Home > Work > Everybody Sees the Ants

Everybody Sees the Ants QUOTES

Everybody Sees the Ants QUOTES

1 " There is something magical about the world at night. Sitting at the dining room table, sipping a glass of iced tea, I can totally understand why Dad gets up so early. Minutes seem to last longer when the rest of the world is asleep. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

2 " Listen to me. They may control what you do, but no one can pee on your soul without your permission. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

3 " The boys on the front had magazines with pinups, and they talked about how one day they would score women like that, but they’re kids. They don’t know what love is. Here they learn what hate is, and I am so sad that they might never know love because hate came first. Maybe they will miss out on having a woman like you, and I feel sorry for them. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

4 " Oh. I get it now. God had Nader beat my ass and my mom leave my dad just so Jodi could learn how to chop onions and use a propane grill. Great. Awesome. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

5 " After I lie there for a while, I realize that Dad isn't every going to do anything but be there to drive us home from the airport. And cook. And if I want something bigger to change, it's up to me. I'm scared shitless, yes. I'm doubtful, yes. But I'm angry. Angry that I am doing this because Dad can't. But then I sniff breakfast, and I know that Dad is doing what he can. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

6 " She talks about how she can't exercise because of the ailments-a bad back, sore knees, breathing difficulties-all caused by her weight gain. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

7 " Since that day I saw you in chemistry class with thatt canary yellow shirt, I wanted to make every day Christmas for you. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

8 " I look back at Danny and I think about what Ginny said to me: Friends act like friends. My stomach tightens. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

9 " Granddad is on his mat, meditating. He says, "You have to live in the present, Lucky." "But it's impossible to forget." "I didn't say you had to forget it. Never forget it. But stop living there. Live here, in the present. Think forward to your future." "My future is three more years of Nader McMillan." "Yes, but from now on you're the one in control. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

10 " We're sitting there, her smoking, me watching her smoke, and it's too quiet, so I do what I've done my whole life when it's too quiet. I say something really stupid. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

11 " Only two hours earlier she was telling me how great I was because I could cook eggs. Now my egg-making means I'm a homicidal maniac. Now I might wipe out random people at a mall because I don't smile enough. Why are the adults in my life so determined to bring me down when I'm feeling good?
I find myself thinking that it would be nice to be able to fix my life the way I'm fixing the patio. I wonder, is there enough terracotta-colored cement to fill the hole where my father should be? Or where my mother's spine should be? Or where my guts should be? "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

12 " As I fall asleep, I think about Ginny and the look she gave me at church, and it makes me feel that familiar sinking in my gut-the way I've felt every time I've seen Nader McMillan in the hall since I was seven. He didn't even need to say anything to me. Just his existence would make me fell powerless and stupid. The difference, I guess, is that he gained his power by humiliating me. Thurns out when someone you actually give a shit about turns on you, it's even more powerful. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

13 " I guess it was hard for him to look at the logic behind the draft lotteries, because that same logic had taken away his father. And, anyway, what’s so logical about the day you were born deciding when you might die? That’s just a cruel joke, as I see it. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

14 " The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you're not one of them? "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

15 " The simplest answer is to act. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

16 " They don't know what love is. Here they learn what hate is, and I am so sad that they might never know love because hate came first. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

17 " Everybody sees the ants?"
He looks at me and says, "Well, how many people do you think live perfect lives, son? Aren't we all victims of something at some time or another?"
"I don't follow."
"Left hand red!" he says. Two ants fall on this turn, and the ant laughter gets louder. "Well, think about it. How many bad things can be done to a person? You got murder and assault, rape and robbery for starters. Just with those you're looking at some big numbers of how many people see the ants." He calls, "Left foot blue!"
I say, "Huh," because I'm not sure how many people he means.
"There's battery, conspiracy, extortion, slander, defamation and harassment, child abuse, stalking-the list is long, isn't it? Don't forget that every crime has hundreds of victims-everyone who knew and loved the victim and the criminal. That shit can trickle down."
"All those people see the ants?"
"Yep. Right hand green!"
"Wow."
"Yeah," he says. "If there are people who don't see 'em, I'd say we outnumber them a million to one. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

18 " He may have peed on you feet, but nobody can pee on your soul without your permission. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

19 " She's like a kindness ninja. Sneaking around in order to help people. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants

20 " I bring my hand to my face and pull away tiny pieces of the jagged scab. My face reflects in the rounded airplane window, and I see it is now a tiny Massachusetts, with Cape Cod curling toward my ear. In only a few more days it will be gone. I feel the fresh, smooth parts and marvel at how soft they are. New skin amazes me. New skin is a miracle. It is proof that we can heal. "

― A.S. King , Everybody Sees the Ants