How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
A line of royal blue and scarlet red championship banners fluttered as the glass doors shut behind me. Raynesville was a swimming town. There was a football team and a baseball team, but the swim team was the school's claim to fame. Raynesville infants were dropped into one of the public swimming pools before they could crawl. (9.1)
Most schools have football or basketball mania, but Raynesville has swimming. And because the team has always been so darn good, there's a whole lot of pressure on the kids who live in town to keep on bringing home those championships. Just keep swimming, guys.
Quote #5
"I don't understand what the big deal is." Dani was truly confounded by Blister's reaction.
"Old man Walker never talks to anyone. He just stands on his porch every morning making sure that no one disturbs his property. Not that anyone would with that beast on patrol." I stared straight ahead as I spoke to her. Her nearness always messed with my head, especially if I was looking at her incredible face.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"How do I know what?" I almost turned to face her, but I fought the urge.
"How do you know he was out keeping an eye on his property? Maybe he's just been waiting all this time for someone to wave to him." (17.13-17)
Dani's new to town, and that means she sees things that other folks in these parts don't. Avoiding Mr. Walker is a time-honored tradition, but Dani has no problem changing things up a bit. Way to be neighborly, Dani.
Quote #6
No one from our generation had jumped from the Ledge yet and for good reason. There was a good chance of painful death waiting for those who tried. Some guy from my dad's graduating class jumped and ended up shattering both his feet on rocks. He was in a wheelchair for two years until he took enough pain killers to take away the agony permanently. Not sure when it'd happened, but somehow I'd been the one chosen to make the jump. It might have even started back in seventh grade when Blister bragged to a group of kids that I was cool enough to try anything, even jumping the Ledge. I was pissed at him for saying it, and he'd been disappointed in me for five years for never jumping. (19.3)
The Ledge is one of those town legends that just never dies. People pass down stories about kids who jumped off the Ledge and survived (as well as those who didn't). In a small town like Raynesville, these local places take on mythical qualities. Jake is the one kid who could conquer the beast and even he won't rise to the challenge. Enter Dani.