The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare Quotes

“During homeroom, before first period, I start a bucket list in one of my notebooks.
First on the list?

1) Eat in the cafeteria. Sit with people. TALK TO THEM.

2)

And…that’s all I can come up with for now. But this is good. One task to work on.
No distractions. I can do this.

When my lunch period rolls around, I forgo the safety of my bag lunch and the computer
lab and slip into the pizza line, wielding my very own tray of semi-edible fare for
the first time in years.

“A truly remarkable sight.” Jensen cuts into line beside me, sliding his tray next
to mine on the ledge in front of us. He lifts his hands and frames me with his fingers,
like he’s shooting a movie. “In search of food, the elusive creature emerges from
her den and tries her luck at the watering hole."

I shake my head, smiling, moving down the line. “Wow, Peters. I never knew you were
such a huge Animal Planet fan.”

“I’m a fan of all things nature. Birds. Bees. The like.” He grabs two pudding cups
and drops one on my tray.

“Pandas?” I say.

“How did you know? The panda is my spirit animal.”

“Oh, good, because Gran has this great pattern for an embroidered panda cardigan.
It would look amazing on you.”

“Um, yeah, I know. It was on my Christmas list, but Santa totally stiffed me."


I laugh as I grab a carton of milk. So does he.

He leans in closer. “Come sit with me.”

“At the jock table? Are you kidding?” I hand the cashier my lunch card.

Jensen squints his eyes in the direction of his friends. “We’re skinny-ass basketball
players, Wayfare. We don’t really scream jock.”

“Meatheads, then?”

“I believe the correct term is Athletic Types.” We step out from the line and scan
the room. “So where were you planning on sitting?"



“I was thinking Grady and Marco were my safest bet.”

“The nerd table?”

I gesture to myself, especially my glasses. “I figure my natural camouflage will help
me blend, yo.”

He laughs, his honey-blond hair falling in front of his eyes.

“And hey,” I say, nudging him with my elbow, “last I heard, Peters was cool with nerdy.”

He claps me gently on the back. “Good luck, Wayfare. I’m pulling for ya.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Because life must go on. We have to keep up appearances. We can't risk doing anything suspicious. All the greatest superheroes had other identities. They had real, everyday lives to keep them grounded and their sects safe. They had people to lice and fight for in the real world. Superman had Lois Lane. Spider-Man had--"

"Mary Jane."

"I was going to say Gwen.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Remember when I said this story was about death? I suppose it's about life too. All the tiny moments throughout each day that remind us we're alive, that we have breath, that we have worth. Taking a leap of faith. Learning something new. Stepping outside our comfort zones. Lifting our palms from the handlebars and stretching them to the sky. The little things that show us we're meant to be here, taking up this tiny bit of space on earth. Our life has meaning. We have meaning. And we can see proof of it every day, if we choose to look.

All these years I've turned away from it, ignoring it, letting the shadow of doubt consume me like dark clouds. I truly believed I was The Worst. That the world would be better off without me because of all the mistakes I've made.

But now I'm learning to keep my eyes wide open, to see the crocuses in the snow, the tiny slivers of light that glint through the storm. To count my blessings, gather them up in my arms and never let go. I won't let anyone take them from me, not without a fight.

Because the most beautiful things in life are unseen, unheard, They must be lived, felt, like the soul on fire.

And mine, I swear, it blazes within me.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Then we need to find another machine, and fast."

"No time," I said, my eyes already darting around the room. "If I go traipsing around the whole building, trying key after key on that ring, I'll run into the janitor. We're safer if we stay in one spot. Besides, I can totally fix it."

Porter raised his thick black eyebrows. "You can?"

"You doubt me, Saturday Night Fever? Watch and learn.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Hello, Alex."

I turned around, and there he was, wearing a young man's body, maybe a few years older than myself. He was tall and broad with deep, dark skin, a flashing smile, and... wait for it... an afro. Porter in a black turtleneck and honey-brown leather jacket. Porter in corduroy bellbottoms and glossy snakeskin boots.

Oh, I was in heaven. Looking him up and down, I let out a whistle. "Damn."

"What?"

"You're fine, Porter, my man."

"I'm... fine?"

"This body you're in. It's attractive. If only I knew this guy way back when, know what I'm sayin?"

"Alex," he says in his most dignified, authoritative voice. "These bodies deserve respect. We're borrowing them without their consent and making them do things they wouldn't otherwise. We've discussed this."

"Are you saying you don't want me to stare at your butt?"

"Please so not stare at my butt.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“I'm a time traveler. I travel to far-off lands, places, and times you can only dream of. With a snap of a finger, a gasp, a blink, I am there. I've skinny-dipped in the sixties, robbed a steam train in the 1800s, run from gangsters during Prohibition, climbed to mountains outside Beijing. I don't know how many reincarnations I have left. I don't know my first parents, my first family. All I know is that I'm an orphan of the stars, born to countless families with countless sisters and brothers and lovers and friends. Countless enemies, I suppose, as well. I've toured Dante's castle in Limbo. I can speak Chinese and Danish. I've stolen treasures worth millions, turned them over in my hands. I've been shot twice. I broke a boy's nose at school. I know kung fu. I'm dying. I don't know how to trust. I'm angry, and I'm bitter, and you are the only bright spot in all of it.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Did you really brake his nose?"

God. Yes. In two places, apparently. But no words come out. It won't ever happen again. I could say it with honesty. I'll be dead soon enough.

Dad's quiet for a long time. I'm afraid to glance at him, fearing I'll find disappointment clouding his kind gray eyes, but when I finally get the courage to peek at him he's not looking at me. His eyes are straight ahead, one of his fists raised in my direction.

"Fist bump," he says with the proudest of smiles.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Wow, Tab, is the Resting Bitch Face, or are you just happy to see me?”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“There's all this awkward silence between us, and I hate it, and I hate myself, and I'm frowning so hard at the dishes I could probably scare the dirt and grime straight down the drain.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Do you think the stars stare back at us? I asked...

"Oh, I think they watch us with rapt attention," Blue said. "Especially during the day, when we ignore them, when our eyes can't see past the blue. It's quite the partnership, you know. We put on a show for each other. We're both spectacles."

As he spoke, I stretched out on my back, hands clasped behind my head, admiring his profile. The slope of his nose. The curve of his lips. The set of his jaw. Then I turned my gaze to the endless stars above us, and the constellations I knew by name. They were all there, shining the same as they do over two hundred years in the future. They traveled with me, my companions on this journey. Orion was driving, Cassiopeia was riding shotgun, and I was in the backseat singing 'Stardust' and 'Orion is Arising' and 'Catch a Falling Star.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“The air was filled with a combination of scents, some delicious like stews bubbling over fires, some sweet and fresh like the tunnel of honeysuckle vines we ducked under, and others sharp and pungent. They quite literally smelled like shit.

'Yep. that's exactly what you smell,' Micki said. 'No plumbing, you know. But they had fascinating uses for excrement back then. They used to cook it with human hair to use as fertilizer. Sometimes they'd distill it like wine and spray it on their crops. Brilliant, no?'

I scrunched my nose at the thought.

'Still enjoying time travel?' she asked. 'When the time comes, you'll have to find a comfy log in the woods to do your business.'

'Focus, Micki.' I tried to sound stern. She was distracting me.

'Yes, ma'am.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Holy shit, I said to me team. I know kung fu?”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“I thought you'd think it was a good idea."

"Porter, it's the worst idea. The absolute worst idea in the history of ideas."

"Because?"

"Because he's cool."

"He's cool?"

"He's cool, and already super popular, and all the girls think he's gorgeous and talk about his ass and how he's a sandwich, and I'm Wayspaz the Fix-It Freak, and I don't want him seeing me like that.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“I raise my middle finger in his direction. A salute to his douchebagness.

Levi frowns, and I think he's going to scold me. Instead he says, "I'd like to punch that kid in the face, but I feel like that would be frowned upon."

"I don't care. I'll help hold him down.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“I can tell by his tone that he's amused. If he were normal, he'd be grinning back at me.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“You're right. I should make more of an effort to get along with people. Even you."

"God, Alex, that's so sweet of you." She turns back to the computers. "Now I totally feel life renting movies and eating ice cream in our jammies.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Open mouth, insert foot. It's becoming such a regular occurrence for me it should be considered exercise. "I'm sorry. I've never actually had a gay friend before. I'm probably going to say a lot of stupid things."

"'Wait, we're friends now?" "She acts shocked. "I thought you didn't have any of those, let alone gay ones."

"I don't have many."

"I wonder why."

Touché.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Little things at first. Sunlight. Melodies. Smells. They'll awaken something inside you. An image will flash. Then you'll remember deeper things. Like how you felt when he touched you. Kissed you."

I grip the armrests of the chair, trying to stay cool. "Would you stop?"

"I thought you'd want to be prepared. Those memories, they're going to feel real. And you may start having urges--"

"Oh god, please don't use that word. Why are adults always using that word?"

"What word? Urges?"

"Gah." I plus my ears.

She shrugs. "I'm just saying."

"Stop saying. And stop planting stuff in my head."

"She raises a sharp eyebrow. "I'm planting stuff in you head now? How very sci-fi of me.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“He has tattoos. All over. Each one symbolizing his time with you. Did you know that?"

I shake my head and look everywhere, anywhere but at Micki. I don't want to think about Levi's tattoos, what they represent, or where they might be located. I'd rather think about the wattage of the overhead fluorescent lights or the speed of the processors powering the CPUs.

"You do know you used to sleep together, though, right? That you lived together at AIDA? That fine specimen of a man was your personal boy toy. You had him wrapped around your finger and dipped in chocolate. He did anything you asked. And I mean anything."

"Um," I say, squirming in my chair. " Too much info."

I'm so not in the mood to hear about my past self's sex life. Plus, it feels disrespectful to Levi. Not to mention that it makes me feel really freaking weird. And really freaking nauseous.

"Aw, did I burn your New Life virgin ears?" Micki pouts, a sarcastic puppy frown.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“See that?" Micki says about the green line. "That means your brain's working. Congrats." She flips a few switches on the machine until there are three different-colored lines, one red, one green, one blue. "See this red one here? That's your excitement level. If you think of something exciting, it'll rise on the screen. This blue one tells me how bored you are."

The blue line is higher than the red. "Does that mean I'm bored?"

"Yes. And I'm extremely offended."

"But I'm not bored. I'm freaked out. Thoroughly."

"This is you freaked out?" she says, looking me up and down. "Good grief, Four. What do you look life when you're relaxed? Like a stroke victim?"

I give her the same look I've been giving her since the day I met her. She meets it with her usual tiger grin.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“See that?" Audrey says, pointing her floppy pizza slice at the screen. "She doesn't look any different without her glasses and yet he acts life it's this huge transformation. She was already sexy. She didn't need to take them off."

"Well," I say, stretching my legs out and sinking into Audrey's pillows beside her, "it wasn't sexy to be smart, independent, and own your own bookshop back then. You had to take your glasses off and let your hair down to get noticed by a dreamboat like Bogart."

Audrey makes an ugly sound in her throat.

"I like to think guys have evolved since then," Jensen says, chewing.

"I admire your faith in the make species," I say.

"Hey, I love it when you talk nerdy to me," he says, lifting a brow. "So, clearly, there's been some evolving going on."

"Audrey grabs another slice and takes a huge bite. "You're just one of the rare good ones, Jensen. An anomaly.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“I'm a ghost." He speaks the words to the dark sky. To the stardust. "That's all I am. A ghost, wandering through time, haunting you.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“It's a scary thought, random people accessing Limbo. If only Gesh had written a poem about his discovery and left it well enough alone, like Dante. But then again, I wouldn't have been created.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“Books are powerful things. Our memories may fade, but the written word lasts across lifetimes.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out as my heart leaps into my throat, but it's only Claire asking when I'll be done with my "makeout sesh." I stare at the scree, trying to think of a biting reply, but dammit, nothing comes to mind. Not with Jensen standing there watching me.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“You want me to help fix her up?”

“Oh, I want much more than that. I want a commitment, baby.” He drops to one knee,
right in the snow, soaking his jeans straight through. He looks up at me, holding
the keys out in his palms. “Alex Wayfare, I want to make sweet engine music with you.
Will you be my mechanic?”

Two of my neighbors walk by with their dog, staring and grinning, and I yank Jensen
to his feet. “Get up before someone thinks you’re proposing, you goof.”

“Is that a yes?”

I take the keys in one hand and slap his arm with the other. “Yes,” I say with a laugh.
“Now stop making a scene.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare

“My whole life is made up of lies now. I wear them like scarves and hats and little flowers in my hair.”
― M.G. Buehrlen, The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare