We Do What We Do in the Dark

by Michelle Hart

But as a child, Mallory had been bad at hide-and-seek; the thrill of being found was almost physically painful, and she had to reveal herself right away.

Later, however, Mallory would feel bad about making fun of how the movie was written, of the person who wrote it, knowing how hard it was to take what was in one’s head and get it out into the world.

She explained to Joseph that she couldn’t stand the taste or smell of ketchup, that it made her feel physically ill.

how glorious it was to come up with the correct point of comparison for two musical acts.

“The perfect woman indulges in literature just as she indulges in a small sin; as an experiment, in passing, looking around to see if anybody notices it—and to make sure that someone does.”

“we do what we do in the dark and then we deal with it all alone.”

though the fantasy had been to have other people read what Mallory told them to read, so that they would understand her more without her having to explicitly tell them.

Whenever she was out, however, she wished she were back in bed by herself with a book.

What’s one more thing?