This is why I Stopped Putting Expectations on You.

Characters:

Z (he/him) - Known Z for 7 years. We are usually a trio with another friend and we've air, land & sea together and we're all still friends even after all those adventures.

J (she/her) - Friend to Z for 9 years. I met her ONCE during CNY at Z's house. She did NOT once engage with me. I mainly asked her questions, she replies and the conversation ends.

M (she/her) - Friend to Z for 9 years. I met her ONCE during CNY at Z's house. Attempts to find out more about me while we were walking to the train station towards the end of the night.

It was a typical Friday night when Z texted me out of the blue.

"You free tmr night, my girls-friends wanna jio you for supper / night ride," his message read.

I frowned at my screen, a little thrown off. Which girls? I wondered. My mind immediately went back to that one awkward CNY night. I had met two of Z’s friends—J and M. I barely knew them. I’d only seen them once at Z’s place during CNY.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard before I finally replied.

“Which girls?”

I was surprised. Really surprised, actually. Out of the two, only one of them, M, had made any real effort to talk to me that night. She was friendly enough, trying to get to know me as we walked to the train station. But J? I remembered her clearly. We exchanged a few words, but it felt more like an obligation than an actual conversation. She never once initiated any small talk; it was always me asking questions and her giving short replies. The conversation was as short as it was shallow.

When Z texted back, his answer left me even more confused.

“M & J”

J???

I stared at the name, feeling a twinge of annoyance. Why would she want to jio me for supper? There had been no connection, no hint that she’d want to hang out again.

“J???” I typed back, unable to hide my surprise.

Z replied with his usual nonchalance, “Why?” He added a “HAHHA” at the end, as if this was all just some big joke.

I sighed and replied, “I’m surprised.” But I didn’t push it further. What was the point? I’d already agreed to go, and now I was stuck in this plan, regardless of how weird it felt. So I changed the subject and asked what time they were looking at.

Fast forward to that night.

I was more curious than excited, wondering how this impromptu meetup would go. Would J actually talk to me this time? Or would it be another night of polite, stilted conversation where I had to keep it alive?

part two.

#Lemon8 #Lemon8SG #Lemon8Diary #friendshipadvice #friendship