We're back in the present, and the narrator is trying to be cheerful. He's worried about what's going on in the world, and he's trying to figure out what to do about it. He wants to go home and get some tea, but he can't bring himself to go to the store, so he stops at a friend's house. The narrator asks the friend if she's had sex yet. The friend says she hasn't, but the narrator doesn't want to be cavalier about it, so she tells the friend she'll be straight after all. She tells the narrator to stop by the store and have some tea. She wants to know what the narrator's reading, and she wants to see if she can figure out a way to impress her man. She's curious to see how the narrator responds to her questions, and it's pretty clear that the narrator has a crush on the guy. He tells her she should get her man's attentions for the rest of the week, and then he'll show her how to dress nicely for the occasion. He also tells her to get him a special present for