Patina Quotes

“I’d just circle the room, because when you keep moving, people think you going somewhere, like you on a mission and shouldn’t be bothered. Like you busy. And that’s better than people realizing that you not busy at all. That you not okay with lunchrooms that don’t have trays, and that ain’t big enough spaces to disappear in, and that don’t stink of week-old dirty mop water, which I now know is the familiar smell of love and friendship.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“I should probably introduce myself. My name is Patina Jones. And I ain’t no junk. I also ain’t no hair flipper. And most of the girls at Chester Academy are hair flippers who be looking at me like my mom some kind of junk maker.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“Instead I just swallowed it all. And wished this was all some kind of invisible, pretend . . . something. But it wasn’t.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“and”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“We are a team, Patty. You can pout and shout, but you cannot check out.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“Losing? Back went my shoulders, and out came the mad.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“flyest”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“Besties. Another word I don’t like. It’s just stupid. Bestie and best friend take the exact same amount of time to say. It ain’t like an abbreviation. That’s like me calling my teammates my teamies. Anyway, not only are Taylor and TeeTee best friends, but they’re also cousins (cuzzies) and pretend to be sisters (sissies). They’re like attached at the ponytail and call themselves T-N-T, which is funny because most of the time I just wished they’d explode.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“wished this was all some kind of invisible, pretend… something. But it wasn’t.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“T-N-T, which is funny because most of the time I just”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina

“the foil on the ends glinting like each braid was a Fourth of July sparkler.”
― Jason Reynolds, Patina