“Face it. We’re all selfish bastards.” I punched my straw through the ice. “We donate and volunteer, but in the end it’s just to get what we want.”

Val flipped her phone upside down on the bar. “The last thing this world needs is more people.”

“The problem with people–”

“Yes.” She smiled at that. “The problem with people.”  

“They lack self-awareness.”

“The weird thing is that we want these versions of ourselves, people who we think will understand us.”

“Maybe even care.”

“Maybe.”

“Which means nothing.”

“The problem with people.” Val repeated it like a song lyric. “They say stupid things.”

I liked this topic too much. “And they actually believe they will be something good.”

“Good.” She checked for messages. “Whatever that means.”*

(*excerpt from The Ark)