How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The air began to cool, and the late afternoon clouds came to their resting places on the surrounding peaks. Parking spots and businesses along Main Street stood empty as Sunday evening slid into Raynesville. The theater's orange façade looked harsher in the late day sun. The monotony of the place could choke you like one of those stupid ties you have to wear to a wedding or funeral. But no matter how hard you dragged at your collar, the place sucked the breath out of you. Around the corner, the tall, white water tower threw a shadow across the road. This morning the words save me a place in hell had been scrawled in black paint along the water tank's perimeter. The sight of it had made my morning, but the graffiti had already been covered up. Stuff like that wasn't tolerated in Raynesville. (1.5)
This is what Jake sees when he looks around his hometown—and the whole scene seems pretty suffocating. Jake also realizes that this little town is not going to tolerate anything out of the ordinary.
Quote #2
Drinking beer in the moss covered skeleton of a bus, a relic left behind from a time when hippies lived in the surrounding forests, was not my idea of a good time. But here in Raynesville, the discarded bus was like our night club. (1.22)
This is a pretty weird place to hang out, but the kids in town love it anyway. Well, except for Jake. Without an actual nightclub, the Bus is the perfect place for teenagers to hang out, drink illegally, and generally make bad decisions.
Quote #3
Mr. Dermott, our teacher slash student advisor, shook his head. Dermott was not one of those pathetic teachers who tried to be cool. He was the real thing. In his younger years he'd been part of a rock band, and he'd won a few motocross championships. He had a major set of groupies around school who signed up for boring crap like Comparative Religion just to sit in his front row. (5.56)
Raynesville is exactly the kind of place where a guy like Mr. Dermott would be a rock star. It's a small town and he has a cool backstory, so it's no wonder these kids treat him like he's some kind of teaching god.