“
I just thought of a great theory that explains everything. When I went to that party, I was abducted by aliens. They have created a fake Earth and fake high school to study me and my reactions. This certainly explains cafeteria food.
”
”
Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
“
Sorry, sorry, don’t mind me, coming through, oh why hello there—” This to a particularly handsome Kai look-alike droid, which had no more reaction than any of the others. “Or not,” she muttered, brushing past him. “Pardon me, a little space, please?
”
”
Marissa Meyer (Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3))
“
It was almost funny, really. Such a strong reaction to a bunch of shirtless guys.
”
”
Kody Keplinger (Shut Out (Hamilton High, #2))
“
Amren,” Rhys drawled, “sends her regards. And as for this one … ” I tried not to flinch away from meeting his stare. “She’s mine,” he said quietly, but viciously enough that Devlon and his warriors nearby heard. “And if any of you lay a hand on her, you lose that hand. And then you lose your head.” I tried not to shiver, as Cassian and Mor showed no reaction at all. “And once Feyre is done killing you,” Rhys smirked, “then I’ll grind your bones to dust.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2))
“
pg. 231-232: They'd given me a minivan. They could have picked any car and they picked a minivan. A minivan. O God of the Vehicular Justice, why dost thou mock me? Minivan, you albatross around my neck! You mark of Cain! You wretched beast high ceilings and few horsepower!
”
”
John Green (Paper Towns)
“
There’s always time for arguin’ when you’re a Fuentes.
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3))
“
It is not what they say, but the reaction that tells you everything you need to know.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Look, I'm a guy. Your ass was touching my groin. Of course I'm going to pop a boner. It's a natural reaction.
”
”
Gwen Hayes (So Over You)
“
I couldn't think of anything helpful to say, so I resorted to humor, my shield of last resort. 'Just please tell me they don't have a dog and a picket fence.'
He smiled. 'No fence, but a dog, two dogs.'
'What kind of dogs?' I asked.
He smiled and glanced at me, wanting to see my reaction. 'Maltese. Their names are Peeka and Boo.'
'Oh, shit, Edward, you're joking me.'
'Donna wants the dogs included in the engagement pictures.'
I stared at him, and the look on my face seemed to amuse him. He laughed. 'I'm glad you're here, Anita, because I don't know a single other person who I'd have admitted this to.
”
”
Laurell K. Hamilton (Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #9))
“
What are you boys doing?” she asks, as if we’re still little kids messing around.
“Arguin’,” Carlos says matter-of-factly.
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3))
“
She ignores me, so I cup my hands over my mouth and do something I haven’t done in years— barnyard sounds.
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3))
“
On the ground, Cash gave a signal, and all the guys lined up by the pool. In unison, they stripped off their shirts and tossed them onto the grass. An audible sigh- like the ones you hear on a sitcom that is "filmed in front of a live studio audience"- filled the room. It was almost funny, really. Such a strong reaction to a bunch of shirtless boys.
”
”
Kody Keplinger (Shut Out (Hamilton High, #2))
“
Ben walks in the room and asks, “What were you guys doing?” Nikki says “Nothing” at the same time I say, “Your sister and I were just makin’ out.
”
”
Simone Elkeles (Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3))
“
Because Carter’s not your only fan.” When I looked back up, I saw Roman’s green eyes were deadly serious. “You’re a remarkable woman, just by your own nature. Smart. Funny. Compassionate. But what’s really great is that you’re so easy to underestimate. I did when we first met, you know. And Hell is now. No matter what their reaction to your appeal is, I guarantee most of them doubt you have a chance. You’re going to prove them wrong. You’re going to break the unbreakable. And I’ll be there helping you, as much as I can.
”
”
Richelle Mead (Succubus Revealed (Georgina Kincaid, #6))
“
Afternoon experience: autographing exposed legs, outstretched in lines like matchsticks.
Afternoon epiphany: Those with smooth, hairless legs would soon lose all evidence of my contact when the sweat causes the ink from the marker to run. I am ephemeral. Skepticism would be the reaction to those with thick leg hair, as their curls frazzle the lines of my name outward illegibly. Among the scaly-legged, I flaked off immediately, like I never was at all.
”
”
Benson Bruno (A Story that Talks About Talking is Like Chatter to Chattering Teeth, and Every Set of Dentures can Attest to the Fact that No . . .)
“
Robbie thought it was funny how his mind was able to remember the smallest details in a fraction of an instant. Like people covering their faces and saying, “OOOWWW!” in reaction to seeing blows delivered to his face, or some writing on the wall above the lockers that said, “SCHOOL SUCKS!” or the name Joey on a ring just before it crashed into his eye and everything went black.
”
”
John Pease (Ezekiel's Eyes)
“
Getting hit in the face was... not cool. At. All. I know for a fact I squealed, grabbed my chin with both hands and possibly wailed, 'Why would you to that to me?' before collapsing to my knees on the ground.
”
”
Mariana Zapata (Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin)
“
Because I kissed you? Seriously? You only like me because I’m a good kisser? That’s it. We’re not doing this. I’m not letting you risk your life just
because you can’t think with your upstairs brain.”
“No, you twit.” Ryan laughed. “Because you kissed me that day. I expected the ice queen and got a funny, go-with-the-flow girl that didn’t care what
anyone thought about her. A girl willing to stir up gossip just so that I could win a date with someone else.
“You didn’t have to help me. In fact, you probably should have been insulted, but you weren’t.
You kissed me, you smiled, and then you wished me good luck. No one’s ever surprised me like that. I couldn’t figure out why you did it, and I just
had to get to know you after that.” I had no idea that stupid kiss had that kind of effect on him. Charged him up like a battery, sure, but do all that? All
this time I really thought it was just the superkissing that kept him coming back. I looked down at my lunch, feeling a little ashamed of my lack of faith
in him, but Ryan couldn’t stop there.
Oh, no, not Ryan Miller.
“After that day, every time I was with you I got brief glimpses of the real Jamie, the one who is dying to break out, and she was this fun, relaxed,
smart, funny, caring girl. Finding out the truth about you only made you that much more incredible. You’re so strong. You’ve gone through so much,
you’re going through so much, but you never stop trying. You’re amazing.” I was surprised when I felt Ryan’s hand lift my chin up. I didn’t want to look
at him, I knew what would happen to my heart if I did, but I couldn’t stop myself. I craved him too much.
When we made eye contact, his face lit up and he whispered, “I love you, Jamie Baker.” It came out of nowhere, and it stole the breath from me,
leaving me speechless. Ryan stared at me, just waiting for some kind of reaction, and then I was the one who broke the no-kissing rule.
It wasn’t my fault. He totally cheated! Like anyone could resist Ryan Miller when he’s touching your face and saying he loves you?
I threw myself at him so fast that I startled him for a change, and he was the one who had to pull me off him when his hair started to stick up.
“Sorry,” I breathed as he pulled away.
“Don’t be sorry,” he teased. “Just stop.”
“Sorry,” I said again when I noticed that his leg was now bouncing under the table.
“Yeah. Looks like I don’t get to sleep through economics today.”
“On the bright side, Coach could make you run laps all practice long and you’d be fine.
”
”
Kelly Oram (Being Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker, #1))
“
Instead of hearing the message he was trying to impress upon me and the impressionable queer ears hanging on his every word, all I could think was, I can't believe he just told them all how old I am.
- Jason's reaction to Chad's speech
”
”
Ethan Day (Anything for You (A Middleton Romance #1))
“
When animals make a stupid mistake, you laugh at them. A cat misjudges a leap. A dog looks overly quizzical about a simple object. These are funny things. But when a person doesn’t understand something, if they miscalculate and hit the brakes too late, blame is assigned. They are stupid. They are wrong. Teachers and cops are there to sort it out, with a trail of paperwork to illustrate the stupidity. The faults. The evidence and incidents of these things. We have entire systems in place to help decide who is what. Sometimes the systems don’t work. Families spend their weekend afternoons at animal shelters, even when they’re not looking for a pet. They come to see the unwanted and unloved. The cats and dogs who don’t understand why they are these things. They are petted and combed, walked and fed, cooed over and kissed. Then they go back in their cages and sometimes tears are shed. Fuzzy faces peering through bars can be unbearable for many. Change the face to a human one and the reaction changes. The reason why is because people should know better. But our logic is skewed in this respect. A dog that bites is a dead dog. First day at the shelter and I already saw one put to sleep, which in itself is a misleading phrase. Sleep implies that you have the option of waking up. Once their bodies pass unconsciousness to something deeper where systems start to fail, they revolt a little bit, put up a fight on a molecular level. They kick. They cry. They don’t want to go. And this happens because their jaws closed over a human hand, ever so briefly. Maybe even just the once. But people, they get chances. They get the benefit of the doubt. Even though they have the higher logic functioning and they knew when they did it THEY KNEW it was a bad thing.
”
”
Mindy McGinnis (The Female of the Species)
“
The first principle is that nobody should be ashamed of thinking a thing funny because it is foreign; the second is that he should be ashamed of thinking it wrong because it is funny. The reaction of his senses and superficial habits of mind against something new, and to him abnormal, is a perfectly healthy reaction. But the mind which imagines that mere unfamiliarity can possibly prove anything about inferiority is a very inadequate mind.
”
”
G.K. Chesterton (What I Saw in America (Anthem Travel Classics))
“
It’s funny how those we care about can create the same reaction that we get when we are facing down a monster ready to kill us.
”
”
Brandy Nacole (Sacrifice: A New Dawn (The Shadow World, #3))
“
If one wishes to elicit a reaction from the elusive species known as 'reservus quietgirlius,' one must poke.
”
”
Jules Barnard (Deep Blue (Blue, #1))
“
It was that summer, too, that I began the cutting, and was almost as devoted to it as to my newfound loveliness. I adored tending to myself, wiping a shallow red pool of my blood away with a damp washcloth to magically reveal, just above my naval: queasy. Applying alcohol with dabs of a cotton ball, wispy shreds sticking to the bloody lines of: perky. I had a dirty streak my senior year, which I later rectified. A few quick cuts and cunt becomes can't, cock turns into back, clit transforms to a very unlikely cat, the l and i turned into a teetering capital A.
The last words I ever carved into myself, sixteen years after I started: vanish.
Sometimes I can hear the words squabbling at each other across my body. Up on my shoulder, panty calling down to cherry on the inside of my right ankle. On the underside of a big toe, sew uttering muffled threats to baby, just under my left breast. I can quiet them down by thinking of vanish, always hushed and regal, lording over the other words from the safety of the nape of my neck.
Also: At the center of my back, which was too difficult to reach, is a circle of perfect skin the size of a fist.
Over the years I've made my own private jokes. You can really read me. Do you want me to spell it out for you? I've certainly given myself a life sentence. Funny, right? I can't stand to look myself without being completely covered. Someday I may visit a surgeon, see what can be done to smooth me, but now I couldn't bear the reaction. Instead I drink so I don't think too much about what I've done to my body and so I don't do any more. Yet most of the time that I'm awake, I want to cut. Not small words either. Equivocate. Inarticulate. Duplicitous. At my hospital back in Illinois they would not approve of this craving.
For those who need a name, there's a gift basket of medical terms. All I know is that the cutting made me feel safe. It was proof. Thoughts and words, captured where I could see them and track them. The truth, stinging, on my skin, in a freakish shorthand. Tell me you're going to the doctor, and I'll want to cut worrisome on my arm. Say you've fallen in love and I buzz the outlines of tragic over my breast. I hadn't necessarily wanted to be cured. But I was out of places to write, slicing myself between my toes - bad, cry - like a junkie looking for one last vein. Vanish did it for me. I'd saved the neck, such a nice prime spot, for one final good cutting. Then I turned myself in.
”
”
Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects)
“
Those are the only to verbalizations usually that we make in movies—either to scream or to laugh—because those two reactions are rather close. Most things we laugh at are things that are really horrible, when you think about them. It’s funny and you don’t scream, as long as it’s not you. If it’s somebody else you can laugh.
”
”
Stephen King
“
The funny part is my gut reaction is to come up with something to say next that won't make him uncomfortable. What would I do otherwise? Cause a scene? Claim harassment by a man who likely helped pay for the open bar I'm drinking at because he tapped my hip and clavicle? I hate myself a little for the passivity of it, but in professional situations like this, with my literal livelihood at stake, I revert to a sacred little girl who has internalized that under no circumstances should she ruffle affluent society's feathers.
”
”
Clare Gilmore (Love Interest)
“
It's funny how people handle bad news in different ways, Some people have a visceral reaction, Some people go into denial and others ... Others just walk away.
”
”
Scrubs J.D
“
It's funny how giving up control can actually end up putting things back in place. But that's what I'm learning, that too much of something ends up yielding the opposite reaction.
”
”
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (Firsts)
“
You are hereby warned that any movement on your part not explicitly endorsed by verbal authorization on my part may pose a direct physical risk to you, as well as consequential psychological and possibly, depending on your personal belief system, spiritual risks ensuing from your personal reaction to said physical risk. Any movement on your part constitutes an implicit and irrevocable acceptance of such risk," the first MetaCop says. There is a little speaker on his belt, simultaneously translating all of this into Spanish and Japanese.
"Or as we used to say," the other MetaCop says, "freeze, sucker!"
"Under provisions of The Mews at Windsor Heights Code, we are authorized to enforce law, national security concerns, and societal harmony on said territory also. A treaty between The Mews at Windsor Heights and White Columns authorizes us to place you in temporary custody until your status as an Investigatory Focus has been resolved."
"Your ass is busted," the second MetaCop says.
"As your demeanor has been nonaggressive and you carry no visible weapons, we are not authorized to employ heroic measures to ensure your cooperation," the first MetaCop says.
"You stay cool and we'll stay cool," the second MetaCop says.
"However, we are equipped with devices, including but not limited to projectile weapons, which, if used, may pose an extreme and immediate threat to your health and well-being."
"Make one funny move and we'll blow your head off," the second MetaCop says.
”
”
Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash)
“
I got some funny reactions, a lot of irate reactions, as if I were somehow taking people's fun away from them. I have nothing against sports. I like to watch a good basketball game and that sort of thing. On the other hand, we have to recognise that the mass hysteria about spectator sports plays a significant role. First of all, spectator sports make people more passive, because you're not doing them; you're watching somebody doing them. Secondly, they engender jingoist and chauvinist attitudes, sometimes to quite an extreme degree. I saw something in the newspapers just a day or two ago about how high-school teams are now so antagonistic and passionately committed to winning at all costs that they had to abandon the standard handshake before or after the game. These kids can't even do civil things like greeting one another because they're ready to kill one another. It's spectator sports that engender those attitudes, particularly when they're designed to organise a community to be hysterically committed to their gladiators. That's very dangerous, and it has lots of deleterious effects.
”
”
Noam Chomsky (The Quotable Chomsky)
“
I sat down on my bed, trying to catch my breath, as Jenna opened the door. The Vandy stood there, glaring at us, and my heart plummeted. They knew. They’d sensed magic happening in here, and now they’d sent the Vandy to come collect us.
I sat there, trying not to pant in terror, while Jenna openly trembled.
“You were told to report to the greenhouse,” the Vandy said, her eyes going back and forth between us. “Now, get your skinny butts down there.”
You know when you have the most inappropriate reaction to something ever? I was so happy that we weren’t being hauled off to be murdered that I burst out laughing. I mean, big, loud, honking laughter. Jenna shot me a panicked look as the Vandy’s scowl got even darker. “What’s so funny, Miss Mercer?”
I stood up on wobbly legs and did my best to stop cracking up. “Sorry, it’s just, um…”
“You said ‘butts,’” Jenna blurted out. “And Sophie’s got a really immature sense of humor.”
“Right,” I said, seizing on that. “Butts. Ha ha!”
I think if the Vandy could have murdered us right then and there, she probably would have. Instead she just thrust one finger toward the staircase and said, “Move it.”
We scrambled from the room.
”
”
Rachel Hawkins (Spell Bound (Hex Hall, #3))
“
No one looks at you funny if you excuse yourself to grab a smoke. Imagine the reactions if you say, “Hey, I’m going to go grab a five-minute prayer. I’ll be back.”
Or worse, “Hold that thought. I just want to go cry a minute.”
Excuses are easy. Quitting is much harder.
”
”
Taya Kyle (American Wife: Love, War, Faith, and Renewal)
“
Bet you didn't know that when you agreed to be 'betrothed' to me, huh? Husband-eviscerating apparently runs in my family."
Still no reaction, and I felt shame curl in my belly. "Of course, you also didn't know you were getting a damon bride," I added in a softer tone. Very few people knew what my dad really was. I'd always assumed Cal had found out the same night I did.
That's why I was really surprised when he raised his head and said, "I knew."
"What?"
"I knew what you were then, Sophie. Your dad told me before the betrothal. And he told me about your grandmother, and what happened to your grandfather."
I shook my head. "Then,why?"
Cal took his time before answering. "For one thing, I like your dad. He's done good things for Prodigium. And it-" He broke off with a long exhale. "It felt like some kind of honor, you know? Being asked to be the head of the Council's son-in-law. Plus, your dad, he,uh,told me a lot about you."
My voice was barely above a whisper. "What did he say?"
"That you were smart, and strong. Funny. That you had trouble using your powers, but you were always trying to use them to help people." He shrugged. "I thought we'd be a good match."
The vast dining room suddenly felt very small, like it consisted only of this table and me and Cal. "Look, Sophie," he started to say.
But before he could finish, Jenna walked in. "I am so glad I still get to eat human food, because that bacon smells insane..." she said, and then froze. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her ealier bounciness draining out of her. "Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt...whatever. I c-can...leave?" She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. "And then come back,uh, later?"
But the moment was broken. Cal sat back, and I pushed my hair behind my ears. "No,it's fine," I said quickly, concentrating harder on my eggs than I had on my SAT.
”
”
Rachel Hawkins (Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2))
“
It's funny, I've decided 'Hallelujah' is a kind of Rorschach test for people, because everyone has a different reaction to it and to what I'm doing. I just sang it, and whatever came out was just natural and spontaneous and maybe that's the best thing, because there's a kind of enigma, both in the meaning of the words and the way Leonard Cohen said them, that catches people's attention.
”
”
Renée Fleming (The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah")
“
99 Problems is almost a deliberate provocation to simpleminded listeners. If that sounds crazy, you have to understand: Being misunderstood is almost a badge of honor in rap. Growing up as a black kid from the projects, you can spend your whole life being misunderstood, followed around department stores, looked at funny, accused of crimes you didn't commit, accused of motivations you don't have, dehumanized -- until you realize, one day, it's not about you. It's the perceptions people had long before you even walked onto the scene. The joke's on them because they're really just fighting phantoms of their own creation. Once you realize that, things get interesting. It's like when we were kids. You'd start bopping hard and throwing the ice grill when you step into Macy's and laugh to yourself when security guards got nervous and started shadowing you. You might have a knot of cash in your pocket, but you boost something anyway, just for the sport of it. Fuck 'em. Sometimes the mask is to hide and sometimes it's to play at being something you're not so you can watch the reactions of people who believe the mask is real. Because that's when they reveal themselves. So many people can't see that every great rapper is a not just a documentarian, but a trickster -- that every great rapper has a little bit of Chuck and a little bit of Flav in them -- but that's not our problem, it's their failure: the failure, or unwillingness, to treat rap like art, instead of acting like it's a bunch of niggas reading out of their diaries. Art elevates and refines and transforms experience. And sometimes it just fucks with you for the fun of it.
”
”
Jay-Z
“
The feeling of comfort disappeared. There had been no progress with Rosalie, though I was on quite good terms with her sometimes-husband. Emmett enjoyed having me around—he thought my bizarre human reactions were hilarious . . . or maybe it was just the fact that I fell down a lot that he found so funny. Rosalie acted as if I didn’t exist. While I shook my head to dispel the direction my thoughts had taken, I thought of something else.
”
”
Stephenie Meyer (Twilight (Twilight, #1))
“
Erm…I don’t know maybe for kissing me and tasting so damn delicious, maybe for holding my hand in public, maybe for looking far too hot in that sexy, snug tee when you should just be looking like Jo’s little brother.
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I chose the much more sophisticated reaction of scowling, hard. I would have kicked him again, but I was convinced he’d moved his legs out of the way. Coward.” ~ Ella, A Perfect Moment
”
”
Becca Lee (A Perfect Moment (Perfect, #1))
“
I slammed down on my hip first, followed by my shoulder, followed by my ego. It’s not often that I crash like this, but often enough that I’ve recognized a series of reactions that occurs by instinct rather than reason, which explains why they are so ridiculously misprioritized.
1. First thought: “I’m never riding a bike again.”
2. Pop quickly onto my feet, and then scan for bystanders to assess embarrassment level.
3. Check bike for damage.
4. Check body for damage.
”
”
Tom Babin (Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling)
“
You might want to stop with the threats before my heart gives out.”
“You look healthy enough.”
“And you look sane. Imagine that,” Stunt shot right back. His common sense kicked in about a second too late to save him from his mouth, and there was a long silence. Insulting the man holding you at gunpoint showed a real lack of common sense. Insulting him and then not being able to see the reaction because your back was turned and he’d gone utterly silent was so very much worse.
”
”
Lyn Gala (Mountain Prey)
“
These include denial (“the truth is not so bad”), reaction formation (“I really, really, really love my mother”), displacement (“the boss yells at me, I yell at my wife, my wife yells at the baby, the baby bites the cat”), identification (“I am bullied, so I am motivated to be a bully”), rationalization (a self-serving explanation for a low-quality action), intellectualization (a favorite of the early, funny, neurotic Woody Allen), sublimation (“I can always paint nude women”), and projection (“I am not touchy; you are just annoying”).
”
”
Jordan B. Peterson (Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life)
“
Lots of concerned friends and family felt that the first medication’s failure was a clear sign that drugs were not the answer; if they were I would have been fixed. Clearly I wasn’t as sick as I said I was if the medication didn’t work for me. And that sort of makes sense, because when you have cancer the doctor gives you the best medicine and if it doesn’t shrink the tumor immediately then that’s a pretty clear sign you were just faking it for attention. I mean, cancer is a serious, often fatal disease we’ve spent billions of dollars studying and treating so obviously a patient would never have to try multiple drugs, surgeries, radiation, etc., to find what will work specifically for them. And once the cancer sufferer is in remission they’re set for life because once they’ve learned how to not have cancer they should be good. And if they let themselves get cancer again they can just do whatever they did last time. Once you find the right cancer medication you’re pretty much immune from that disease forever. And if you get it again it’s probably just a reaction to too much gluten or not praying correctly. Right?
”
”
Jenny Lawson (Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things)
“
As you sit there watching a performance of a Shakespeare, Johnson, or Marlowe play, the crowd will fade into the background. Instead, you will be struck by the diction. There are words and phrases that you will not find funny, but which will make the crowd roar with laughter. Your familiarity with the meanings of Shakespeare's words will rise and fall as you see and hear the actors' deliveries and notice the audience's reaction. That is the strange music of being so familiar with something that is not of your own time. What you are listening to in that auditorium is the genuine voice, something of which you have heard only distant echoes. Not every actor is perfect in his delivery; Shakespeare himself makes that quite clear in his Hamlet. But what you are hearing is the voice of the men for whom Shakespeare wrote his greatest speeches. Modern thespians will follow the rhythms or the meanings of these words, but even the most brilliant will not always be able to follow both rhythm and meaning at once. If they follow the pattern of the verse, they risk confusing the audience, who are less familiar with the sense of the words. If they pause to emphasize the meanings, they lose the rhythm of the verse. Here, on the Elizabethan stage, you have a harmony of performance and understanding that will never again quite be matched in respect of any of these great writers.
”
”
Ian Mortimer (The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England)
“
Okay.First things first. Three things you don't want me to know about you."
"What?" I gaped at him.
"You're the one who says we don't know each other.So let's cut to the chase."
Oh,but this was too easy:
1. I am wearing my oldest, ugliest underwear.
2.I think your girlfriend is evil and should be destroyed.
3.I am a lying, larcenous creature who talks to dead people and thinks she should be your girlfriend once the aforementioned one is out of the picture.
I figured that was just about everything. "I don't think so-"
"Doesn't have to be embarrassing or major," Alex interrupted me, "but it has to be something that costs a little to share." When I opened my mouth to object again, he pointed a long finger at the center of my chest. "You opened the box,Pandora.So sit."
There was a funny-shaped velour chair near my knees. I sat. The chair promptly molded itself to my butt. I assumed that meant it was expensive, and not dangerous. Alex flopped onto the bed,settling on his side with his elbow bent and his head propped on his hand.
"Can't you go first?" I asked.
"You opened the box..."
"Okay,okay. I'm thinking."
He gave me about thirty seconds. Then, "Time."
I took a breath. "I'm on full scholarship to Willing." One thing Truth or Dare has taught me is that you can't be too proud and still expect to get anything valuable out of the process.
"Next."
"I'm terrified of a lot things, including lightning, driving a stick shift, and swimming in the ocean."
His expression didn't change at all. He just took in my answers. "Last one."
"I am not telling you about my underwear," I muttered.
He laughed. "I am sorry to hear that. Not even the color?"
I wanted to scowl. I couldn't. "No.But I will tell you that I like anchovies on my pizza."
"That's supposed to be consolation for withholding lingeries info?"
"Not my concern.But you tell me-is it something you would broadcast around the lunchroom?"
"Probably not," he agreed.
"Didn't think so." I settled back more deeply into my chair. It didn't escape my notice that, yet again, I was feeling very relaxed around this boy. Yet again, it didn't make me especially happy. "Your turn."
I thought about my promise to Frankie. I quietly hoped Alex would tell me something to make me like him even a little less.
He was ready. "I cried so much during my first time at camp that my parents had to come get me four days early."
I never went to camp. It always seemed a little bit idyllic to me. "How old were you?"
"Six.Why?"
"Why?" I imagined a very small Alex in a Spider-Man shirt, cuddling the threadbare bunny now sitting on the shelf over his computer. I sighed. "Oh,no reason. Next."
"I hated Titanic, The Notebook, and Twilight."
"What did you think of Ten Things I Hate About You?"
"Hey," he snapped. "I didn't ask questions during your turn."
"No,you didn't," I agreed pleasantly. "Anser,please."
"Fine.I liked Ten Things. Satisfied?"
No,actually. "Alex," I said sadly, "either you are mind-bogglingly clueless about what I wouldn't want to know, or your next revelation is going to be that you have an unpleasant reaction to kryptonite."
He was looking at me like I'd spoken Swahili. "What are you talking about?"
Just call me Lois. I shook my head. "Never mind. Carry on."
"I have been known to dance in front of the mirror-" he cringed a little- "to 'Thriller.'"
And there it was. Alex now knew that I was a penniless coward with a penchant for stinky fish.I knew he was officially adorable.
He pushed himself up off his elbow and swung his legs around until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "And on that humiliating note, I will now make you translate bathroom words into French." He picked up a sheaf of papers from the floor. "I have these worksheets. They're great for the irregular verbs...
”
”
Melissa Jensen (The Fine Art of Truth or Dare)
“
Dear Sir, poor sir, brave sir:” he read, “You are an experiment by the Creator of the Universe. You are the only creature in the entire Universe who has free will. You are the only one who has to figure out what to do next—and why. Everybody else is a robot, a machine. “Some persons seem to like you, and others seem to hate you, and you must wonder why. They are simply liking machines and hating machines. “You are pooped and demoralized,” read Dwayne. “Why wouldn’t you be? Of course it is exhausting, having to reason all the time in a universe which wasn’t meant to be reasonable.” 23 DWAYNE HOOVER read on: “You are surrounded by loving machines, hating machines, greedy machines, unselfish machines, brave machines, cowardly machines, truthful machines, lying machines, funny machines, solemn machines,” he read. “Their only purpose is to stir you up in every conceivable way, so the Creator of the Universe can watch your reactions. They can no more feel or reason than grandfather clocks.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Breakfast of Champions)
“
In another experiment, Stanley Schachter and Ladd Wheeler asked participants to take part in a study of the effects of a vitamin compound on vision. Participants received an injection and then watched a fifteen-minute comedy film. Unbeknownst to the participants, the “vitamin” was actually epinephrine in one condition, a placebo in another, and chlorpromazine in a third. Epinephrine produces physiological arousal in the sympathetic nervous system, such as increased heart rate and slight tremors in the arms and legs. Chlorpromazine is a tranquilizer that acts as a depressant of the sympathetic nervous system. The researchers reasoned that because the participants did not know that they had received a drug, they would infer that the film was causing their bodily reactions. Consistent with this hypothesis, people injected with the epinephrine seemed to find the film the funniest; they laughed and smiled the most while watching it. People injected with the chlorpromazine seemed to find the film the least funny; they laughed and smiled little while watching
”
”
Timothy D. Wilson (Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious)
“
He loved the humans’ complete inability to see anything even when it stared them right in their faces. He knew what it was, too. Their logic. How could anything the size of a dragon turn into a human? Humans understood nothing of ancient Magick and how powerful it could be.
For a moment, he really thought that Annwyl figured it out. Still, he remained grateful she hadn’t. He knew he shouldn’t lie to her and, in the beginning, he really hadn’t planned to. He trusted her now more than he trusted anyone, but her reaction to him as a human male completely confounded him.
She wanted the knight but hated the knight. Cared for the dragon but, not surprisingly, didn’t seem to have any other feelings than general friendliness.
Annwyl continued to be the most complex creature he’d ever met. And, when he wasn’t staring at her chest or rear, he found her intelligent, delightful, and extremely funny. Just a joy to be around. But only the dragon seemed lucky enough to see that side of her. When he came to her as the knight, he found her surly, foul tempered, and downright rude. He still found her a joy to be around, but probably because he liked how she smelled when she became angry.
”
”
G.A. Aiken (Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, #1))
“
A long time ago Ian had told her he was half in love with her, yet now that they were betrothed he’d never spoken a word of it, had not even pretended. She wasn’t certain of his motives or his feelings; she wasn’t certain of her own, either. All she really knew was that the sight of his hard, handsome face with its chiseled features, and hold amber eyes never failed to make her entire being feel tense and alive. She knew he liked to kis her, and that she very much liked being kissed by him. Added to his other attractions was something else that drew her inexorably to him: From their very first meeting, Elizabeth had sensed that beneath his bland sophistication and rugged virility Ian Thornton had a depth that most people lacked. “It’s so hard to know,” she whispered, “how I ought to feel or what I ought to think. And I have the worst feeling it’s not going to matter what I know or what I think,” she added almost sadly, “because I am going to love him.” She opened her eyes and looked at Alex. “It’s happening, and I cannot stop it. It was happening two years ago, and I couldn’t stop it then, either. So you see,” she added with a sad little smile, “it would be so much nicer for me if you could love him just a little, too.”
Alex reached across the table and took Elizabeth’s hands in hers. “If you love him, then he must be the very best of men. I shall henceforth make it a point to see all his best qualities!” Alex hesitated, and then she hazarded the question: “Elizabeth, does he love you?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “He wants me, he says, and he wants children.”
Alex swallowed embarrassed laughter. “He what?”
“He wants me, and he wants children.”
A funny, knowing smile tugged at Alexandra’s lips. “You didn’t tell me he said the first part. I am much encouraged,” she teased while a rosy blush stole over her cheeks.
“I think I am, too,” Elizabeth admitted, drawing a swift, searching look from Alex.
“Elizabeth, this is scarcely the time to discuss this-in fact,” Alex added, her flush deepening. “I don’t think there is a really good time to discuss it-but has Lucinda explained to you how children are conceived?”
“Yes, of course,” Elizabeth said without hesitation.
“Good, because I would have been the logical one otherwise, and I still remember my reaction when I found out. It was not a pretty sight,” she laughed. “On the other hand, you were always much the wiser girl than I.”
“I don’t think so at all,” Elizabeth said, but she couldn’t imagine what there was, really, to blush about. Children, Lucinda had told her when she’d asked, were conceived when a husband kissed his wife in be. And it hurt the first time. Ian’s kisses were sometimes almost bruising, but they never actually hurt, and she enjoyed them terribly.
As if speaking her feelings aloud to Alexandra had somehow relieved her of the burden of trying to deal with them, Elizabeth was so joyously relaxed that she suspected Ian noticed it at once when the men joined them in the drawing room.
Ian did notice it; in fact, as they sat down to play a game of cards in accordance with Elizabeth’s cheery suggestion, he noticed there was a subtle but distinct softening in the attitudes of both ladies toward him.
”
”
Judith McNaught (Almost Heaven (Sequels, #3))
“
Marriage meant jointures and pin money and siring an heir to continue the dynasty. A cottage meant just him and Maria.
What a fool he was. Even a woman with Maria’s low connections wanted more. And he couldn’t give it. The very thought of attempting it made him ill, because he could never make her happy. He would muck it up, and the legacy of misery would go on.
But he’d be damned if he’d watch her throw herself away on that fool Hyatt. She deserved better than an indifferent fiancé who had no clue how to make her eyes darken in passion as she shuddered and trembled and gave her mouth so sweetly…
He groaned. He shouldn’t have gone so far with her. It had frightened her. Worse yet, his reaction to it bloody well terrified him-because he’d give a great deal to be able to do it again. He’d never felt that way for any other woman.
Freddy was still blathering on, and suddenly a word arrested him.
“What was that you said?” Oliver asked.
“The beefsteak needed a bit more salt-“
“Before that,” he ground out.
“Oh. Right. There was a chap in that club claiming he was your cousin. Mr. Desmond Plumtree, I think.”
His stomach sank. When had Desmond gained membership at such a selective club? Did it mean the bastard was finally becoming accepted in society?
“Though if you ask me,” Freddy went on, “with family like him, who needs enemies? Insulting fellow. Told me a bunch of nonsense about how you’d killed your father and everybody knew it.” Freddy sniffed. “I told him he was a scurrilous lout, and if he couldn’t see that you were a good sort of chap, then he was as blind as a town crier with a broken lantern. And he didn’t belong in the Blue Swan with all those amiable gents, neither.”
For a moment, speech utterly failed Oliver. He could only imagine Desmond’s reaction to that little lecture. “And…er…what did he say?”
“He looked surprised, then muttered something about playing cards and trotted off to a card room. Good riddance, too-he was eating up all the macaroons.”
Oliver gaped at him, then began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You and Maria-don’t you Americans ever pay attention to gossip?”
“Well, sure, if it makes sense. But that didn’t make sense. If everybody knew you’d killed your father, you’d have been hanged by now. Since you’re sitting right here, you can’t have done it.” Freddy tapped his forehead. “Simple logic is all.”
“Right,” Oliver said. “Simple logic.” A lump caught in his throat. Maria’s defending him was one thing; she was a woman and softhearted, though that had certainly never kept any other woman from gossiping about him.
But to have an impressionable pup like Freddy defend him…he didn’t know whether to scoff at the fellow’s naivete or clap him on the shoulder and pronounce him a “good sort of chap” as well.
”
”
Sabrina Jeffries (The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #1))
“
She shoved me out of the bed! The realization hit him as hard as the floor. His feline grace failed him. Far from hanging its head in shame, his inner lion rolled in mirth, tufted tail practically wagging. Not funny.
Except it was. He had a feeling this more assertive side of Arabella was his fault. Since the moment they’d met, he’d encouraged her to not take any shit, and apparently she’d decided to start with him. Dammit. When he’d told her to not let the world stomp all over her, he should have specified his exemption.
I’m her mate. Isn’t there a rule that says she can’t kick me out of bed?
Except she’d yet to realize what he had. Was it only a day ago since his life changed? Not even. At this rate, he’d be picking out fucking China patterns by noon.
Completely emasculated and by a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.
Flipping to his knees, he sat up and rested his chin on the mattress.
Arabella faced him, eyes wary, breathing shallow as she waited for his reaction. More like she waited to see if he’d explode.
She’d learn.
Hayder would never harm her, but he would use his infamous kitty-cat eyes against her.
He stared. You know you want me. You know you need me. Come on, baby. Melt. Melt for your lion.
She stared right back.
Hmm, this wasn’t working as planned.
He let the left side of his lip curl into a grin, tugging his cheek and popping his infamous dimple.
“I know what you’re doing.”
“What?”
“Trying to manipulate me into letting you back into bed.”
“Is it working?”
For a moment her expression shifted, a quick flip of emotions as she struggled to answer. “Yes it’s working. But I wish it wasn’t.”
“Why? Why fight it?”
“Because I think I need time.”
It turned out there was something more powerful than his dimple. Her honesty.
He groaned. “I think you were sent to kill me. Fine. If you insist, I’ll respect you even if I’d rather debauch you.”
Her eyes widened.
“Respect doesn’t mean I’m going to lie, baby. I want you. Bad. But I’ll listen to what you want. For now.”
And, yes, he said it ominously.
Let her think about it. Think about him. Soon even she wouldn’t be able to deny they were meant for each other.
He stood, all six foot plus naked feet of him.
And, yes, that did put a certain part of his anatomy in perfect view of a certain shocked gaze.
A sucked-in breath, cheeks that darkened, a certain awareness sizzling between them. She couldn’t hope to hide her pleasure or interest in what she saw.
“Sweet dreams, baby.” He winked and then turned, resisting an urge to catch her staring at his ass.
He knew she was. He could feel the crazy heat as she traced his path out of the room.
Go back. Want to snuggle. His lion couldn’t understand why they were back in the living room with its cramped couch that wouldn’t allow him to stretch out. Why couldn’t they snuggle in the nice warm bed and, even better, cuddle with a nice warm mate?
Respect, my furry friend. A lion had no use for respect though. His worldview was much simpler. Ours. Bed. Hungry. Not hungry for a steak but, rather, a sweet, creamy pie.
Hayder groaned. No need to keep reminding him of what he was missing. He knew. He hated it, but her wants had to take precedence over his.
Argh.
”
”
Eve Langlais (When a Beta Roars (A Lion's Pride, #2))
“
Well, Peter,” said Jesus. “Do you know of any men who will provide as much?” Peter felt like a scolded child. “No, Rabbi.” Jesus said, “We are certainly in need of finances.” Peter muttered, “I think Judas is pilfering from the treasury.” Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I see no reason to reject the help of such beautiful and resourceful women.” Jesus reached out and hugged Joanna. Another moment of discomfort for Peter. Simon thought of another comment. “What a funny irony to have Herod on the one hand hunting you, and on the other, funding you.” He immediately looked to Mary to see her reaction. She giggled. Simon felt on top of the world.
”
”
Brian Godawa (Jesus Triumphant (Chronicles of the Nephilim, #8))
“
One minute she was facing the table, the next she was in his arms, his mouth pressed to hers, his arms crushing her against him. Hmmmm. Luscious. She giggled. He pulled back. “Are you laughing? Is something funny?” His voice held a decidedly affronted tone. “I think you’re luscious,” she whispered. “That’s not funny.” She giggled again. “We’ll discuss it later.” He continued with his kiss. By the time he was finished, she couldn’t think, much less laugh. He appeared satisfied with her reaction. Arrogant man.
”
”
Deeanne Gist (Love on the Line)
“
Flavius Josephus. His documents state that some Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem at the Jewish Temple for Passover. A soldier in the Roman Army who didn’t really like that, decided that he would moon them to show his disrespect for their faith and culture. Not only that, but he also, according to the sources, “spake such words as you might expect upon such a posture.” So you can imagine what he was telling them. The Jews tried to remain calm and not to react. That’s the best reaction on such occasions. But kids being kids, they couldn’t overlook this. A few Jewish boys started throwing rocks at the mooning soldiers. Unfortunately, the soldiers’ reaction was even worse. They called for reinforcements. This sent the pilgrims into a panic. They thought they would be attacked and killed, so a whole stampede of people running for their lives happened. This first mooning actually resulted in a horrible tragedy. In the stampede, anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 people died. That’s pretty hard to imagine. Especially in that it all started with something that we usually find pretty funny today. I guess we should be careful about when and where we show off our butts.
”
”
Jesse Sullivan (Spectacular Stories for Curious Kids: A Fascinating Collection of True Tales to Inspire & Amaze Young Readers)
“
It’s easier to like animals than people, and there’s a reason for that. When animals make a stupid mistake, you laugh at them. A cat misjudges a leap. A dog looks overly quizzical about a simple object. These are funny things. But when a person doesn’t understand something, if they miscalculate and hit the brakes too late, blame is assigned. They are stupid. They are wrong. Teachers and cops are there to sort it out, with a trail of paperwork to illustrate the stupidity. The faults. The evidence and incidents of these things. We have entire systems in place to help decide who is what. Sometimes the systems don’t work. Families spend their weekend afternoons at animal shelters, even when they’re not looking for a pet. They come to see the unwanted and unloved. The cats and dogs who don’t understand why they are these things. They are petted and combed, walked and fed, cooed over and kissed. Then they go back in their cages and sometimes tears are shed. Fuzzy faces peering through bars can be unbearable for many. Change the face to a human one and the reaction changes. The reason why is because people should know better. But our logic is skewed in this respect. A dog that bites is a dead dog. First day at the shelter and I already saw one put to sleep, which in itself is a misleading phrase. Sleep implies that you have the option of waking up. Once their bodies pass unconsciousness to something deeper where systems start to fail, they revolt a little bit, put up a fight on a molecular level. They kick. They cry. They don’t want to go. And this happens because their jaws closed over a human hand, ever so briefly. Maybe even just the once. But people, they get chances. They get the benefit of the doubt. Even though they have the higher logic functioning and they knew when they did it THEY KNEW it was a bad thing.
”
”
Mindy McGinnis (The Female of the Species)
“
Count down starts now and ends by April 2 2022, before April 2 2022, I will have decided which Institution, so after April 2 I need to prepare things to be done, like entrance preparation, loan arrangements if required, project proposal planning, Required skills updates, Further plans on biological research with SDGs that focuses on society benefits, acclimatization and extreme fitness for astronaut dream and etc.
And April 2 is special day too, 10 years before April 2 2012, I made a wrong decision - Right decision on wrong time - 23
April 2 2011, I made a love proposal to one of my professors and got funny reactions from her,
April 2 2010, someone knocked me out
Just memories
”
”
Ganapathy K Siddharth Vijayaraghavan
“
Thanks, Dad,” I mumble into my coffee and he snaps his head in my direction. I wait quietly for his reaction to see if he’s going to be legit offended or find it funny, but he just bites his lip and stalks toward me slowly, pinning me against the counter. Putting his hands on either side of me on the counter, he leans his face down to my ear. “If we’re going to play that game, get it right. It’s Daddy to you.
”
”
Sara Cate (Gravity (Wilde Boys, #1))
“
I reached up to remove the elastic hair-tie, unwinding my standard bun until my hair fell around my shoulders in dark waves. I scrunched my hands in it at my scalp, shaking it out to try to get it to lose the kinks from being wound up so long. I still had that funny, half-painful feeling around my temples of my hair being pulled back. Maybe I should wear it down more. I might be giving myself headaches with this style.
"So it's down to about..." I started to gesture, then realized I was about to point to just below my breasts. "Anyway. The more you know."
Sam was still looking at my hair, his gaze traveling to the ends before he, too, seemed to realize that he was basically also now staring at my breasts. He focused instead on some point at the crown of my head, clearing his throat. "It's pretty," he said. "You have very pretty hair."
Under my shirt, my nipples were tight and almost painful against the thin fabric of my bra. I'd never been more grateful for the thick screen-printed image of Jim Carrey's Riddler, because it hopefully did a good job of hiding this reaction.
”
”
Alicia Thompson (Love in the Time of Serial Killers)
“
Shinsou stared blankly at Izuku, before they both burst into laughter. It had made Izuku chuckle at the time, but somehow Shinsou's reaction made it even funnier. They snickered like a pair of preschoolers, every time they recovered enough to see the other's face, it would send them back into fits. It wasn't even that funny, but they were too happy to care.
”
”
whimsical_girl_357 (The Emerald Prince)
“
Queer how that was always cropping up. Here she was highly respectable, married, mother of a small boy, and, in spite of all that, knowing all that, these people took one look at her and immediately got that now-I-wonder look. Apparently it was an automatic reaction of white people—if a girl was colored and fairly young, why, it stood to reason she had to be a prostitute. If not that—at least sleeping with her would be just a simple matter, for all one had to do was make the request. In fact, white men wouldn't even have to do the asking because the girl would ask them on sight.
She grew angrier as she thought about it. Of course, none of them could know about your grandmother who had brought you up, she said to herself. And ever since you were big enough to remember the things that people said to you, had said over and over, just like a clock ticking, 'Lutie, baby, don't you never let no white man put his hands on you. They ain't never willin' to let a black woman alone. Seems like they all got a itch and a urge to sleep with 'em. Don't you never let any of 'em touch you.'
Something that was said so often and with such gravity it had become a part of you, just like breathing, and you would have preferred crawling in bed with a rattlesnake to getting in bed with a white man. Mrs. Chandler's friends and her mother couldn't possibly know that, couldn't possibly imagine that you might have a distrust and a dislike of white men far deeper than the distrust these white women had of you. Or know that, after hearing their estimation of you, nothing in the world could ever force you to be even friendly with a white man.
And again she thought of the barrier between her and these people. The funny part of it was she was willing to trust them and their motives without questioning, but the instant they saw the color of her skin they knew what she must be like; they were so confident about what she must be like they didn't need to know her personally in order to verify their estimate.
”
”
Ann Petry (The Street)
“
I asked if I could borrow Gilead's but she gave me a funny look. So funny I started laughing uncontrollably. When I couldn't stop myself I clamped my hand over my mouth and went outside. The thing about having a stress reaction is that even when you know you're having a stress reaction that knowledge doesn't seem to do you any good. I found a doorway across the road where a parked police sprinter van blocked the view from the rest of the street. I lent against the door and let myself slipped down until I was sitting with my back to it. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing until the giggles stopped.
”
”
Ben Aaronovitch (Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London, #7))
“
Gabrielle, my dear, my sweet, my flower, I, the King of Romance, have come for you!” The person who had appeared was wearing a white tuxedo that was different from everyone else’s plaid pants and blazer combination. He had bright blond hair that was slicked back. His eyes were blue. Gabrielle had seen him numerous times already, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember his name. The blond man walked up the stairs toward her, his hand extended in a grand gesture. “My love, you are the only one whose beauty can captivate me so. Please, allow me, the King of Love, the sweep you off your feet!” The blond knelt before Gabrielle and took her hand in his. He stared into her eyes. Why was he staring into her eyes so hard? It looked like he was trying to drill holes through her with his gaze. Creepy. Gabrielle responded to this man the same way she had done every time he appeared. “Who are you again?” The reaction around the room was instant. The whole class burst out laughing. Ryoko and Serah were the worst perpetrators, bent over the table and howling with laughter as they were, but even Kazekiri was snickering into her hand while trying to look stern. Gabrielle just smiled. She didn’t really know what was so funny. “W-why is it that you can never remember my name?” The blond cried out. “I’m Jameson de Truante, the most handsome man in this entire school. I am so handsome that people often call me the King of Good Looks.” “Hmm…” Gabrielle crossed her arms. That’s right. This boy was Jasmine’s older brother, wasn’t he? She remembered now. However… “I’m sorry, but you’re nowhere near as handsome as Alex.” “Hurk!” Jameson jerked backwards as though he’d been shot through the heart with something, though all this did was cause him to lose his balance. With a loud squawk that reminded her of an Angelisian parocetian (a lizard found on Angelisia that sounded like a parrot), he rolled down the stairs, bounced along the floor, and hit the stage with a harsh thud. And there he lay, insensate to the world around him. “Oh! That was rich!” Ryoko continued to laugh. “He keeps… keeps making passes at you… and you… you can’t even remember his name!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!” “Serves the jerk right,” Serah added. Kazekiri sighed. “I normally would not approve of such behavior, but Jameson has always been a problem child, so I will let this slide once.” “Um, thank you?” Gabrielle said, not quite sure if she should be grateful or not. “Don’t worry,” Selene said upon seeing her confused look. “You might not understand right now, but you did a very good thing.” “Oh.” Gabrielle paused, and then beamed brightly at her friend. “Okay!” Class eventually settled down, though Jameson remained lying on the floor. Students chatted about this and that. Gabrielle engaged in her own conversation with her friends, discussing the possibility of going to sing karaoke this weekend. Of course, she invited Kazekiri to come as well, to which the young woman replied that she would think about it. Gabrielle hoped that meant she would come. It wasn’t long before the students were forced to settle down as their teacher came in and barked at them. Their homeroom teacher, a stern-looking man with neatly combed gray hair named Mr. Sanchez, took one look at Jameson, sighed, and then said, “Does anyone want to explain why Mr. Truante is lying unconscious on the floor?
”
”
Brandon Varnell (A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 6 (A Most Unlikely Hero, #6))
“
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN: It’s funny when you get this huge reaction to Ned’s death. Ned was always marked for death, so the kids could come into their own. As long as Daddy is around, the kids are going to live in Daddy’s shadow, but once you remove him, then you have a lot more tension. But I didn’t want to remove him too soon, so I kept him around a long time so you get really invested in him. So when he’s lost, it’s a tremendous blow.
”
”
Bryan Cogman (Inside HBO's Game of Thrones)
“
There are two rooted spiritual realities out of which grow all kinds of democratic conception or sentiment of human equality. There are two things in which all men are manifestly unmistakably equal. They are not equally clever or equally muscular or equally fat, as the sages of the modern reaction (with piercing insight) perceive. But this is a spiritual certainty, that all men are tragic. And this again, is an equally sublime spiritual certainty, that all men are comic. No special and private sorrow can be so dreadful as the fact of having to die. And no freak or deformity can be so funny as the mere fact of having two legs. Every man is important if he loses his life; and every man is funny if he loses his hat, and has to run after it... These, I say, are two roots of democratic reality. But they have in more civilized literature, a more civilized embodiment or form. In literature such as that of the nineteenth century the two elements appear somewhat thus. Tragedy becomes a profound sense of human dignity. The other and jollier element becomes a delighted sense of human variety. The first supports equality by saying that all men are equally sublime. The second supports equality by observing that all men are equally interesting.
”
”
G.K. Chesterton (Charles Dickens: A Critical Study)
“
Across the Reich, the Gestapo recorded increased the
activity of anti-state elements. It’s kind of a helpless protest by
those wretches against our celebration of victory. They organize
bomb attacks against representatives of the Reich or against
the civilian German population. We’ve also noticed murder-suicides.
Eighty-seven civilians killed have been reported during
the last week. From the Protectorate of Bohmen und Mahren,
the destruction of Peter Brezovsky’s long-sought military cell
was announced. From Ostmark…”
“Enough,” Beck interrupted him, “I’m interested only in
Brezovsky.”
That name caused him discomfort. In his mind, he returned
to the Bohemian Forest in 1996. It was in a different dimension,
before he had used time travel. At the time, Peter Brezovsky
was the only man who had passed through the Time Gate. He’d
offered him a position by his side during the building of the
Great German Reich. He’d refused. Too bad, he could have used
a man like him. These dummies weren’t eager enough to fulfill
his instructions. He also remembered Werner Dietrich, who had
died in the slaughter during an inspection in the Protectorate.
“… in the sector 144-5. It was a temporary base of the group.
There were apparently targeted explosions of the surrounding
buildings,” the man continued.
“This area interests me. I want to know everything that’s
happening there. Go on,” he ordered the man.
He was flattered at the leader’s sudden interest. Raising his
head proudly, he stretched his neck even more and continued,
“For your entertainment, Herr Führer, our two settlers, living
in this area from 1960, on June the twenty first, met two suspect
men dressed in leather like savages. The event, of course,
was reported to the local department of the Gestapo. It’s funny
because during the questioning of one of Brezovsky’s men we
learnt an interesting story related to these men.”
He relaxed a little. The atmosphere in the room was less
strained, too. He smiled slightly, feeling self-importance.
“In 1942, a certain woman from the Bohemian Forest made
a whacky prophecy. Wait a minute.” He reached into the jacket
and pulled out a little notebook. “I wrote it down, it’ll certainly
amuse you. Those Slavic dogs don’t know what to do, and so
they take refuge in similar nonsense.” He opened the notebook
and began to read, “Government of darkness will come. After
half a century of the Devil’s reign, on midsummer’s day, on the
spot where he came from, two men will appear in flashes. These
two warriors will end the dominance of the despot and will
return natural order to the world.”
During the reading, men began to smile and now some of
them were even laughing aloud.
“Stop it, idiots!” screamed Beck furiously. In anger, he sprang
from behind his desk and severely hit the closest man’s laughing
face.
A deathly hush filled the room. Nobody understood what
had happened. What could make the Führer so angry? This was
the first time he had hit somebody in public.
Beck wasn’t as angry as it might look. He was scared to death.
This he had been afraid of since he had passed through the Time
Gate. Since that moment, he knew this time would come one
day. That someone would use the Time Gate and destroy everything
he’d built. That couldn’t happen! Never!
“Do you have these men?” he asked threateningly.
Reich Gestapo Commander regretted he’d spoken about it.
He wished he’d bitten his tongue. This innocent episode had
caused the Führer’s unexpected reaction. His mouth went dry.
Beck looked terrifying.
“Herr Führer,” he spoke quietly, “unfortunately…”
“Aloud!” yelled Beck.
“Unfortunately we don’t, Herr Führer. But they probably
died during the action of the Gestapo against Brezovsky. His
body, as well as the newcomers, wasn’t found. The explosion
probably blew them up,” he said quickly.
“The explosion probably blew them up,” Beck parodied him
viciously, “and that was enough for you, right?
”
”
Anton Schulz
“
You’re trying to explain the teeth, right?” I sounded pathetic, like a child who needed reassurance. I tried not to fidget on top of that. He gave me the reassurance I needed in one of his rare nods. Okay. No kissing. Just him moving closer. He slept at the foot of my bed every night. That was pretty close—right on my feet—and no big deal. But he had fur on when he did that. Now he looked... I eyed him again. My stomach did a funny flip. Maybe my fear wasn’t about his reaction, but mine. I was afraid I’d forget myself. I needed his control. I took a deep breath. “It’s okay then. Go ahead, explain. I’ll behave,” I promised quietly. I saw his mustache twitch with a quick smile. The canines explained some of the facial hair, but the full-bearded, crazy-man look seemed overkill. After a slight hesitation, he leaned forward again while keeping his hands loose at his sides. I pushed back the fear and held still. He didn’t stop his slow approach until his whiskers tickled the side of my neck and collarbone. There he paused and inhaled deeply. As soon as he inhaled, I knew what he was doing, and although I didn’t move, fear blossomed. Heart pounding, eyes wide, I waited for him to finish scenting me as a werewolf would a potential Mate, not a distant inhale, but an up-close sample of my scent, infinitely more potent. His warm exhale sent goose bumps skittering over my arms. I braced myself, anticipating some type of slip in his highly-praised control. He leisurely inhaled once more then lifted his head, exhaling as he went. With his face only inches from mine, he opened his mouth to display his teeth again. The canines had grown even more pronounced, the surrounding gums swollen from their thickness. I didn’t know what to say. He had canines when in his human form because of me. “So, when you’re around me, they’re worse? I guess that means they’re like that all the time.” He shrugged and casually took a step back. I was unsure what the shrug meant. We
”
”
Melissa Haag (Hope(less) (Judgement of the Six #1))
“
Whatever goes against the Book of Law will make you feel a funny sensation in your solar plexus, and it’s called fear. Breaking the rules in the Book of Law opens your emotional wounds, and your reaction is to create emotional poison. Because everything that is in the Book of Law has to be true, anything that challenges what you believe is going to make you feel unsafe. Even if the Book of Law is wrong, it makes you feel safe.
”
”
Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom)
“
After Natalie [Wood] and I got back from our honeymoon, I began The Hunters, with Robert Mitchum, directed by Dick Powell. I adored both of them. Powell was one of the great guys of all time, and Mitchum and I became fast friends. He insisted that I call him "Mother Mitchum." One day we cooked up a juvenile practical joke—we hired a girl to sit on a bench at lunchtime without any underpants on. We were in Arizona, at an Air Force base, and from the reaction you'd have thought the men of the United States Air Force had never seen a woman's private parts before. As word spread, we gradually brought the entire base to a halt. The fact that it was juvenile didn't make it any less funny; actually, it made it funnier.
”
”
Robert J. Wagner (Pieces of My Heart: A Life)
“
Whatever goes against the Book of Law will make you feel a funny sensation in your solar plexus, and it’s called fear. Breaking the rules in the Book of Law opens your emotional wounds, and your reaction is to create emotional poison. Because everything that is in the Book of Law has to be true, anything that challenges what you believe is going to make you feel unsafe. Even if the Book of Law is wrong, it makes you feel safe. That is why we need a great deal of courage to challenge our own beliefs. Because even if we know we didn’t choose all these beliefs, it is also true that we agreed to all of them. The agreement is so strong that even if we understand the concept of it not being true, we feel the blame, the guilt, and the shame that occur if we go against these rules.
”
”
Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements)
“
cancer: (n.) often deadly allergic reaction to modern life.
”
”
Sol Luckman (The Angel's Dictionary)
“
When you are no longer in the sexual universe – when you are supposedly too old, or too big, or simply no longer thought of in that way – apparently a whole new range of male reactions to you come into play. One of them is humour. They find you funny.
”
”
Anonymous
“
Man I’m hot,” I exclaimed, fanning myself. The combination of climbing out of the cave and the sun meant that I was perspiring like crazy.
“Why thank you,” retorted Blaine, smirking. “I’m pleased that my presence causes that kind of reaction.
”
”
Adele Rose (Shattered (The VIth Element #3))
“
It’s funny looking back at this period, because everyone remembers that the crowd turned on the happy, smiling babyface Rocky Maivia and WWF responded by turning him heel. That did happen, to be sure. But if you’re a modern fan whose idea of fans turning on a guy is the reaction Roman Reigns got in 2018, the “Die, Rocky die” period is absolutely stunning in hindsight. He was overwhelmingly cheered, with only small pockets of fans turning on him. The fans were probably 90 percent behind him, but that was enough for the company back then to change directions.
”
”
Bryan Alvarez (100 Things WWE Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know))
“
It’s weird, though. When someone wants me to meet them somewhere, my first reaction is to get stressed out and think, Fuck, I can’t.” “So what do you do to get over that?” “I just get in the car and drive,” she said, as if the solution had been that simple all along. “But why are you able to do that now when you couldn’t before?” “Because now that I’ve had more practice driving, I’m confident,” she answered as she careened over a speed bump and landed with a thump in the parking lot. “I trust myself now.” Funny, I thought—that’s exactly how I felt after practicing the survival skills I’d learned. Though, hopefully, I was a better survivalist than she was a driver.
”
”
Neil Strauss (Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life)
“
We have realized a disheartening reaction from people who will abandon a life long relationship when someone develops an impaired memory. They sometimes actually say something like, "Well, if they don't know who I am, there's no use visiting them."
Memo to those people: This isn't about you.
Your friend is still your friend, and your family member is still your family member, even in an impaired state. If you can still bring a moment of companionship, it is worth your time. If you can hold their hand or read them a story or a favorite Psalm or show them some funny videos on your phone, do it. This is about your friend or loved one in their time of need. This isn't about your feeling "uncomfortable" and therefore running away. This is about sacrifice. About giving. About doing something for someone else, even when your emotions are urging you to flee.
”
”
Dave Meurer (New Every Day: Navigating Alzheimer's with Grace and Compassion)
“
Jeese…is that really macaroni and cheese?” She says, raising her heavily eye-shadowed lids. “It looks like dog food.” Jason chuckles, throwing a lopsided grin. “You want to try it out on me?” he laughs. “I’ll roll over and be a good boy for you.” Jen punches him on the arm. Her reaction just makes him chortle harder. She’s barely made a mark. “Don’t push your luck Fido!” She snaps, before heading for the chips.
”
”
Adele Rose (Damned (The Devil’s Secret #1))
“
Clenching my fists, his subsequent snore emphasises my suspicions. He has been sleeping on the job. I put my hands on my hips and glide over to him. I have one intent in mind. Picking up the book next to his elbow, I slam it down on the table. There are definitely some perks to being able to manipulate objects. Adam’s reaction is priceless. “W…w….what? W…where? W…why?” He stammers, blinking frantically. One hand flies to his heart, which he clutches dramatically and he raises his other to his forehead, wiping his brow. When he realises who has disturbed him and what I have done, he scowls at me. “Why did you do that?” He snaps, rubbing his eyes. He yawns at the end, meaning that I definitely can’t take him seriously. “I was enjoying that dream.” At hearing his answer, I roll my eyes. Part of me is tempted to interrogate him, to find what he was dreaming about exactly. The other rational and sensible part wins, meaning that I thrust the book in his direction, winding him considerably. He throws me a sharp glare, which ends in a grimace. The book juts sharply into his ribs. “You should be reading NOT sleeping!” I retort, making sure that the book digs harder into his chest. I give it one last push. “So get going.
”
”
Adele Rose (Damned (The Devil’s Secret #1))
“
You know what.” Adam said, his voice superbly controlled. “I think your last comment is the smartest thing I've ever heard you say. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’ve tricked me because, if you hadn’t, then I wouldn’t know what I do know now. For that reason, I thank you.” At hearing his answer, Grace’s reaction, as was everyone else’s, was priceless. They were beyond stunned, although she couldn’t help but let slip a sense of curiosity. “W…what do you know?” Grace asked, her brow furrowed. She was as puzzled as she was intrigued. So were all the others. Adam simply smiled knowingly. “The fact that no one alive WOULD want to go out with me.” And with that, Adam didn’t give anyone any further opportunity to speak. Instead, he parted those gathered around him in dumbfounded stupification with lethargic ease, flicked open his phone and called the person who had appeared in his mind, before heading off to find the one being who had and would always have his heart.
”
”
Adele Rose (Damned (The Devil’s Secret #1))
“
Whatever goes against the Book of Law will make you feel a funny sensation in your solar plexus, and it’s called fear. Breaking the rules in the Book of Law opens your emotional wounds, and your reaction is to create emotional poison. Because everything that is in the Book of Law has to be true, anything that challenges what you believe is going to make you feel unsafe.
”
”
Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom)
“
Above all, he kept it an internal conflict, not a conflict between him and her.… And if she or anyone else comments on her quietness or hesitancy, Jim’s prompt reply is, ‘That’s just your style. Other people have different styles. But this is yours. You like to take your time and be sure.’ Jim also knows that part of her style is befriending anyone whom others tease, doing careful work, noticing everything going on in the family, and being the best soccer strategist in her league.”
One of the best things you can do for an introverted child is to work with him on his reaction to novelty. Remember that introverts react not only to new people, but also to new places and events. So don’t mistake your child’s caution in new situations for an inability to relate to others. He’s recoiling from novelty or overstimulation, not from human contact. As we saw in the last chapter, introversion-extroversion levels are not correlated with either agreeableness or the enjoyment of intimacy. Introverts are just as likely as the next kid to seek others’ company, though often in smaller doses.
The key is to expose your child gradually to new situations and people—taking care to respect his limits, even when they seem extreme. This produces more-confident kids than either overprotection or pushing too hard. Let him know that his feelings are normal and natural, but also that there’s nothing to be afraid of: “I know it can feel funny to play with someone you’ve never met, but I bet that boy would love to play trucks with you if you asked him.” Go at your child’s pace; don’t rush him. If he’s young, make the initial introductions with the other little boy if you have to. And stick around in the background—or, when he’s really little, with a gentle, supportive hand on his back—for as long as he seems to benefit from your presence. When he takes social risks, let him know you admire his efforts: “I saw you go up to those new kids yesterday. I know that can be difficult, and I’m proud of you.
”
”
Susan Cain