Something funny happened to me recently, something that made me realize that sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem to be. I once had a roommate that screwed me over financially and this past week, we ran into each other for the first time in years. It's not a large amount that she owes me, but it's not the money that pissed me off at the time. It was her attitude that I couldn't stand.
We had no problems with our bills until after we moved out and the final hydro bill came in. I had contacted her to ask for her half of the money. She told me that she wasn't willing or able to pay me the full amount of her half. She claimed that she shouldn't have to because she was hardly ever home, never mind the fact that she was the one who cranked up the heat before leaving. I noticed this when she asked me on several occasions to feed her bunny that was in her bedroom. The thermostat happened to be right above his cage. She had been gone almost all month, and the heat was cranked to the max. The heat in my room was off. Our hydro bill consequently was higher than average for that month. Hmmmmm. Of course she had nothing to do with that. If I had known that she would refuse to pay her half of the bill, I would have had a little chat with her regarding her heat usage, but of course it was far too late for that. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Anyway, she refused to pay her half, and she did not apologize or even agree to compromise despite much arguing between us. Since the hydro bill was in my name, I had the great pleasure of paying it off myself. A few weeks after our argument, I found out through a mutual acquaintance that she bought her boyfriend a $300 entertainment unit, for no real reason. That certainly explains why she couldn't afford to pay her bills. She had higher priorities.
It has been over two years since this happened and despite having mutual friends and acquaintances, we had not seen or spoken to each other in all this time, until last week I mean. I have spent those two years hoping, in the back of my mind, that I wouldn't have to see her again. On top of the money that she owes me, she also decided to treat one of my friends like total crap, which has lowered my opinion of her even further. I'm not good with confrontations. I don't think I could pretend to be nice to her if I had to, and she could probably kick my ass if she wanted to. Yeah, I was afraid of her, just a little bit.
Last week, the moment I was dreading finally occurred, and it was completely unexpected. I was sitting on the back of the bus around 5:00pm, on my way downtown to meet a friend. It wasn't very crowded, as there were plenty of empty seats. We pulled up to the university bus station, which is only one stop away from where I was going. There was only one person waiting to get on the bus, and I recognized her right away. It was her. She was alone, and the passengers were utterly silent.
She climbs on and walks down the aisle slowly, apparently oblivious to my presence. I pretend to look out the window, not sure if I should look at her or speak to her. I can sense her movement from the corner of my eye and, from what I can tell, she isn't looking in my direction. I don't want to provoke an argument, but I don't want to hide my eyes from her like a helpless mouse. She's getting closer to me, almost close enough to reach out and touch. I shift my attention from the window to the aisle where she's standing, carefully keeping my facial expression neutral. I'm curious to see what she'll do. She stops where she is. She frowns. She doesn't look very happy. Without meeting my eye or saying a word, she turns her back and sits in the nearest seat, presenting me with a view of the back of her head. I smile and look out the window again. A few minutes later, the bus pulls up to the shopping mall and off I go to meet my friend at the coffee shop, feeling as though a weight had lifted from my shoulders.
I don't know what she was thinking when she saw me, but she's clearly not someone I need to worry about. I will never get an apology and I will never get my money back, but every time she sees me she's going to feel uncomfortable like she did on the bus that day, and that's enough to make me smile. That's what happens when you're rude as hell to someone on purpose.