Teenagers and Parents
When Lucho invites Sabina to his house because nobody is at home, she is shaking her head but is smiling at the same time. Ironically, however, just before she goes with Lucho her mother calls her, which she is sure most teenagers can relate to: “You know how it is when you’re a teenager. Just when things start getting good, your mom calls you in for some urgent bullshit reason like your aunt is on the phone and wants to ask if you liked the crap she sent you for your birthday.”
Lucho's Funeral
According to Sabina, Lucho’s funeral exposed the irony in people’s attitudes, pretending to care when in reality they really do not: “All the parents came, too, showed support, and looked concerned, although nobody really gave a fuck.”
Love
Even though Sabina spends much time with Lucho because she has no other friends, it is her father who points out that she was in love with him, because she did not realize it herself: “I didn’t even know I loved Lucho till that second. But I did. Because so what if he was a little smelly and weird. He came looking for me when I was invisible.”
The Irony of 9/11
Sabina compares herself to other office workers, who--unlike her--have hopes and dreams, and finds it ironic that she is the one who survived 9/11 and they died: “These are people who had it in them to be faithful servants of the bank, hoping for holiday bonuses, a little recognition, and eventually a promotion, while I spent my days trying to get fired. Their survival is certainly worth more than mine. It’s hard to feel grateful knowing I should have been with them today. And that I cheated.”
Sabina's Birthday
Sabina’s sixteenth birthday party was supposed to be all about her, and for once in her life she should have been the center of attention, but ironically nobody cared about her at all: “You wished someone would realize you’d fled your own party and come looking for you, but nobody did.”
