Scout

“I trace his face with my fingers, 'Let me see. A guy tells me that he would have thrown himself in front of a train if it wasn't for me and then drives seven hours straight, without whingeing once, on a wild-goose chase in search of my mother with absolutely no clue where to start. He is, in all probability, going to get court-martialled because of me, has put up with my moodiness all day long, and knows exactly what to order me for breakfast. It doesn't get any more romantic than that, Jonah.”
― Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road

“When one day fate visits us again, Jessa comes running into Hannah’s house to tell us the news that they’ve caught the serial killer. Her tone is hushed and I try hard not to look at Jude, who is working on the skirting boards. But I can feel the humour in his gaze as it falls on me and I know that I will never live down the fact that I suspected him.

When I ask her, “Who?” slightly curious, she’s already out the door looking for Hannah and Tate. “No one important!” she shouts from the other room. “Just some postman in Yass.” I look at Jude’s face and I see it whiten and we vow never ever to tell the others.”
― Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road

“Travel is rebellion in its purest form.
- we follow our heart
- we free ourselves of labels
- we lose control willingly
- we trade a role for reality
- we love the unfamiliar
- we trust strangers
- we own only what we can carry
- we search for better questions, not answers
- we truly graduate
- we, sometimes, choose never to come back.”
― Anonymous

“I wonder if everyone is shy the morning after or whether they chat and laugh as if it's the most natural thing in the world. I wonder if we're unnatural.”
― Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road