Page 95 of The Lies We Play

Creed: And I improved the situation by arriving.

Halston: That is one interpretation.

Liv: It’s the correct one.

Creed: I’ll see you both after the game.

Halston: We’ll be there.

Liv: I’ll be the one pretending I understand line changes.

Creed: I’ll be the one pretending not to look for you.

Halston: And I’ll be the one noticing both of you pretending, while watching Lafontaine’s perfect ass.

Liv: Final paper for art history is killing me. I have written and deleted the same paragraph seven times.

Halston: What's the paragraph?

Liv: Trying to explain why a painting is doing something the painter didn't consciously intend.

Halston: Send it to me.

Liv: It's bad.

Halston: Send it anyway.

Liv: [attachment: paragraph.docx]

Halston: Liv.

Liv: Halston.

Halston: It's not bad. You're using the word 'intent' when you mean 'effect.' Swap those two. The whole paragraph reorganizes around the new verb.

Liv: . . .

Liv: You're right.

Halston: I usually am.

Liv: Don't get cocky.

Halston: Too late.

Liv: I hate how useful that was.

Halston: No, you hate that I was useful before you finished panicking.

Liv: I wasn’t panicking.

Halston: You deleted the same paragraph seven times.

Liv: That is called revision.

Halston: That is called a literary hostage situation.

Liv: The paragraph deserved consequences.