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She Didn't Even Notice Right Away That A Small Animal Had Come Out From Behind A Nearby Car And Was Slowly Making Its Way Toward The Trash Can She Was Standing Near. She Flipped Through Some Old Files In Her Mind, Trying To Come Up With What This Thing Might Be, And After A Few Seconds Decided That--impossible As It Seemed--it Was A Fox.

-Maureen Johnson

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She Didn't Even Notice

Maureen Johnson

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She Didn't Even Notice Right Away That A Small Animal Had Come Out From Behind A Nearby Car And Was Slowly Making Its Way Toward The Trash Can She Was Standing Near. She Flipped Through Some Old Files In Her Mind, Trying To Come Up With What This Thing Might Be, And After A Few Seconds Decided That--impossible As It Seemed--it Was A Fox.

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Irony Is The Word I Forget The Meaning Of Immediately After I Look It Up, But I Kind Of Feel Like I Live In A Constant State Of It.

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Proximity Doesn't Breed Familiarity.

Once Again, Her Parents' Problems Had Run Through Her Life Like A Piece Of Heavy Equipment, Smashing Everything In Their Way.

He's Been In Love With Miss Gina Since High School, But He Doesn't Really Know How To Talk To Girls, So He's Just Been...staying Around Her Since Then. He Just Tends To Go Where She Goes." "isn't That Stalking?" Jazza Said. "legally, No," I Replied. "i Asked My Parents This When I Was Little. What He Does Is Creepy And Socially Awkward, But It's Not Actually Stalking.

Tired, But Not The Kind Of Tired That Sleep Fixes.

It Was Like The Entire World Was Colluding To Make Me Feel Insane, And It Was Doing A Really Good Job.

Lies Are A Tremendous Karmic Setback. Keep It Up And You'll Come Back In The Next Life As Something Without A Spine. You're Not Fine. And You Don't Have To Be Fine.

The Locker At The End Of Her Bed Had No Lock, And One Of The Hinges Was Busted. She Opened It Up. There Was A Thing In It. The Thing Might Have Been A Sandwich At Some Point, Or An Animal, Or A Human Hand...but What It Was Now Was Fuzzy And Putrid. A Minute Later, Ginny Was Down The Stairs, Out The Door, And Gone.

She's Gone. Been Gone For Ages. They Split Up Right After You Left. That's Why The Grass Out Front Started Growing Again." "he's Got A New Girlfriend?" She Said Quietly. "thank God. You Must Be Happy." "yeah. He Does. It's A Relief. She's A Lot Nicer. But Then, Your Average Angry Snake Is Nicer Than Fiona. I'm Sure She's Happier Wherever She Is Now, Burning Orphans Or Whatever She Does With Her Time.

Something About Her Suggested That Her Leisure Activities Included Wrestling Large Woodland Animals And Banging Bricks Together.

Leisure Activities

Debbie Had To Get Up And Slice Me A Thick Piece Of Cake Before She Could Answer. And I Do Mean Thick. Harry Potter Volume Seven Thick. I Could Have Knocked Out A Burglar With This Piece Of Cake. Once I Tasted It, Though, It Seemed Just The Right Size.

We Learn That Many Great Thinkers Were Convinced That The Bible Contained The Ancient Mysteries, But Not In The Literal Words—that The Words On The Pages Were Codes, And That The Bible Is Comprised Of Heavy-handed And Useless Story Covering Up Something Much More Important And Interesting. I Get The Feeling That [dan Brown] Is Trying To Tell Me Something, But I Am Not Biting, Reader.

A Pause While My Mother Made High-pitched Sisterly Devotions Of Gratitude.

My Rule Is: The Second You Find Yourself Doing Something You Hate, Quit Doing It.

Finding Yourself

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