"You can lose yourself in repetition—quiet your thoughts; I learned the value of this at a very early age."
"Sometimes, Pop would park his wheelchair at the end of the driveway and sip a beer as he watched me perfect my jump shot."
"We just want to get the hell out of this town somehow—together—and Erin’s basketball career might be our best shot."
"My shot clanked off the rim and headed straight for her face, but the girl’s reflexes were good and she caught the ball just before it smashed into her nose."
"Inside Pop’s playing War with Erin at the kitchen table. Their stacks of cards are just about even."
"I feel weird. I feel worried. I feel sorry for Boy21 because his parents were murdered and he thinks he’s from outer space."
"It’s nice to sit with another person, although I’m not sure why."
"Nothing on this planet can possibly harm me."
"I like your dwelling pod," Boy21 says. He’s standing very rigidly in front of my house, like he’s really nervous."
"No sweat." Erin plops onto the couch and takes the remote control from Pop’s hand, because he’s passed-out drunk again with my grandmother’s rosary beads wrapped tightly around his left fist like brass knuckles.
"We’ll only be ten minutes, Erin. Promise," Coach says.
"Good. Seven twenty at Erin’s house. What number is hers?"
"This Russ—he’s special. His doing well here at Bellmont means a lot to me. His father was a close friend."
"I’m willing to help, but I feel like the circumstances have changed somehow."
"I have to stay focused," I say. I think about the possibility of Boy21 actually playing, and then add, "Especially this year."
"Basketball and Erin make the rest of the world go away—focus me, make me forget, and get the endorphins flowing."
"Hard work yields big-time rewards, right? Remember our summer motto."
"What are you thankful for?" Erin asks Dad. "That my son has such a good friend," Dad says. "And for this plate of delicious food too."
"It was the best birthday I’ve ever had. The best day of my life."
"I love making out with Erin, and holding her hand, and the peachy smell of her hair after she showers—almost as much as I love the sweaty leather smell of a gym in winter, being part of a team, and working out with the guys."
"Magic is here. Magic! Watch out, stains! You don’t stand a chance! Magic! Magic! Magic!"
"Secrets keep people stuck here in Bellmont forever. Do you want to get stuck in Bellmont forever? Or do you want to leave with me?"
"Coach was good friends with Russ’s dad. Russ is using a fake last name, because he’s a nationally recruited point guard who used to play in California."
"Basketball’s the only thing around here that gets done right, the only thing that people consistently support. It’s the best thing in my life by far, except for maybe Erin."
"Matter cannot be destroyed nor created. That’s one of the basic principles of the universe."
"When you Earthlings die, your life force is released and then you’re free to travel through the galaxies again. That’s not death, it’s liberation."
"I feel like I might freak out. I’m not supposed to leave, but I slip out the back door and start running laps on the crappy track."
"It’s like a deliriously happy mob has formed, almost like it’s New Year’s Day or something. I should be celebrating too, but I can’t."
"You’re special too, Finley. You don’t always get to pick the role you’re going to play in life, but it’s good to play whatever role you got the best way you can."
"People just don’t go around saying they’re from outer space for nothing."
"Everything looks like a nail to the man with a hammer in his hand."
"I love watching you play ball, Finley. Best part of my days lately—makes me feel like I still have legs, even—but life’s more than games."
"We can’t change what happened to the boy’s parents, but we can give him an opportunity to do what he’s best at."
"I’m tired of doing nice things for people and being punished for it. I just want to get out of here. I just want to escape."
"The world’s a big place. There are many good places in the world."
"Everything got messed up for you, and yet things are going so well for me now, or better than I thought was possible at the start of the school year. It doesn’t seem fair."
"It’s like none of us really matter. Anyone could disappear and nothing would change too much. It’s like our lives don’t count."