Freak the Mighty: Chapters 11–18

Freak is talking a mile a minute, more stuff about the Round Table and how important quests are, and why knights are bound up with oaths, which is not the same thing as swearing, and I'm trying to listen and not ask questions because if I ask questions, he'll pull out his dictionary.

He's up there on my shoulders and he's getting fidgety, squirming around.

Max, the tests have always shown that you're not dyslexic or disabled, and this proves it.

My, uhm, father. Which makes me wish all of a sudden I'd done something wrong and Mrs. Addison was just giving me detention.

She takes a deep breath and folds her hands together like she's praying and she says, “A request has been forwarded to me from the parole board. A request from your father. Maxwell, your father wants to know if—"

"Easily corrected by biogenic intervention."

"I have an obligation," he's saying. "A man has to protect his family."

Your gramma gets so upset, bless her heart. Can't abide the idea of violence.

Once on the TV this dude hypnotized a lobster. Maybe you saw it. He touches a lobster and it freezes, it can't move.

You know how many Christmas Eves I've been deprived of my own blood kin?

First thing, we'll get a bus, one of those RV things, a real big one, because it's important to look impressive.

He reaches out and tussles at my hair.

I learned how to preach the word to a lot of illiterate convicts, but they were no more ignorant than a lot of other folk.

At first he's surprised to see me trussed up, then he shrugs and doesn't look at me anymore.

"I said, come back with a search warrant, you want to see what I keep under my bed, but I let 'em have a good look from the door, satisfy 'em you weren't there."