He shook his head, looking rather disbelieving. "No," he said. "Friends aren't a necessary part of life."
Since he was expecting me to disagree with him, I said something to surprise him. "You're right," I said.
He looked up at me, and I was rewarded with his startled expression.
Before I plunged on, I sent a small thanks to C.S. Lewis in his grave for giving me my argument. "Friendship perhaps is not necessary for survival," I paraphrased one of his famous quotes. "You don't need it to survive, right?" I asked Zack, waiting for his agreement.
He nodded again, but didn't say anything. He was watching me closely.
"What do you need to survive? Food, water, air… Those you need to live. Friendship is like art, or music," I continued on, keeping my gaze on a mounted photo behind him. Saman
