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How many times had she, Hesina, and Giti said those same three words to each other, Laila wondered, said it without hesitation, after only two or three days of not seeing each other? ... In Tariq' s grimace, Laila learned that boys differed from girls in this regard. They didn' t make a show of friendship. They felt no urge, no need, for this sort of talk. ...  Boys, Laila came to see, treated friendship the way they treated the sun: its existence undisputed; its radiance best enjoyed, not beheld directly.