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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/WestIndividual5260 on 2023-09-10 00:29:20.
A few days ago, I (27F) visited a restaurant to catch up with some childhood friends. I’m not trying to brag, but I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning. My friends and I grew up in a small town in England filled with poverty. Most of my friends work full-time but struggle to make ends meet; some have a family of their own now. I was the only one in the friendship group to go to university, and I now earn a comfortable salary where I won’t have to worry financially.
Looking back now, this should have been a red flag, but when I got there, my friends ordered loads of stuff, like meals with at least five sides each and many drinks. I was a bit flabbergasted as my friends were complaining they didn’t have much money to spend, and some of my thoughts were it must have been payday as it was the start of the month. I ordered myself a cheese burger meal with an extra side of onion rings. Once I finished my dinner I asked if I could have the bill for my food.
When the bill came I thought they got it wrong as it came to £870.00, and there were about eight or nine of us. I told the waiter there was a mistake as I had calculated my account, which totalled £15.00. The waiter told me he was told to do it as one whole bill as I would pay in full. I told the waiter that’s not happening and I said I only want to pay for the food I ate and I told him what I had. The waiter returned to the till and got a new bill printed which was my total; I paid and went home as I was irritated and pissed.
My friends are in a difficult position right now, but if they asked me two or three days in advance if I could pay the bill for all of them, I would have politely said yes as they would have asked, but they didn’t. The next day, I woke up to some angry texts from our WhatsApp group chat. One of my friends in the group chat PM’d me and explained the situation. He managed to pay for his dinner but said an argument broke out in this group, and the manager got involved. Most of the bill was born, but they couldn’t afford the rest and had to stay and clean for two hours. Most of the group are still pissed about the situation and me not paying the bill.
I feel like I’m an asshole here because I didn’t foot the bill and feel guilty due to the fact I found out they had to do cleaning and they’re struggling with money now.
AITA for this? I appreciate your judgement as part of me feels guilty but at the same time not guilty as they didn’t ask me.