Kingdom of Knuffel

Only when I realized that a lot of crap a certain former friend pulled in earlier years clicked

This is about the time she got mad at me for not letting her borrow Hunger Games because she had another book of mine she was borrowing that had ended up staying in her locker all year unread. Yup. She borrowed a book all school year and called me unfair because I told her that she could borrow HG after she returned the other book
All these times I borrowed, read, promptly returned. All those papers I held for her to keep from her dad. Everything meant nothing, all those years of helping her
So the next year, our senior year, it got really rocky. And people noticed
The book she had borrowed? Those papers I mentioned earlier, last day of school, returned them while she was at her locker and picked up my book. So she never returned it. I had to pick it up. She never got to borrow HG, not that she asked again

Yeah, that's all a whole mess, complete with rant
And since we spent most of our school years glued together...
Fortunately around the time we got to high school, I stopped telling her personal stuff. Partially cuz I was getting it then, but mostly cuz she got pissed whenever the conversation was not about her

I think a part of why it took so long is cuz school is a place where you need at least one friend, and she and I were literally the only two that had a harder time getting along with the others due to lack of similar interests
And she, consciously or not, took advantage of it. Groups of two? I did most to all of the work. My senior year, where we were assigned together in one class, I did a shit job. One, I didn't care. Two, I was tired of doing the work and only getting half credit. Teacher was obviously not happy about the low quality of "our" project

If I'd my way, I think 9th grade would've been the end of it. But she's a leech, so it took longer. Way too long

I've heard about her here and there. According to one girl I met up with by timing at the break room, said former friend was asking about me. Well, I work in the main park. She works the water park. Former friend would not get that. Two different parts of the park entirely. I have no reason to go to the water park, she the main only to get to member's club, the break room. Yes, I asked her to keep it up. She knew very well where I came from
She also texted me, oh, last year. I don't have her number anymore so I didn't realize who it was. Not until she mentioned the nickname I gave her. Then I told her that I didn't recognize the nickname, and left it at that. She, fortunately, didn't press the issue

I think senior year was this revelation for several people that know/knew her, even if it was mainly cuz I made her sit at a different table, and as school goes, that's no small matter. By the end of that year, most sat with me. Oh, one pissed her off because they had to do all the talking. She sat with me so she could EAT. I went okay, fine, do this as needed, and so she had to shuffle around to find someone who would tolerate her

According to mom, there's a very good chance that said former friend has twisted things so that it's my fault
Let her blame me. If we see each other and interact, I'll treat her like any other stranger. She's outside my life now

Tl;dr
realized friendship was false in senior year after nagging suspicions throughout high school persisted

It's easier for me to open up my life story (the drama's and bul****) to a lot of people like my relatives, friends before, then suddenly you realize that not everyone is happy with your triumphs and not all your friends are real or will betray in the name of greed. People change, I used to be so upset and clingy to the closeness I used to have with those people who used to be my closest friend. But now I learned to move on and accept things as they are and besides I might have changed too that made some of my friends not my friends anymore. I learned to let go and that is one of the best decision I have ever made.

I've had a few. Though generally they are unpleasant epiphanies. Ugh.

Usually mulling over my past and realizing how very fucked up it actually was.