However, it's difficult for Brent to hang out with his former classmates. First of all, he feels uncomfortable having the seeings all his scars and having them know what actually happened to him. But then, as if this weren't enough, everything has changed. While Brent stayed in hospital rooms talking mostly to adults, his friends were living more or less the same lives as before and life kept going by. So when Brent returns, people have changed. Almost every single one of his friends that he sees once again, looks different. His friend Chris has grown about six inches, Caroline looks "pretty good (P. 265)" and older, and Megan is "even more beautiful than before (P. 272)." There's nothing wrong with this, though. Brent must also have grown and must look a lot older now. However, his friends not only changed physically, but they matured. While Brent was lying in hospital beds, his friends were interacting with people their age and becoming more adult-like. On the other hand, Brent was dealing only with adults, and most of them treated him like a kid, so he didn't mature very much. And Brent realizes and acknowledges this when Caroline says "Brent, you haven't changed at all," and he thinks "That's my problem. I haven't changed at all (P. 267)."
Although Brent might be stuck in the past, still expecting to live life as if he were fourteen, his diction does match his age. He writes in the present, so he can't write like the adult he is now, but like the teenager he was back then. So the word choice is definitely apt for a teenager. There are about zero words I don't know the meaning to, since his writing is so simple and uncomplicated, just like that of an adolescent's. He also uses a lot of colloquialisms, as I know teenagers do. He uses words like "a bunch (P. 239)" instead of many or a lot, and "that sucks (P. 271)" instead of saying something like "how unfortunate" or anything along those lines that would be more formal. This way, Runyon, although he is a mature adult now, is able to sound exactly like a teenager.
Brent got a lot of support after attempting suicide. He not only got to meet Magic Johnson, but also form Dennis Miller and Jay Leno. Dennis Miller went over to his house and the both went out in his limousine and then, Jay Leno called Brent. These were both unbelievable experiences for him. "... I woke up this morning like a normal person, and now I've ridden in a limo with Dennis Miller and talked on the phone with Jay Leno (P. 259)," Brent says. This support shows him that there's a reason to keep on, and motivate him to continue with his life. The chances of him committing suicided now, after having such great experiences, are much lower.
However, although Brent did get a lot of support from celebrities like these, Stephen's parents did the opposite. When Brent comes back from DuPont and sees Stephen for the first in seven months, one of the first things that his friend tells him is that he'll be moving to a boarding school in Australia. I thought it would be because his parents wanted him to get an Australian education or something, but no. They're sending him off to a different continent because Brent came back and they don't want them to be friends. I understand what Brent did did have an impact on Stephen, but the solution is not sending him off like this. Both Brent and Stephen need to have things go to the way they were before, and Stephen's parents are choosing to do the complete opposite, making what I think, is a terrible decision, since Brent has moved on and wants to change.
While in the hospital, Brent sees a painting of a lion and begins having a staring contest with it. Of course Brent loses, because the lion obviously wasn't the first one to blink. After losing Brent says "I wonder if he feels sorry for me having to go through all of this. Probably not, because he knows it's all my fault (P. 245)." This is the first time Brent actually shows that he knows he's the only one to blame for what happened. This demonstrates that he has moved on past the point of denial. He is no longer suicidal or even consider suicide an option. One day, while at Dominion, a boy says he's considering suicide. After hearing him say this, Brent gets furious, showing that he believes there is no justified reason to commit suicide. By the end, he is a very happy person compared to how he was in the beginning. He is very optimistic and grateful for what he has. "Okay, so I can use my hands, arms, and legs. I can think. I can walk. I can talk. I'm fifteen. I'm alive. Life's pretty good. It's pretty good (P. 292)."
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