Holden smokes a cigarette in the room just to irritate Stradlater. The tension between the two increases when Holden asks Stradlater about his date with Jane. Stradlater refuses to tell Holden any of the details. As a result, Holden attacks him, but Stradlater pins him to the floor and tries to get him to calm down. Holden purposely insults Stradlater, driving him insane until he finally punches Holden. Stradlater becomes anxious that he has injured Holden and will get into serious trouble. Holden continues to insult him and Stradlater finally leaves the room.
