Suck it, bitch.
-- Brendan (The Obligatory Emoticon)

Importance: Eve overhears Brendan say this to Becca. Eve deduces that Brendan is receiving fellatio from Becca, and while Eve is not horrified at the sexual act itself, she is horrified by Brendan's misogynistic words. This moment introduces the reader to Brendan's general state of passive misogyny and insensitivity.

He'd ultimately settled on Berkshire State University...mainly, as he cheerfully informed anyone who asked, because BSU was a party school.
-- Narration (The Obligatory Emoticon)

Importance: This quotation gives insights into Brendan's priorities and his mentality upon entering college. Brendan's favorite pastimes include drinking and partying, and this eventually causes difficulties for him at BSU, as his grades suffer and his social life actually suffers as well due to his generally insensitive personality.

To Eve, though, he was still the bewildered boy who couldn’t understand why his father had left and why they couldn’t just make him come home.
-- Narration (The Obligatory Emoticon)

Importance: When Eve is...