This all started when my friend Rick and I arrived early to lunch, wanting to sit down at an unoccupied table since we haven’t been able to sit at a table close to the middle of the lunchroom before (no one sits at the tables closer to the door since its very busy). There was nothing on the table or on the seats, so we sat down and minded our own business. Eventually, a group of 5 girls walked over and started looking at us weird and pointing, leading to me being a little confused on the situation. (For a little more info: they were seniors, and my friends and I are juniors). Anyways, Ben and I awkwardly exchange small talk while this group of girls are pointing at us and talking under their breath. Eventually, our friend Elliot comes over and sits down with us, which I think was the "final straw" for the girls. They started confronting us, saying how "they sat here all year, and \[we\] needed to move", and started talking to us with a horrible attitude and essentially raising their voices at us. I told them "You can sit with us if you want, we have open spots" and they laughed. Anyways, this is the major part of it because right after they started yelling at us, my friends got right up and wanted to move, with me actually talking back to the girls and standing my ground. Eventually, my friends started to say, "James, we’re just going to move, it’s not that deep. We are gonna leave without you if you dont move." With now 2 parties against me, I got extremely stressed and had no choice but to give up our lunch table to the girls, who then proceeded to point at us and make fun of us further even after we left.
Am I the asshole for
\#1: Standing my ground against the mean girls who wanted to take the lunch table we were sitting at.
\#2: Being upset with my friends for leaving me to fight for myself and not being on my side.
NTA.
Your friends are ESH, but it’s understandable they’d want to avoid a confrontation.
Don’t ever let anyone bully you like that. People like those girls are what make the world a horrific place to live in, since it validates their view that they can get away with abusing other people to get their way.
NTA
I don’t ever remember having that issue in school, aa seniors we could eat outside, leave etc. so none of us would be fighting for a table in the middle of a cafeteria.
I think having to move was wrong on your friends. That’s silly. You were sitting there and offered to make space for them if they too wanted to sit. You were right.
I guess it depends on how important to you it was to be right? If the ladies wanted to sit there, was it really a big deal for you to move? How important was that spot? Whitch may have been where your friends were coming from.
NTA, just searched it up and American seniors are like 17-18. Not a soul in my year would do that because you’d be made fun of to the high heavens for being that bloody immature. That’s like year 8 mess, “tHaT tAbLeS mInE” like girl, be mature. I beg. Dw you’re fine and the fact you stood up for yourself for that long means you have a backbone. Ignore those girls.
Thank you
Nta but no wonder those girls act thst way. They know whims won’t stand up to them.
NTA, with a bit of nuance.
You weren’t wrong for standing your ground. You got there first, the table was empty, and the girls were being rude and entitled. Offering to share was reasonable.
It’s also fair to be upset with your friends, but they weren’t betraying you. They just wanted to avoid drama. They chose peace over conflict, not the girls over you.
Your feelings make sense, even if everyone handled it differently.
Do they also have strict rules to never wear sweatpants, only wear pink on Wednesdays, don’t wear a tank top two days in a row, only wear ponytails once a week, and save jeans/track pants for Fridays? I bet they torched you in their burn book.
NTA. Sit where you want unless there are assigned seats. Let the plastics figure out another spot.
lmaooo thank you
If you’re juniors and seniors in high school, you’re all roughly 16-18 years old, right?
ESH for juvenile “who gets the table” lunchroom drama.
I’m not disagreeing with you, but what should have been done instead?
Shoulda hit’em with that classic, “you snooze you lose.”
NTA.
Loll thank you