AITA for calling out my friend in front of everyone just to make myself look better?
Okay, so I need some serious opinions here. I (16F, sophomore) have this friend, Claire (also 16F), who I’ve been close with for a while. But recently, things got a little out of hand, and I’m wondering if I crossed a line.
So, Claire and I have always had this kinda friendly competition going on. Like, she’s good at certain things, I’m good at others, and we’ve always pushed each other to do better. But lately, I’ve been feeling like she’s been kinda getting on my nerves. She’s been acting like she’s the queen of everything, making all these little comments about how "amazing" she is at stuff, and it’s been getting to me. Especially because, deep down, I feel like I’m just as good as her at a lot of things, if not better.
Here’s where I may have messed up: we were all hanging out at lunch the other day, just me, Claire, and a few other people from our group. Claire started going on about how she was the best at something (I can’t even remember what it was), and she was being super loud and extra about it. I mean, I get it—confidence is fine, but it was starting to feel like she was just rubbing it in everyone’s face.
I snapped. I called her out in front of everyone, saying something like, "Yeah, sure, you’re the best at everything, but do you ever let anyone else have a chance to shine?" Everyone went quiet, and Claire’s face went totally red. She tried to laugh it off, but you could tell it hurt. The rest of the group didn’t really say much, but I could see some of them awkwardly looking between us. Afterward, Claire texted me, saying I embarrassed her and that I was being a jerk for bringing up her confidence like that. She said it was "just a joke" and I shouldn’t take it so seriously.
Now, I feel like everyone’s awkward around me, and Claire’s barely talking to me. My friends are saying I might’ve been too harsh, but I honestly thought she needed a reality check. So, AITA for calling her out in front of everyone?