Leery Attachment Replies, Page 100 + 108.

As a teenager, Michel believed that suffering conferred dignity on a person. Now he had to admit he had been wrong. What conferred dignity on people was television.

As a schoolboy, he would often sit on a step between floors just after class began; these were his rare moments of happiness. Midway between landings, he would lean back against the wall, eyes half-closed, sometimes wide open, and wait. Everything was so peaceful; then gently, almost furtively, his heart soared in short bursts towards joy.