How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
At my school they made fun of colored people's lips and noses. I myself had laughed at these jokes, hoping to fit in. Now I wished I could pen a letter to my school to be read at opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we'd all been. You should see Zachary Taylor, I'd say (7.14).
When she meets Zach, August's other assistant, Lily finds still more prejudices and misconceptions within herself that she wants to shake off. She repents them quickly when she finds herself powerfully drawn to her new co-worker.
Quote #8
'Lily, I like you better than any girl I've ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you' (7.202).
She and Zach definitely end up like liking each other, but as Zach notes here, being together romantically would be extremely dangerous, particularly for him. For this reason, they decide to hold off on the romance stuff. For now.
Quote #9
But I will tell you this secret thing, which not one of them saw, not even August, the thing that brought me the most cause for gladness. It was how Sugar-Girl said what she did, like I was truly one of them. Not one person in the room said, Sugar-Girl, really, talking about white people like that and we have a white person present. They didn't even think of me being different (10.162).
Lily is talking about a moment in which Sugar-Girl casually makes fun of some foolishness going on at a white mortuary without thinking to tiptoe around the fact that she's speaking to a white person. To Lily, this moment indicates that Sugar-Girl sees Lily as part of her circle (as opposed to a member of the group she was lampooning). Lily is thrilled.