Dress Coded Quotes

“...I witnessed a piece of her soul leave her body. Until that day, I had thought souls left bodies at the time of death, all at once. But when I saw Olivia's face, her arms crossed in front of her, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and the rose-colored hives blooming upward and outward across her chest, I knew everything I had believed about souls leaving bodies was wrong. Souls leave bodies in tiny gasps, like when you hold the lip of a balloon tightly and let out the air a little bit at a time" -Molly”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“No, we won’t forget this.” I pull a lilac off a low branch and tuck it behind Liza’s ear. “Bonita,” I say. Before we get up, I kiss her on the cheek. “We’re going to make memories this summer so when high school is over we can meet back on this bench and remember it all, okay?” Liza smiles. “It’s a date.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“What if, instead of seeing us as covered or uncovered body parts, you saw us as people and you learned our names?”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“The thing about souls. Remember those tiny pieces, the bits that break off and burn off and fly away? I have good news. They can come back" -Molly”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Mom comes in a little while later. “I just want you to know he’s doing this because he’s out of sorts.” “He’s been out of sorts since I was born, Mom.” Her face drops, and she walks out to pack Danny’s suitcase, because Danny is out of sorts and can’t do anything for himself.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“BEFORE THE TREE HOUSE WAS A RECORDING STUDIO FOR PODCASTS, IT WAS:* A grotto for mermaids and mermen. Piles of seashells. Buckets of sand from our old sand table. Fabric in shades of blue hanging everywhere. A fairy house. Shimmer fabric in shades of pink, yellow, and green. Tissue-paper flowers. Cutout butterflies with huge googly eyes. The boxcar from the Boxcar Children books. Spoons, tin plates, a knapsack, crackers, and plain cookies. Red-and-white-checked fabric for the windows. A keep. Cardboard swords wrapped in foil. Many, many of them. The Gryffindor common room. Red and gold, with wands made out of repurposed foil swords.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“I don’t say this to Olivia, for obvious reasons, but when Mr. Dern and Dr. Couchman were yelling at her because of a royal-blue tank top with spaghetti straps, I witnessed a piece of her soul leave her body.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“They say TBI stands for “traumatic brain injury.” It also stands for “Tom became invisible.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“other.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Dear Grandpa Dan, Mom said you had a sense of humor, so you’ll appreciate the fact that for eleven years I never drank more than a couple sips of anything at once, because I had heard you died from drinking too much, and I didn’t want that to happen to me. Then in sixth-grade health class, I realized you died from drinking too much alcohol, which infected your liver. Weirdly, I still drink in small sips. It’s a hard habit to break. As you know, your timing is not good. Apparently, you were born on Pearl Harbor Day, two weeks before your own dad left for war (and never came back). And then you died two weeks before Danny was born. All of this made Mom nervous about bad things happening around babies’ births. But then nothing happened when I was born, so that was a relief. Anyway, Mom named Danny after you. She listened to your song, “Danny Boy,” every day before and after he was born. I heard her tell Granny that she’s scared she bathed Danny in sadness hormones, and that turned him into a sad child. Were you sad? I know everyone thought you were funny, but were you sad beneath it all? Is that why you drank too much? I think if you were here with us, you and Danny would be great friends. He loves cars, too, and he’s even funny sometimes. Maybe if you were here, you could talk to Mom and tell her not to be so worried all the time. Granny says if you were Danny’s parent, you would smack him upside the ear. I don’t know if smacking would work, but I’d love to see that. Anyway, I hope heaven bathes you in happiness. And I hope you’re waiting for Granny. She’s afraid you might have a girlfriend up there. Love, Your Granddaughter Molly”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Megan reaches into her backpack and pulls out two Hershey’s Kisses. “Want one?” she asks. I take it, peel off the green foil, and pop it into my mouth. “Thanks. Are these the Christmas ones?” She laughs. “Yeah. I keep them in the freezer for”—she hesitates—“you know, that time of the month.” Normally I would nod in agreement and lie and say I also have a freezer full of chocolate for my time of the month, but Megan is like a human truth serum. For some reason, she makes me want to tell her the truth. I lean over and whisper in her ear, “I don’t have mine yet.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Yeah. I want to tell you what happened to me and my friends when we were at the middle school. It was messed up,” the senior says. I look into her eyes and feel the boldness grow inside me. “Would you be willing to be interviewed for the podcast?” She hesitates. “Yes. I’ll definitely do the podcast.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Megan Birch is smart and funny, and she loves horses and graphic novels. I know this because she was my lab partner this year in eighth grade. She walks and talks that way because she has CP, short for cerebral palsy. It’s not her fault. That’s how she was born.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Like a fly caught in a spiderweb watching another fly get devoured by two gross hairy spiders.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“I had a spider in my bathroom sink. I got my brother’s magnifying glass and followed the spider all over the place. It was fascinating. Eventually, my mom came in and squished it with the magnifying glass, and I felt really bad for it. How does it make me feel? It makes me feel like that spider.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“sad duck face”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Hello, Fisher Middle School and beyond. My name is Molly Frost, and this is Dress Coded: A Podcast,”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“On the way upstairs, Will whispers, “Don’t forget about that Pearl thing.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded

“Mr. Lu doesn’t miss a beat. He’s always on the lookout for phones and other contraband. “Molly and Megan, you want to share that note with the class?” “Not really,” I say.”
― Carrie Firestone, Dress Coded