The speaker overhears people talking about them, again, and pretends not to care. But the string of questions gives it away. Each one lists something the others seem to hold against them: being an outcast, being alone, living in the past, always having a nose in a book. The speaker keeps asking "Why does it matter anyway?", which sounds defiant at first but also like someone who has been hurt by the same topic too many times.
The turn comes near the end. "Should I try fitting in?" is answered by "I tried to," followed by a small, flat "At least." That pause suggests the effort was real but didn't work, and the speaker is half defending themselves, half admitting defeat. The last line, "I was lost again," lands quietly. The mood is weary and lonely, with a trace of stubborn pride. The epigraph, "i tried to," shows the poem is built around that one sad admission.