Shinmayi

“The thing about Sam was that he had a tell. Well, two. They weren’t an exact science, but they gave you a sense. One was his hair. He had a great head of hair. Dark and longer on top, his ex-girlfriend—who came up as “Liar” on his phone now—had referred to it as irresponsible hair. If it was relaxed and tucked behind his ears, Sam was chill. If it was slicked back, he was spoiling for a fight. If it was fluffy—a very rare treat—it meant he completely trusted whoever was around at the time. Sam’s hair hadn’t been fluffy in a while. Today it was tucked back yet also, kinda, done. With the telltale sheen of product. It was inscrutable.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Emergency Contact

“Let’s just say when I was little and my mom was out, I’d go to bed with a ketchup bottle.”

“I already love this story so much...”

“It was a foolproof plan. If the bad guys came in I could douse myself and they wouldn’t kill me because I was already dead.”

“Jesus, I can’t tell if that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard or the absolute most sad.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Emergency Contact

“Stars are important," I say, laughing.

"Sure, but why not more poems about the sun? The sun is also a star, and it's our most important one. That alone should be worth a poem or two.”
― Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star

“Fiction was fine, but real life was the true freak show.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Emergency Contact