How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Bootsie had only brought her up for a visit, to show me. Now she was taking her baby back to the cobhouse where they lived. So that's the way it worked. I stood in the afternoon light and shed a tear or two. It didn't take much to set me off, now that I was sixteen. (6.13)
On top of outgrowing her skirts, Mary Alice is now also finding herself in fits of hormonal melancholy. She cries when Bootsie takes her new kitten away. Classic teenage angst.
Quote #5
Royce McNabb was a math whiz. One of the rumors swirling around him was that he was teaching himself trigonometry, whatever that is. And he was the best-looking boy in the county. So I formed a plan. I'd been forming it since Valentine's Day, but now I'd have to speak to Grandma. (6.64)
As a heterosexual teenage girl, Mary Alice is not immune to the charms of Royce McNabb—the tall drink of water who's moved to this little podunk town. She's determined to catch his eye, even if it means facing off with Carleen Lovejoy. Or having an awkward conversation with Grandma Dowdel.
Quote #6
"You know," he said in his manly voice, "percentages are basically decimals. Maybe we ought to start there."
I blinked. Did he notice I didn't put that stuff on my eyelashes that Carleen put on hers? (6.83-84)
Mary Alice is trying as hard as she can to look grown-up and attractive when Royce comes over. But he seems more interested in tutoring her on math, which is pretty frustrating. Decimals? He's talking decimals? Doesn't he realized she's so nervous she tore her lacy handkerchief in half? Mmm-hmm. That's .5 handkerchiefs. Times two.