Well, are you sure you're doing the right thing? You know what happens to girls like you when they read books like mine. They begin to think. That's bad.

These stories are beautiful. Why, Connor, they're almost poetry.

Well, don't kid yourself - they are.

I can't make you out at all, now.

Really? I thought I was easy.

So did I. But you're not. You, you talk so big and tough - and then you write like this. Which is which?

Both, I guess.

No. No I-I believe you put the toughness on to save your skin.

Do you think so?

I know a little about that.

Do you?

Quite a lot.