“You’re not a freak, I said. I like your freckles, I said. But I lied. Doesn’t he know I’ve been lying? Isn’t he being unfair to act as if this is all a surprise? You say social niceties to make people feel better, not because they’re true. I ask people how they are when I don’t care. I say good morning even when I’ve been having a bad morning. Oleander knows he’s a freak. He shouldn’t act like it is a shock when I point it out.”