Playing Hooky Quotes

“Emma smacks the back of my head. “It’s just boobs. Even I have a pair. No reason to stare so hard. Put your eyes back in your head.” She grabs my hand, leading me toward the bar . . . and positions me with my back to the stage.

“But you’ve never shown me yours. Take your shirt off, and I’ll stare at yours instead.”

“You did not just say that.”

“Yeah, I think I did.”

“Men.” She rolls her eyes.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“Would I lie to you?”

“There was that time you told me the mud pies would give me flying powers if I ate them.”

“Not my fault. I really thought they would.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“She unscrews the cap, sniffs it, and then shrugs, dumping the entire contents into the bubbling brew. “It could be marjoram, but it might be mushrooms. I had a bottle of poisonous, green ones I dried out last winter on the solstice. Oh well.”

Leaning out over the cauldron, she stirs thrice counterclockwise, using the wooden spoon with a handle about as tall as she is. Then she scoops a bit and brings it to her mouth for a taste.

“No!” Jason and I scream at the same time.

She blinks at us. “What?”

“You just put something that may be poisonous in there,” I say.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“She waves her big spoon. “You can get me that orb-weaver spider from the corner over there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t you kill it! I need it alive.”

“Can I have a jar to catch it with?”

“No. Use your hands.”

“Why?”

“The recipe says so.”

Jason arches an eyebrow. “Can I see that?”

“Who is the witch here? Me.” She swats him on the arm with her wooden spoon.

“Okay, okay.” With a sigh, he heads toward a dark corner.

She turns on me and raises her spoon.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“Green goo bubbles in a cauldron in the center of all this chaos. On a pedestal in front of it, a book is open. The old lady leans over the book so it almost touches her nose and peers at the page. “Marshmallows. No, that can’t be right. Jason,” she shrills. “Read this for me.”

“Marjoram,” Jason reads.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“A human!” He grasps my hand with both of his and dances me in a circle. Then he stops and pulls out his notebook and a pen, flips it open to a blank page, and poises his pen over the page. “Do you have dreams when you sleep at night? What do you dream about? What did you eat for breakfast? How often do you eat in a day? Omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore? Let me look at your teeth.”

He steps close as if he would open my mouth for me and inspect it as if I were a horse for sale. I take a step back and bump into the stall door behind me.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“Jason grins. “I’d never miss your birthday. Remember last year?”

“Ugh! I thought I’d never thaw out after we went skiing in a blizzard. We were stranded for three days in that cabin we found in the woods.”

“Aw, come on, you didn’t even get frostbite. I took care of you.”

“At least I didn’t end up with any broken limbs. That time.”

“I still can’t believe we went snow-boarding on East Pillar Mountain Loop. That’s a tough trail, and then you broke your arm slipping in the parking lot on the way to the truck.”

My muscles were exhausted, and carrying my board on my shoulder, I wasn’t watching where I was going. I didn’t see the patch of ice. “Remember when you took me spelunking?”

“I had no idea that bear was in there.”

“I can’t remember ever being that scared.”

“But it was fun! Come on. We can’t break tradition.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky

“Jason. My best friend from childhood. The boy—er, man—who should be ten hours away in Kodiak, Alaska, rather than here in Anchorage.

The man staring at my naked legs.
And I’m standing here in my panties and baby-doll T, which clearly shows I’m not wearing a bra, especially as Alaska is cold in February and the door gapes wide open.”
― Rita Webb, Playing Hooky