Mandy, I hardly think this was appropriate, not after… you know… after the funeral we haven’t had the money for any of your weird little games, and I was hoping you’d be more mature now that Mud’s gone,” her father had disappointed added. “How much’d that cake cost you?”“It’s paid for,” Mandy had argued, but her voice had sounded tiny in the harbor wind. “I used the cash from my summer job at Frenchy’s last year and I… it was my birthday, dad!”“You can’t even be normal about this one thing, can you?” her father had complained. Mandy hadn’t cried, she’d only stared back knowingly, her voice shaky. “… I’m normal.

Shadowed Skies: The Third Smog City Novel