The only thing I’m sure of is that it’s impossible to talk now, impossible to say what you mean, that’s the world the young are building. No hope of staying ahead of it, but I don’t want to be pigheaded either. What to do?

Everybody’s a socialist now, even the hookers.

But he’s a real person. He’s sweet, he’s actually sweeter than me. I think that must be the appeal of him for Mindy, he doesn’t just get her off, he gets her.

Can you face your own inferiority? Can you watch yourself be replaced?

she kept talking about “drama.” I think these people sort of live in hell, fighting over scraps, over nothing.

Mom cares but it isn’t the same. She wants me to be ok. He wanted me to be upright. I think I’m neither.

think the thing that ultimately isolates him is that he isn’t traumatized. When you see blood, you’ve got to show everybody that you’re shaken up, even if you aren’t. But Clive is never shaken, and I think that makes people see him as a monster, even when he’s the victim.

Like it’s all love and light with them. I sort of wonder if we’re the same species.

I wanted to say to her that seeing how ugly and really gross she was, and how poor, to be working at this burger joint and still doing it, it made something feel possible for me. That there’d been a little motion in my heart. But isn’t that just condescending and mean?