““I have come!’’ Kostya yelled in a dramatic manner, tossing his head so the sweep of dark auburnhair that had come down over his forehead was flipped back. ‘‘Hello, everyone! Mayling! Isn’t this exciting?’’ Cyrene called, ruining Kostya’s big moment. He glared at her. ‘‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Go right ahead, punkanoodle. I know you want tomake a good impression on everyone.’’ Even the sigh that Kostya heaved was filled with drama. ‘‘I told you not to call me that! It’s not fitting.’’ ‘‘Sorry,’’ Cyrene said, looking remorseful. ‘‘Forgot. Go ahead, Kostie.’’ Even at the distance we were from the door, I could see Kostya cast a glance upward as he obviously soughtpatience. Gabriel made an odd snorting noise, as if he was trying to hold back laughter. Normally I would have had a hard time keeping my own face straight, but I was more concerned about what Cyrene was doing here than the fact that her personality and Kostya’s were so obviously unsuited to each other.””
![“It wasn't [Barack] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being wheeled by her son waving a big American flag, and then seeing a guy with his baby in his arms saying, "I didn't want her to miss tonight! I wanted to be able to tell her!" And…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/806/bill-ayers-1848_able_it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the_20409.jpg)