couldn't legally reside there "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

26 " During the next stretch of our journey, the occasional squawk of a bird made me jump, and I was introduced to yet more insects—jumper bugs and rope leeches—as well as a silver python that looked large enough to swallow me whole. But Ms. Dale deftly guided me onward. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

27 " As my husband, Lee had full right to appoint guardianship of me to any other man, with or without my consent. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

28 " Merrymount Mill," read the sign hanging above the entrance of the graystone windmill. "Facility for Convicted Juveniles." I wrinkled my nose, flexing my fingers around the handle of my tattered suitcase. I had no idea why it was called Merrymount. There were no "mounts" around here, or anywhere in the flat land of Matrus—mountains were a luxury enjoyed only by our neighbors in Patrus. And nothing about this towering brick building, or the shriveled brown fields that surrounded it, could be described as merry. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

29 " famished. "We'll continue practice after lunch," she said, taking my gun from me and resting it on the dead trunk along with the others. "Let's head back. There "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

30 " The fluorescent street lamps illuminated the tall, lithe brunette standing on the sidewalk outside Georgette's Laundry. She was clutching a bundle "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

31 " Having both been victims of the law in our countries, I supposed we were more vulnerable to wondering. Grief did that to you. It made you wish for a life that wasn't yours. It made you dream. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

32 " womanslaughter "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

33 " The party believed that if men were allowed to prevail again, they were simply creating a replica of the former testosterone-driven regime that had led everything to ruin. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

34 " except for the odd abstract painting on the wall. His "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

35 " A waifish girl who looked no older than nine stood barefoot in the doorway, wearing a checkered brown dress. Her face, splashed with freckles, was round and framed by a ginger mop of short, yet wildly curly hair. The apples of her cheeks were high and plump, her small lips pursed and heart-shaped. She had a look of righteous indignation in her large—almost bulbous—green eyes. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

36 " They had seen and sensed me. Growls ripped from the dogs' throats as they closed the distance. But it wasn't the end of the world if I was caught out here. As long as— "Watch out, Violet!" Tim's scream. My blood ran cold. Stupid boy. Stupid, stupid boy! "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

37 " I grabbed the flashlight and the backpack before closing the seat and resuming my sitting position. Switching on the light, I unzipped the main compartment and began to rummage in search of the key. Within it was another knife, a box of matches, a loop of rope, an unlabeled white tube of pills that looked suspiciously like Benuxupane, a compass, a camera… and then two photographs. I removed the compass and placed it in a small holder that was fixed beneath the gears. Then I picked up the photographs and shone my light down on them. My breath hitched. One of them displayed an all-too-familiar sight: the table in the queen's library, etched with the words "FOR THE BOYS OF MATRUS". The second displayed a different message. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

38 " It symbolizes strength and potential. Growth, like the waxing moon. "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)

39 " . Self-reliance means you're in control. Don't ever think you need a man for happiness. Besides, "

― Bella Forrest , The Gender Game (The Gender Game, #1)