My friend and I worked together above a mall food court, where we would take turns buying lunch.

Then, we progressed to lunches out and eventually dinners, mostly with a group of colleagues and occasionally one-on-one.

Those lunches were always split evenly, but we never had drinks or anything too fancy.

Over the years, the group changed and moved on, but the two of us lived in the same neighbourhood and still worked in the same building, if not the same department, so we would catch up over the occasional meal.

After a while, I noticed that we were still splitting the bill evenly, but I was not ordering drinks, appetizers, and desserts, and she was.

Of course, she’d offer me a bite of her cake, or a shrimp from her cocktail, but not half.

I commented on it eventually, and her response was what kicked in the petty revenge. Her answer to my comment was basically:

Friend:

 “We usually have the same thing, and I always share, so it’s fair. I don’t know why you would want to make the server do extra work.”

My revenge was simple. The next time we went out to eat, I waited for her to order and then told the server:

Me: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

I got a bit of side-eye, especially when I asked for a takeout container for my leftovers, and I got a big frown when the bill came.

The next time after that, [Friend] asked me to order first. I did, and then she ordered her usual extravagant meal. Before the server walked away, I said:

Me: “Her order sounds really good. I’ll have the same.”

This time, [Friend] suggested that she might not have enough money to cover it, so I suggested that she drop the dessert and maybe not order the second drink.

She frowned at me again and said never mind. She had the audacity to complain that she usually doesn’t spend that much.

Me: “Huh. Weird. My bill is about the same.”

And that was that. She never invited me for a meal again, and when I invited her, she said she couldn’t afford it. I still see her occasionally, and she’s still bitter.