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Nicole was one of the two St. John's students who died when Daniel crashed his car. She was a year younger than Tom and was active in musical theater. Though it's never confirmed, Tom hears a rumor that Nicole kissed Daniel after Claire broke up with him on the night of the accident. Her family sends a letter to the Brennan family in response to Daniel's apology letter, insisting that Daniel was an accident waiting to happen and that no sentence will be long enough to make up for Nicole’s death.
Nicole Quotes in The Story of Tom Brennan
The The Story of Tom Brennan quotes below are all either spoken by Nicole or refer to Nicole. 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:
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Chapter Six Quotes
Somewhere in the bush, hard to say how far away, I could hear the painful sound of groaning, retching sobs. It was Daniel but I couldn't go to him. Part of me wanted to, the other part didn't. I knew I had to stay with Fin, stay with the mess Daniel had made. Yet a voice inside of me was screaming, "He's alive, he's alive. Daniel's alive."
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Tom recounts the experience of staying with Fin after he, Matt, and Snorter returned to the accident site. Tom's desire to go to Daniel shows again how connected the two once were to each other, and how close Tom still felt they were despite Daniel's months of bad behavior at this point. This is further reinforced by the voice in Tom's head celebrating that Daniel lived through the accident. In turn, his reaction reinforces the novel's overall assertion that blood is thicker than water, while this also suggests that brothers are naturally closer to each other than cousins. This is 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. Commod
Chapter Seven Quotes
Wasn't his life worth more? But that's exactly why he was here, because a life was worth something, and Daniel took two away. Whichever way I turned, my questions only found another one, always worse than the last.
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Tom, shocked that Daniel's trial only lasts twenty minutes, goes on to contemplate the value of a life. It's worth noting that in asking these questions, Tom tries to assign logical value and meaning to a situation that's extremely emotional and complex. While this is what the courts endeavor to do every day, Tom's inability to make sense of the situation suggests that the courts themselves are a somewhat ineffective way to answer questions regarding the value of life, or to dole out justice. This is reinforced by Tom's admission here that the two lives Daniel took were certainly worth Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia.
Chapter Nine Quotes
"But remember your fellow man, Daniel, because life is more than just a one-man show. Everything we do in this life affects others. Did you think of that the night you got behind the wheel, your trusting passengers the loved ones of others? We think probably not."
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Not long before Daniel's sentencing trial, Gran reads a letter from Nicole's family out loud to the family. Though Daniel doesn't seem to truly understand what her parents are getting at, even by the end of the novel, what they point to here is the fact that Daniel is a part of a team, and his actions do not affect him alone. They want him to understand that he needs to think about others in his life, just as he'd think about other players on the rugby field. What Nicole's parents don't understand here—or at least don't say outright—is 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. Accus
"Being a team player, you should have known better."
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When Judge Williams sentences Daniel, he insists that he can't be lenient because Daniel should've been more responsible, given his involvement in a team sport. With this, the novel reinforces the importance of teamwork, while also showing that one can be technically part of a team without truly participating. Daniel didn't actually behave like a team player in the months before the accident; that's exactly why he behaved the way he did and got in the accident in the first place. Taken together, this suggests that acting as a selfish individual and removing oneself from a team has disastrous consequences Dolorem et quae. Exerci
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Nicole Character Timeline in The Story of Tom Brennan
The timeline below shows where the character Nicole appears in The Story of Tom Brennan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Three
...went outside, where Snorter was telling everyone about his trail bike and two girls, including Nicole, were singing show tunes. Matt pointed to Claire, who was walking out of the hall...
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Chapter Six
...Tom doesn't want to remember the fear he saw in Fin's eyes, or Luke and Nicole dead in the car.
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...curse and scream "no," and he and Tom held each other and cried: Luke and Nicole were dead. Tom and Matt returned to searching the car and found Fin, fortunately in...
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...of the car. Tom sat with him the entire time, thankful that Fin didn't see Nicole and Luke's bodies taken away. Dad and policemen coaxed Daniel out of the woods and...
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Chapter Seven
...that the police seemed to already know about the fight. Tom asked about Luke and Nicole, and Matt started to cry and said that he saw Luke's dad at the station....
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...guilty or not. When Tom closed his eyes that night, he could only see Luke, Nicole, and the terror in Fin's eyes. Fin was in critical condition, though Dad didn't tell...
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...up. They only ate because Matt's mother kept bringing over casseroles. Dad and Brendan attended Nicole and Luke's funerals. The day before Daniel's court appearance, Talbot said the only thing they...
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...causing bodily harm and two charges of driving dangerously and causing death. Tom knew that Nicole and Luke's families were there, but he didn't look around. The magistrate declared that Daniel's...
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Chapter Nine
Daniel wrote letters to Luke and Nicole's families and seemed truly sorry: he barely ate and spent most of his time crying....
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In the courtroom, Tom could see Nicole and Luke's parents, as well as Matt and his mother. They all sat and listened...
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