I Hate This Guy,” Ari

Did I Want A Dog? No. Did I Need A Dog? Also No. We Were Six Kids Running For Our Lives, Not Knowing Where Our Next Meal Was Coming From. Could We Afford To Feed A Dog? Wait For It—no.

I Grew Up In A House Full Of Women: My Mother, Grandmother, Three Sisters, And Two Female Cats. And I Still Have The Buzz Of Their Conversations In My Head. As An Adult, I Have More Female Friends Than Male Ones: I Just Love The Way That Women Talk.

She Didn't Flirt With Him, But They Hung Out Together A Lot, And Every Time I Saw Their Heads Bent Over A Computer Screen Or Map, It Made My Stomach Clench. And My Teeth. And My Fists.

But If I Could Do Anything? Maybe You Would Want To Be Able To Save The World, The Voice Said. Did You Ever Think Of That? No. I Frowned. Leave That To The Grown-ups. But Grown-ups Are The Ones Destroying The World, The Voice Said. Think About It.

I'm Way Hot," He Muttered. "but I Don't Feel Sick. Just — Way Hot." Fang