Four
Page 17 • Jan 13, 2026
“No, for real. I’ll throw hands,” I say. “Watch me.”
“Watch you fight my ex? No thank you.”
Ex. Hey, that’s a nice word. Simple, easy to spell, warms the heart. Wholly underrated, if you—
Five
Page 22 • Jan 13, 2026
Jesus Christ—”
“Sweetie, we’re Jewish.” Mom pulls to a stop at a light.
“So was he!”
Page 23 • Jan 13, 2026
Also, she’s trying to be more “intentional about fingering,” a phrase she will never, ever live down in my lifetime.
Page 24 • Jan 13, 2026
What can I say? Flip me into Protective Best Friend Mode, and it’s over.
Six
Page 30 • Jan 14, 2026
“Come on. It’s a mega long weekend. You’re coming fresh off a very shitty, yet deeply necessary breakup. Obviously, you’re desperate for distraction—”
“Desperate?”
“Not desperate in a desperate way,” I say quickly. “I’m just saying, if there’s anyone who deserves a road trip right now, it’s you.
Page 31 • Jan 14, 2026
“Poor, poor Natalie,” says Natalie.
Eight
Page 47 • Jan 21, 2026
Status of Natalie: eye-roll-lip-tug-slow-blink combo. Possibly my favorite type of Natalie smile.
Page 50 • Jan 21, 2026
“Wait, someone on the internet was rude?” Natalie asks.
Page 50 • Jan 21, 2026
“Natalie Mei Rosemann-Long, this is troll behavior. You?” I turn all the way around to point at her. “Are a troll. You’re the mother troll from whom all other trolls are born, from whose trollish teat they suckle—”
Page 51 • Jan 21, 2026
“You’ve literally never talked to any of these people,” Nat says.
“Yes I—”
“Not online. In real life.”
Page 52 • Jan 21, 2026
“Excuse me. Online and real life—”
“—aren’t! Mutually! Exclusive!” chime Natalie and Mark.
I clasp my hands together, smiling. “Exactly.”
Nine
Page 56 • Jan 22, 2026
“I vote no aimless detour,” Nat says, yawning, “on the grounds of murder avoidance.”
I twist around. “Committing murder, or receiving it?”