We Were Friends Once....

And now, we are just going through the motions of Manager and Cashier.

Back in elementary school, I had maybe 5 friends(?) including said manager. I was awkward at most, shy and nerdy at the least. I was obsessed with greek mythology, C.S. Lewis, chess, and The Lord Of The Rings in those years, and I wasn’t like most kids my age. I hadn’t seen SpongeBob until 6th grade, or seen Shrek (any of them) and was far more interested in crime scene forensics than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In middle school, I was the same, just growing into loving theatre more as I discovered improv.

I didn’t fit in by any means, but the five friends were there for me, but later on, they started leaving, one left the state, another moved cities, the next changed schools, and the other two just remained. I learned how to rely on myself more for entertainment during recess whenever they were busy or sick otherwise.

One of those friends, was my manager, we hung out quite a bit, but it sometimes felt one sided. I was scared of their very high energy dog and I wasn’t good when he barked. We’d play games or just hang out.

They would critique things about me, always finding some reason to dig deep and make me feel not enough. “You are a terrible artist” and “Why bother singing if you can’t do it right?” were often the big ones, but as we played video games, their toxicity grew, crying if they didn’t win, and whenever I had my back turned, they would take some of my Pokemon cards. They also really hated that I got glasses(?) I needed to see, sorry not sorry.

Fast forward a bit to middle school now and called my hobbies uninteresting and dull. They asked me to go to outdoor school, and so I did, but after I met someone who changed my entire world, I was lectured by them why they hated that I went. It wasn’t my fault that I fell in love with someone who shared my interests, I just… well, okay maybe so, but don’t pour water on my birthday cake.

We went to different high schools, and drifted apart. I really found a love of action movies and wanted to be involved with the after school ROTC program and they “forbid it”. I didn’t care, I was finding myself out.

After high school, I came out. I told them, and they told everyone they knew that I also knew. I wasn’t ready for certain people to know and somehow, that made to a very problematic person. I severed ties with the friend and they took offense to my defensive stance. I was just neck deep in dealing with my blood father’s nonsense and relationship drama and didn’t need another hole in my boat.

Fast forward again to 2020 and I reach out after I lost my grandfather, they were actually kind to me and I felt like that was a new start, but after getting my job at the place we both now work at, I need to stress something that I’ve slowly decided since then: We are no longer friends.

I thought at one time it would be fine, but after trying to reach out to them to hang out several times, and them saying no that they are too tired to hang out, they go out with a co-worker and their partner, who by the way was not at all mentioned to me until the third time of meeting them was I able to put the pieces together. Not once was I at all invited to hang out with the two of them, or anything, I was discarded as a joke.

Then, when I made a mistake that nearly cost me my job, I aimed high and took accountability for my actions. I would tell them if something was off on my till or if something looked off and they just told me that quote: I do not care, stop telling me these things. I’m sorry, but I wanted to be transparent about things like this.

They also have been a massive jerk each holiday party that I’ve just given up enjoying the vibe of the party. I just want to enjoy the party, but that is no longer the case.

So, I guess this is it. 2025 was the last year I had any hope at all of having a working friendship with them. I’m stopping because I’m tired of being their punchline, punching bag and their afterthought. I am no longer a friend of my manager’s and they are certainly no friend of mine.

This is where I draw the line.