Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -… [35]

The alternative was to be baptized in the bathtub at home. That would have been cheaper and safer and fine with me. I said so, but no one paid attention to me. To the adults, going outside to a real church was like stepping back into the good old days when there were churches all over the place and too many lights and gasoline was for fueling cars and trucks instead of for torching things. — , Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -…, 35

Note

Nostalgia as a physical appetite, and gasoline quietly repositioned from fuel to accelerant in a single clause — the past and present versions of the same substance set side by side without comment. Lauren’s ‘fine with me’ is the adolescent deadpan that makes the adult longing look childish.