Atomic Anna

“Math isn’t about memorizing. It’s about knowing, knowing the language.” She looked at a billboard advertising a pawnshop. A car sped past. “Teachers shouldn’t quiz kids on multiplication tables.” Numbers weren’t something to regurgitate. They were a way to communicate and describe what was happening in the world around them. “Memorizing defeats the whole purpose.”

“Life is about choices, and no matter which ones you make, I love you. Don’t ever apologize for going one way or another, just know you can always change. You’re living proof of that, aren’t you? I’ve learned from my mistakes, too. Your papa and I, we both did. We should have let you do what made you happy, not what we thought was best.”

“Raisa didn’t read books; it was like she absorbed them into her bloodstream. It was the only way she could describe how she understood.”