How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"How old is she?" she asked, letting her eyes go narrow.
"I think her mother said she was nine," Caroline said.
"Nine," said April, with a cool smile, "is a lot younger than eleven." (7.4-6)
April is very skeptical about Elizabeth Chung because she's only nine years old. Two years younger seems like a lot when it's the switch from single digits to doubles. How are they going to have anything in common?
Quote #5
Without exactly saying so, he managed to spread the rumor that he and Ken had an after-school job—a very serious job involving actual work. Toby figured that there was nothing less interesting to most of the kids he knew than an after-school job, and he was right. (14.19)
Toby and Ken understand the kid state of mind, which is how they're able to make excuses for not playing with the other boys after school anymore. They just tell them that they have a job. Which is about the most boring topic in the world to the other kids. Nice reverse psychology, dudes.
Quote #6
But, since he wasn't even in kindergarten yet, he wasn't exactly fluent in either one. So towards the end of the hieroglyphic period, when he'd learned about as much Egyptian writing as he felt ready for, he hadn't had very much to do. (14.21)
It's not that Marshall isn't willing to learn the hieroglyphic system that the other kids come up with. It's just that he's not all that interested in reading and writing yet. Being mature for his age can only go so far.