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The Woman with Short Gray Hair
In response to a racist complaint the woman with short gray hair makes, the security guard confronts Emira and Briar at Market Depot, an upscale grocery store, and accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar. Though Emira initially tries to keep her cool, she becomes angry as the guard and the woman twist her words and refuse to believe her. It’s only after Emira calls Peter Chamberlain—“an old white guy”—to the store to explain the situation that the guard backs off. Kelley records the altercation—this is how he and Emira meet—and tries to convince her to publish it online.
The Security Guard Quotes in Such a Fun Age
The Such a Fun Age quotes below are all either spoken by The Security Guard or refer to The Security Guard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1 Quotes
With her phone pressed to her face and Briar’s hands in her hair, Emira screamed, “You’re not even a real cop, so you back up, son!” And then she watched his face shift. His eyes said, I see you now. I know exactly who you are, and Emira held her breath as he began to call for backup.
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At Alix Chamberlain’s request, Emira takes Emira to Market Depot, an upscale grocery store, to kill time while the Chamberlains deal with the police (kids have just thrown eggs at their house in response to Peter making an accidental racist joke on the air). There, a security guard racially profiles Emira and accuses her of kidnapping Briar. Emira tries to defend herself calmly, but the situation escalates, and she loses her temper after the guard tries to physically take her phone from her. Here, Emira describes the guard’s response to her anger. In his expression, she can see him say, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam co
Chapter 2 Quotes
On thick, textured stationery and with dreamy cursive handwriting, Alix asked nicely for the things she wanted, and it became a rare occurrence when she didn’t receive them.
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Chapter Two gives some background on the origins of Alix Chamberlain’s business, LetHer Speak. Alix got her start writing letters to businesses, asking for free products in exchange for handwritten reviews, which she’d then post to her blog. Many businesses accepted Alix’s requests, and she learned that if she “asked nicely for the things she wanted,” she’d most likely receive them. This is an apt distillation of Alix’s privilege and how it shapes her worldview. As a white, wealthy woman, she’s learned that working hard, following the rules, and asking for things nicely are all a person needs to succeed. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minim
Chapter 18 Quotes
“You’re not better than anyone,” she said, “when you hang up your own coat and take your plate to the trash. I’ve been those girls helping out tonight. I fucking am those girls helping out tonight, and you’re not making anything easier by giving them less to do. It’s like eating everything on your plate ’cause you think someone else won’t go hungry if you don’t. You’re not helping anyone but yourself.”
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Emira and Kelley go to a bar after leaving the disastrous Thanksgiving at the Chamberlain residence (Kelley has just learned that Emira works for Alix Chamberlain, whom he dated in high school and believes to be a fake, racist elitist). Kelley behaved rudely to Alix at the dinner, and when he tries to defend himself by explaining what a bad person Alix is, Emira refuses to go along with him. She insinuates that Kelley thinks he’s better than Alix because he practices outward displays of solidarity with disadvantaged people, such as behavior he displayed at the Thanksgiving gathering earlier that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qu
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The Security Guard Character Timeline in Such a Fun Age
The timeline below shows where the character The Security Guard appears in Such a Fun Age. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Suddenly, a security guard approaches Emira and Briar. The gray-haired woman who’d watched them dancing earlier is standing behind...
(full context)
Emira tries to stay calm, but she’s agitated, especially after the security guard asks if she’s been drinking. Emira tells the guard that she’ll call Peter Chamberlain, the...
(full context)
Peter Chamberlain arrives. He yells at the guard for escalating the situation and for questioning his parenting. He is embarrassed and overly apologetic...
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Chapter 3
...bay. So what upset her about the altercation at Market Depot wasn’t so much the guard’s racial bias against her, but the fact that she could have avoided the situation altogether...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...bad language in front of Briar before—it’s just that she was so afraid that the guard would take Briar away from her.
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Chapter 25
...neighborhood. Laney asks Emira to describe the evening. Emira does. When she describes how the guard didn’t think she looked like a babysitter, Alix interjects to clarify that Emira had come...
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When Laney asks Emira if she thinks the security guard needs to lose his job in order for justice to be served, Emira says no;...
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