The Obligation Friend

How You Met:
Your moms have been best friends since University. You have grown up going on camping trips, having sleepovers, spending vacations, and doing joint birthday parties with Sheila. But the weird thing is, you don't actually like her. In fact, you hate her. If you had your choice, Sheila would take up permanent residence in Nunavut. Unfortunately, when she made the long awaited decision to move to the city, she moved into your apartment building, as per her mother's suggestion.


Your Relationship Now:
You couldn't count on five hundred hands how many times you have wanted to stab yourself in the eye while hanging out with Sheila - and yet you still hang out with her, at least twice a week. You do this because every time you talk to your mother, she asks, in that tone that only a mother can, "Have you seen Sheila lately, sweetie? Her mother said that she has been trying to get a hold of you. You should always make sure you have time for your friends." Instead of replying "Ya, she can't get a hold of me because I screen her calls, I use the stairwell instead of the elevator, and I have a pully system rigged up out my window for my friend to put groceries in." You reply, "Ya, Sheila. I'll call her."

So you call her. You fake enthusiasm, just like you have faked your whole life, and invite her over for dinner. As you flip your cell phone shut, you sigh and wonder why, at age 27, you still have to hang out with some lame bitch you despise.


How Do You Deal?
Along with screening Sheila's calls, start screening your Mother's too. Take a deep breath and let the obligation fade away...until it knocks on your apartment door.


This Friend Is Compatible With:
The Stuck-In-The-Past Friend
The Friend Who Has No Other Friends But You