“Her resume went into the reject pile. It was a great day. The only thing that could have made it happier is if she could have somehow known that I was the deciding vote.”

"Eventually, I noticed I mostly heard from them when they wanted something, so I stopped making the effort. We’re still friendly, but I no longer participate in one-sided friendships. At the same time, their social media provided a different story. I’d see them posting from restaurants, events, and places literally a BLOCK from my house. Yep, the same 28 miles they apparently couldn’t possibly drive for me. And then one of the girls started dating a guy with a boat. Suddenly, she was a regular at the marina across the street from my house. Apparently, 28 miles is an impossible journey unless there’s a boat at the other end. 

She never once asked to meet at the nearby coffee shop or just come by to say hi. So, am I upset about how they treated me 20 years ago? A little, because it hurt my feelings. But I actually find it pretty funny now. I just learned that friendship is a lot like driving: if you’re always the only one willing to make the trip, eventually you stop putting gas in the car!"

"People didn't really address bullying like that back then, but it had gotten so extreme that it was causing huge academic issues. He tried to gaslight me, saying, 'Those guys are your buddies from the team. I think you're misunderstanding. Those pranks are just them trying to be funny. It means they like you! You need to relax more, and you'll fit in better.' You motherfucker, I just told you they wiped feces in my notebook. I could live with inaction, but it's the trying to convince me I merely misunderstood that still makes me livid. 

He absolutely knew that something was up, because kids occasionally got sent to his office for shit they did to me. I hold almost no grudges these days. It's generally easy for me to let things go, but that has haunted me for decades."

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.