After lunch today, I had a brush with arrogance. An old “frenemy” decided to make his existence known by calling me under the pretext that he has a legal problem. Turned out, he just wanted to boast about his alleged new business, claiming he’s establishing connections with some mining company here and there and asked whether I could magically and instantly conjure up a contract draft on the phone. I wasn’t going to be gullible.
What bums me is that this “frenemy” used to be a really good friend back then. We met when we were both younger, perhaps sometime when I was in first year college while he was on his third or fourth year. Back then, he was very down to earth, aware of his manifold faults but nevertheless dealt with it with his wit and crazy sense of humor. He was there for me when we both were having trouble with our then romantic relationships with other people. I suppose there’s truth in the saying that “misery loves company.” Apparently, he had fallen out of love with his girl while I was being toyed around by an ass of a boyfriend. After a while, I actually thought we might have our own “thing.” We’ve exchanged letters and even gone out on a few (as in one or two) dates. He was quite adorable back then (though, perhaps, not so much physically); he was shy in person and a gentleman. But for one reason or another, our “thing” never got off. We lost contact after I learned that he was already fooling around with several girls. But not before he told me that he felt something for me… as in those three stupid words. Thankfully, I didn’t fall for it. As with most platonic relationships, this kind of emotional attachment is bound to wreck it up.
Our so-called friendship suffered even more after he passed his board exams. He became an airhead who refused to acknowledge that he grew up in the countryside – my countryside. Every conversation we had was littered with name droppings of people and places that didn’t use to be within his reach. I’d have understood if he was professing amazement at all those things. But to actually talk like it has been his way of life is simply annoying. We started to talk less and less.
For the sake of the friendship I had with him back when I knew the “him” that I liked, I maintained a cordial relationship with him. I still attempt to treat him as if he’s never been such a jackass. But then, sometimes my patience gets stretched to far that it’s bound to break. When I think about him, I sometimes wish that he never passed his board exams. That way, he wouldn’t have turned into a toad.
