Maynard will do anything for Dobie... that is if he remembers to do it. As Maynard's behavior has exasperated Dobie once too often, Dobie feels he needs to take a break from hanging out with Maynard, despite still digging him. Many of Maynard's other friends, such as Riff Ryan at the record store or Charlie Wong at the ice cream parlor, feel the same way. When his parents don't even seem to want him around despite their assurances to him that they love him, Maynard begins to feel unwanted. The tone of Maynard's life changes when, at eighteen years old, a year older than the rest of his classmates, he receives his draft notice.
—Huggo