George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who has made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.

George Zinavoy: I read a quote once when I was a kid "We live alone, We die alone. Everything else is just an illusion." it used to keep me up at night.
George Zinavoy: I'm in love with you. I always have been. I thought you were the unfair one, but it was unfair of me not to say it. So I've said it. I was nothing. I felt like nothing. Less than. You changed that.
Sally Howe: I have fears but I thought they were pretty run-of-the-mill: pain, death.
George Zinavoy: Not me. I fear life.
[I just feel like I'm full of shit, like I'm trying to be something that I'm not]
Sally Howe: Do you have any friends, George ?
George Zinavoy: I'm kind of a misanthrope. Not a choice, just a fact.
George Zinavoy: I have no idea what I'm doing here.
Dustin: I don't think anybody does, at least you admit it.
Sally Howe: You know we're gonna be together one day. We have to sort through all of our messed-up issues and... you have to sleep with a lot of girls to get it out of your system.
George Zinavoy: Don't go. Please.
Sally Howe: It's a long life. We're not done.
George Zinavoy: [teasingly] Treacherous, sadistic little hussy !
Sally Howe: I love you too.
Sally Howe: Are you okay?
George Zinavoy: I'm allergic to hormones.
Sally Howe: What hormones?
George Zinavoy: My own.
Dustin: You and George should be together, Sally.
Sally Howe: We're just friends.
Dustin: There's no such thing.
Sally Howe: What were you like as a child?
George Zinavoy: I was such a better person than I am now.
Sally Howe: Come on.
George Zinavoy: I'm serious. I was happy. I was open. I was curious. But I'll tell you this: I knew when it was ending. I was overwhelmed with sadness when I realized that I was going to change, and that it was all most likely going to get worse, like a nostalgia for the present. I couldn't shake it... What? I'm weird, right?
Sally Howe: No... No, you're not.
Sally Howe: Thanks for covering for me.
George Zinavoy: No problem.
Sally Howe: Why did you ?
George Zinavoy: Uhh, I don't know. Uhh, you were doing something so renegade that I thought you deserved to get away with it. I run afoul of the authorities so often, I figured I could handle it better than you.
Sally Howe: You're really weird.
Charlotte Howe: You know, ticklish people make great lovers. Everything is erogenous.
Dustin: Women like being desired. Just throw her up against a wall and start kissing her. Chances are she'll kiss you back, and if she doesn't, at least you tried. You've got to do something or else you'll lose her.
Harris McElroy: You're going to have to start using that brain of yours to access that talent of yours to show that beautiful heart of yours.
Principal Martinson: Don't play the angles, George. They don't work. Neither do jokes.
Dustin: You like her... You should like her if you don't.
George Zinavoy: I'm sorry, I ruined your night.
Sally Howe: No, I'm sorry. I lost you. I didn't keep my promise.
Dustin: Isn't it better that it is me? I opposed to some douchebag she just met and wouldn't even let you look at her.
George Zinavoy: You want me to thank you!
Dustin: I actually felt something. That doesn't always happen, it hasn't happened in a very long time... and I have lived long enough to know that when it does, you should act on it. I didn't think you were ready.
George Zinavoy: I'm trying to speak to you honestly.
Vivian Sargent: I don't care, I can't listen to your lies anymore.
Principal Martinson: Just be careful, they have an easier time of getting by than you do.
Zoe Rubenstein: Would you like me to introduce you to some girls?
George Zinavoy: What?
Zoe Rubenstein: I have a lot of slutty friends you might like.
George Zinavoy: My favorite part of the book is how the town's layout us described from the perspective of a bee traveling from one side of town to the other. It's so visual. So, I guess what Hardy's doing is aligning his point of view not with an all-seeing God but with an insect: the tiniest, humblest creature in nature. Which is pretty Romantic.
Ms. Herman: I think you just found your term paper, George.
George Zinavoy: I'm the Teflon slacker.
George Zinavoy: There you go again with the mind games. Treacherous, sadistic little hussy !