Memory - 'Every Little Thing'
Brianna describes, “Then something trips me and my memory opens up and I tumble in. Maybe I see a barrette in someone’s hair and suddenly I’m six years old, at the Gimbels perfume counter.” Brianna’s memory is so vast that she loses herself in it. She is conscious of the incidents which transpired when she was six; thus, her memory is supernormally alert. Brianna’s memory is not conventional.
Colors - 'Girls, At Play '
Ng writes, “This is how we play the game: pink means kissing; red means tongue. Green means up your shirt; blue means down his pants. Purple means in your mouth. Black means all the way. We play the game at recess, and the teachers don’t notice.” Each color denotes a specific meaning. The coded colors ensure that the teachers would not deconstruct their implications and discover the secret game. Only players of the game are knowledgeable about the meaning of each color. Hence, the colors designate the rules which should be followed throughout by the players.
Naughtiness - ' Girls, At Play '
Ng explains, “Maybe down in Cleveland Heights they play it, or across town on the west side. Maybe there are a few naughty girls at the high school, reapplying lipstick in the rear view mirror before they slide out of their cars and tug their miniskirts down over their thighs.” Naughty lasses engage in sexual intercourse. They are no longer sexually naïve for they apply lipstick to enhance their looks and to be appealing to the boys. The miniskirts are effective in the girls' pursuance of eroticism due to the short heights which expose their thighs (which are instrumental components of their sexuality).
So-Called Sluts - “Girls, At Play”
The narrator asserts, “The other girls pretend not to know us…They crowd like cattle on the playground, whispering and looking our way. Some of them say we’re stupid, or high. Some of them say we don’t know any better. Some call us sluts. We are the fallen women of Lakeview Heights Middle.” The term "sluts" confirms that the playing entails engagement in premarital sex which is not approved by some other girls. The narrator refutes the notion of being sluts by using the euphemism ‘fallen women.' Through the euphemism, the narrator implies that losing innocence is inevitable among girls; hence, it should not be regarding as a manifestation of loose morals.
Deep Water - “Every Little Thing”
Brianna explains, “First let me try and explain: it’s like falling into deep, deep water. A sudden plunge that knocks your breath away, and once you go under, you forget which way is up. One minute I’m in line at the bank, or crossing the street, or pushing my cart through the Sav-Mart. Then something trips me and my memory opens up and I tumble in.” Here, ‘deep water’ denotes the profundity of Brianna’s memories. Once her mind plunges into the depth, she is distracted with numerous recollections of her past. Brianna’s memory is not ordinary because she recollects minute details which she would ordinarily disremember. Brianna drowns in her bottomless memory.
