How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Conrad feels the slow, rolling pressure of panic building inside himself. (3.18)
You'd think Conrad would be happy to be with his friends after not seeing them for so long, but clearly he isn't. However, at this point, we don't yet understand why he feels this way. Did he ever feel comfortable with his friends?
Quote #2
[Conrad] forces a laugh from the back of his throat; turns his attention outside the window Forget it forget it he was never a friend sends him a mental message Screw you he will not get it does not operate on the same frequency never will so f*** it. (3.30)
This stream-of-consciousness sentence shows Conrad's frustration with his false friendships. He feels like he's short-circuiting by just pretending to be friends with a jerk like Stillman.
Quote #3
"Yeah. About friends. I don't have any. I got sort of out of touch before I left." (5.83)
This line shows us that it isn't Conrad's suicide attempt that pulled him away from his friends. They are not so shallow that they'd abandon him after he attempted to take his own life. Really, it seems like Conrad just wasn't that close to many of them in the first place.