In this article, I explore the different ways in which educated young people in urban Mahajanga experience and anticipate social relationships. Taking rumours of betrayal as my starting point, I shed light on the ambivalent nature of friendship and commensality. While both phenomena echo Malagasy values encompassing solidarity and sharing, they also contain the threat of switching into dangerous territory: when trust becomes mistrust, a close friend can well become an enemy and a commensal situation might ultimately be poisoned. This article focuses on a relatively affluent group of young people and examines how narratives of betrayal both reflect and contribute to general frustrations and worries about personal failure. Individual life courses revolve essentially around a social project of anticipation which includes not only hope and aspiration but also fear of potential failure and of arousing envy among others. I argue that these generalised anxieties do not stifle social interaction; instead they foster an attitude of suspicion that serves as a useful tool of temporary detachment, giving space to gather knowledge about someone or something before determining the appropriate response.

在本文中，我探讨了受过教育的年轻人在城市 Mahajanga 体验和预测社会关系的不同方式。我以背叛的谣言为出发点，阐明了友谊和共生的矛盾本质。虽然这两种现象都与马达加斯加人的团结和分享价值观相呼应，但它们也包含切换到危险领域的威胁：当信任变成不信任时，亲密的朋友很可能会变成敌人，共生关系最终可能会被毒化。这篇文章关注的是一个相对富裕的年轻人群体，并研究了背叛的叙述如何反映和促成对个人失败的普遍挫败感和担忧。个人的人生课程基本上围绕着一个社会期待项目，其中不仅包括希望和抱负，还包括对潜在失败和引起嫉妒的恐惧。我认为这些普遍的焦虑不会扼杀社会互动；相反，他们培养了一种怀疑的态度，这种态度可以作为暂时脱离的有用工具，在确定适当的反应之前提供空间来收集有关某人或某事的知识。