November 6, 2024 at 10:25 am

A False Rumor Haunts A Classmate For Years, So A High School Reunion Sparks Long-Buried Grudges And Unresolved Conflicts

by Benjamin Cottrell

Source: Getty/SergiyMolchenko, Getty/manley099, Reddit/AITA

High school reunions are often a chance to reconnect and reflect, but for some, they can revive old wounds.

When a former classmate bitterly confronts them over a false rumor, it becomes clear that some grudges linger longer than anticipated.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to apologize for something I never did?

I graduated high school 15 years ago.

We recently had our 15 year school reunion.

During high school, there was this kid named Ivan.

I didn’t interact much with him, but he hated me.

For the life of my I didn’t understand why, as I hardly ever talked with him.

But one day the “truth” came out.

Until one day during our senior year, I learned that he hated me because he thought I was telling people about his sexuality.

They tried their best to defend their innocence.

I never did and I asked why he thought I was telling people that.

He refused to elaborate and said someone told him I was popping off. (He was straight to the best of my knowledge.)

I told him I’m sorry he thinks that, but I never said that to anyone.

But the grudge remains, even after more than a decade.

Come our high school reunion and he again confronts me about it.

I once more say I never said that.

He accuses me of lying and demands I apologize.

When they refuse, Ivan explodes.

I refuse and he goes off saying I’m a bullying AH and that he’s tired of people assuming he’s not straight because of me.

I again said I never said that, and to be honest, I don’t care if someone is straight or not because I don’t have a problem with it.

He storms off saying it was a waste of time coming and he wishes he would have known ahead of time that I was there.

Now they’re left wondering if they made the right choice.

Maybe I should have apologized just to give him closure or something.

It was probably a little childish, but I’ve had to apologize before for things I never did and I hated it, but I don’t know.

AITA?

It seems Ivan can’t seem to step out of the shadow of the past.

What did Reddit think?

If high school rumors continue to plaque Ivan so badly, a change of scenery could easily remedy that.

Source: Reddit/AITA

It’s Ivan’s own choices that have left him so unhappy over all these years.

Source: Reddit/AITA

This commenter affirms the classmate’s right to not apologize for something they didn’t do.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Another falsely accused person doesn’t think highly of people like Ivan.

Source: Reddit/AITA

Redditors seem to agree: Ivan’s insistence on holding on to this grudge after all these years says more about him than anything else.

Sometimes you just have to let it go.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.