“Jude had witnessed all of this with the dejected respect one had for people with destructive talents, like winning hamburger-eating contests.”

“Later, months later, when Jude thought back to the way it all went down -how did a burnout like him end up straight edge?- he'd remember that ambulance, just like the one he'd been unconscious inside. Its red cross, when viewed from the right angle, was an X on its side.”

“Jude had witnessed all of this with the dejected respect one had for people with destructive talents, like winning hamburger-eating contests.”