How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I don't ever want to have sex with any other boy in the whole world ever… ever…. I swear I'll die a virgin if Roger and I don't get together. I couldn't stand to ever have any other boy even touch me. I'm not even sure about Roger, Maybe later when I'm older I'll feel differently. Mother says that as girls get older, hormones invade our bloodstream making our sexual desires greater. I guess I'm just developing slowly. I've heard some pretty wild stories about some of the kids at school, but I'm not them, I'm me, and besides, sex seems so strange and so inconvenient, and so awkward. (11.1)
This establishes a sexual baseline, if you will: Alice is young, innocent, and not particularly hormone-driven… yet. She's ready to save herself for all eternity for a boy who stood her up, based purely on a fantasy relationship she has going strong in her head.
Quote #2
When we got home he kissed me goodnight, but that's all. It kind of made me nervous because I don't know if he doesn't like me or just respects me or what? […] Sometimes I think no one ever will be [interested in me]. I really do like boys a lot, sometimes I think I like them too much, but I'm not very popular. (18.1)
Dating can stink for this very reason: Everything can be interpreted in a million ways, so you're stuck doing a post-mortem after every date. Poor Alice is so insecure, though, that even after a good date she's left feeling like no one will ever like her.
Quote #3
It seems that I have known her always for she understands me. I must admit that there were even times when her mother arranged dates for her that I was jealous of the boys. I hope it's not strange for a girl to feel that way about another girl. Oh I hope not! Is it possible that I am in love with her? Oh, that's dumb even for me. It's just that she is the dearest friend that I have ever had or that I shall ever have. (40.1)
It's actually really normal to have moments when you question your sexuality. There's even something called the Kinsey Scale, which puts forth the theory that everyone's sexual identity falls somewhere along a spectrum, rather than just gay versus straight. Alice is having one of those moments where she questions her sexuality because of her love for Beth, but unfortunately, she's just confusing love with crippling codependency.