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61 " A nightmare that’s a memory. Jay really did leave me and Trey at our grandparents’ house. She couldn’t take care of us and her drug habit, too. That’s when I learned that when people die, they sometimes take the living with them.I saw her in the park a few months later, looking more like a red-eyed, scaly-skinned dragon than my mommy. I started calling her Jay after that—there was no way she was my mom anymore. It became my own habit that was hard to break. Still is. "
― Angie Thomas , On the Come Up
62 " Besides, is it really mine if I'm not being myself? "
63 " I mean, I don’t know. I’m always weird about new people, I guess. The more people in your life, the more people who can leave your life, you know? I’ve lost enough as it is. "
64 " Sometimes I dream that I'm drowning. It's always in a big blue ocean that's too deep for me to see the bottom. But I tell myself I'm not going to die no matter how much water gets in my lungs or how deep I sink, I am not going to die. Because I say so.Suddenly, I can breathe underwater. I can swim. The ocean isn't scary anymore. It's actually kinda cool. I even learn how to control it.But I'm awake, I'm drowning, and I don't know how to control any of this. "
65 " My granddaddy says you never take big gifts that seem to be for no reason, because there's a chance that there's a big reason you can't afford" -Bri "
66 " Crying doesn't make you weak, Bri, and even if it did, there's nothing wrong with that. Admitting that you're weak is one of the strongest things you can do" -Trey "
67 " They haven't won. But you're so lost that you've lost" -Jay "
68 " I've cried over you. But I don't think you've cried over yourself, and that's the problem" -Jay "
69 " Besides, is it really mine if I'm not being myself" -Miles "
70 " This is Popkenchurch. Popkenchurch is when you buy fried chicken and Cajun rice from Popeyes, biscuits from KFC, and fried okra and corn on the cob from Church’s. Trey calls it “pre–cardiac arrest.” But see, "
71 " I’m done being who my dad wants me to be,” Miles says. “It’s not worth it.” Does he mean what I think he means? “You’re giving up your rap career?” Miles slowly nods. “Yeah. I am. Besides, is it really mine if I’m not being myself? "
72 " I’d have to do double the work to get half the respect. On top of that, I gotta be just as cutthroat, and I better not show weakness. Basically, I gotta be one of the guys and then some in order to survive. "
73 " You’re just a casualty in the reality of the madness of Bri. "
74 " I mean, it’s one thing to wanna do something. It’s another to think it’s possible. "
75 " Jay says this was like having a stranger come in your house, steal one of your kids, and blame you for it because your family was dysfunctional, while the whole world judges you for being upset. "
76 " Folks need to get their space opera life right. "
77 " When people die, they sometimes take the living with them "
78 " Our moms are best friends, and the three of them were pregnant with us at the same time. They call us the “Unholy Trinity” because they claim we kicked in their bellies whenever they were together. So nonverbal communication? Not new. "
79 " Sometimes I catch her staring at me, likes she’s looking for herself. Or she sees Dad and can’t look away. "
80 " See, last year a kid was murdered by a cop just a few streets away from my grandparents’ house. He was unarmed, but the grand jury decided not to charge the officer. There were riots and protests for weeks. "