yes it certainly looks fried, has your buddy been giving this youngun ferts?
looks like it.

you could attempt to save it by flushing the soil, but, was this the soil the plant came in? if so it may have ferts pre added like miracle grow soil does, so I'd suggest transplanting to soil you are convinced has NO NPK values on the bag (fert values eg: 10. 10. 10)
give it a drink and leave it alone for a week mimimum.