Have you met someone annoying like this? They bulldoze into private conversations, assuming everyone should pay attention to them immediately!
I’ve experienced it a few times. It’s cringeworthy.
On one occasion, I heard both lines spoken in the exact order I’ve written into the title of this post. That person couldn’t help themselves. She demanded to know the status of the group’s chatter right away — and it should’ve been about her!
She was simultaneously on the attack and on the defence in two sentences — supportive and suspicious, while phishing for lies and truth.
The truth was, she wasn’t the topic of any conversation, but we wouldn’t dare say that to her face. She could be vicious if responses didn’t fall her way, to the beat of her drum. Fortunately, we were saved by her ego. She answered her questions before anyone else. That was her way. And her way was the right way.
If that wasn’t enough, she then took hold of the group’s conversation until she was satisfied that those around her were under her spell. They quickly forgot what they were speaking about, and she had command of them until the wee small hours of the next morning.
She got drunker, louder, more aggressive and demanding as the night went on.
When I was a younger man, I’d put up with such strange social arrangements, believing it was the polite thing to do. These days I don’t do that. I get up, walk away, favouring personal comfort over bad propriety. There’s no reason to persist with rude, insecure, attention-seeking fools. Staying only feeds their monsters. I’d be wasting my night supporting the creature, handing them treats until their bellies were full.
That’s the thing. Their stomachs never fill. It’s an ego that’s being fed, not a stomach. There’s no end to an ego that requires the energies of others’ egos to survive.
Staying meant I’d also miss out on meeting other good people, those who aren’t so needy or dependent on others’ reassurances to feel they exist.
How about you? Have you met someone like this?
Do you know someone like her?
What did you do when confronted with the situation?
Did you stay or go away?
–Michael (Dark fiction. Author of SEETHINGS (the first book), free for a limited time)
SEETHINGS promises a gripping psychological thriller that blends murder, passion, and secrets of a sexless marriage. Forman’s vivid prose draws readers into a world where lightning illuminates the skies and hidden truths. As the storm clouds gather, Mitchell’s journey promises to unravel more than just the mystery of the murders.
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