“Which color?” he asks, holding up a green and a yellow ball. His knuckles are flecked with a different-colored paint now. Eggshell blue. “What if I say red?” “Then I guess I’ll have to go wade through the creek and… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“I can’t be the only one. There have to be other people out there who see the Mr. Twister mascot for what he is: Hitler. A grinning, cartoon, twisty-cone version of the Führer himself, advertising to the world that this place is secretly Nazi central. There is no other logical reason to put one of those little black smudge mustaches… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share
“Burger.” Soup scrapes a patty off the grate for me and deposits it onto the open bun. “Extra juicy just for you.” “Thanks.” “Eat up. Then you should go take over for Piper before she gets really pissed off and starts swinging her mallet at Reed.” “Oh,” I say, searching for the right words. Soup is her father, after all.… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share
“Mo drives to his house. We both get out and meet around front of the truck’s bug-smeared grille. He hesitates, then hugs me. “You suck at hugging,” I say into his chest. He really does. It’s a cage of bony arms and clavicle-to-my-forehead every time. “I know.” He drops one arm and stands with the other around my shoulder for… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share
“I could feel myself shrinking. I couldn't move, not even to blink or breathe. Soon I'd be nothing at all.” — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“You okay?” she asks. “I think so. You?” “Yeah.” The courthouse looks like it’s burning under the morning sun. The flame-orange shimmer of hot brick forces me to look away. “Why are you still going through with this?” She’s silent, and I contemplate punching myself in the face. If she backs out now I’m going to…I don’t even know what.… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share
“He'd said all the right things today. He'd been exactly who I needed him to be, dug through all the layers to get to… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“I like the scars because I like the stories. Bravery, stupidity, pain—none of them come free.” — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“How about I give you a hin instead?" "Sure. I'm sure a hint's all I need anyway." "You think you're pretty smart then?" he… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“That's to British," I countered. "What is?" "Making sweeping generalizations about Americans because that makes you feel better about having a national inferiority complex… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
“I don’t know a thing about jazz.” “That’s okay.” He pulled me toward the door and opened it. “You know music. Jazz will explain… — Jessica Martinez Copy Share Image
