Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Every Other Day

"Well," a female voice said. "What have we here"Here," Bethany said, responding to the woman's rhetorical question, "we have a teenager. And she's pissed."

"What I really needed wasn't a dose of school spirit; it was a glass of water, an aspirin the size of my fist, and the answers to the history exam that I hadn't studied for the night before. "As long as I'm dreaming," I muttered, my words lost to the cacophony of the gym, "I'd also like a pony, a convertible, and a couple of fri"

"Sometimes, there aren't any good choices. Sometimes, making the right one is hard... It's funny, but when you think about it, we're all broken. That's what life does. It knocks you down and breaks you and you either get back up again, or you don't. You either do things on your terms, or you don't. You let the bad things win, or you don't."You either let it break you, or you don't."

"Most of the time, it felt like my father and I were completely different species. Possibly literally, depending on the day and whether or not I actually qualified as human at the time."

"This was our language: half-truths, obvious lies, accusations neither one of us would ever make. It was a system eery bit as complicated as Morse code or the dancing of bees. Don't ask, don't tell, stay civil."

"Bethany blinked. "Did you just hit me" she asked, disbelief coloring her every feature. Skylar raised both hands, palms outward. "I come in peace!"You do not come in peace. You hit me."I hit in peace!"