Birthday dinners are supposed to be a fun way to celebrate, not a breeding ground for drama and resentment.

One friend’s over-the-top ordering at a fancy restaurant soon led to a confrontation that made everyone uncomfortable.

You’ll want to read on to find out how it all played out.

AITA for not footing the bill for a birthday dinner after my friend ordered enough sushi for a small country?

My friend Beth recently turned 18 and had a birthday dinner at a fancy restaurant. There were about 15 or 20 of us.

She is really close with two girls, Lia and Kat. They have been best friends for years and have this very intense, no-boundaries type of friendship. They go through each other’s phones, eat off each other’s plates, that kind of thing.

This was very much a departure from the type of friendships she was used to.

I met them last year when uni started. I am not used to that. Even with friends I have known forever, I ask before I touch their stuff or try their food. The trio teases me for this habit & they say I am too formal.

At dinner, Lia told everyone to order whatever they wanted and that it was all covered. I asked if she was sure and she said, “Me saying it is the same as Beth saying it.” It felt a bit off, but I let it go.

So she continued with the dinner, still trying to tread lightly.

I just ordered a Coke and shared some of what was on the table. I asked Lia if I could get a beer and she gave me a weird look and said, “Idk.”

So I asked Beth, and she said I could but that her parents do not like alcohol, so I would need to pay for it myself.

I said that was not a problem but still was getting dirty looks from Lia (maybe she wanted a beer too but didn’t want to pay, idk) so ended up not ordering it to avoid more awkwardness.

Nevertheless, the other girls continued ordering like there was no tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Lia and Kat kept ordering a lot of sushi. I love sushi too, but for a group that size, it did not seem practical. I just ate whatever was already there and had a good time.

But soon the real drama started.

Later, I saw Beth sitting with my friend Millie and she looked really upset. Her mom had called and was angry because the bill was much higher than expected. Beth said Lia went overboard with the ordering and now she had to deal with it.

I felt really bad and said maybe next time she could plan a set menu or do the ordering herself. We stayed with her, comforted her, and tried to help her feel better. Lia was across the room laughing, acting like nothing happened.

The bill got paid and we all left. Millie and I just gave each other that look like, “That was wild,” and moved on.

It didn’t end there, though.

A few days later, Lia sent me angry texts. She said Millie and I were stirring up drama and trying to come between her and Beth and ruined her rep in front of Beth’s parents.

She also said that if we felt so bad for Beth, we should send her mom the money.

I was honestly shocked. We did not say anything bad about Lia. We just tried to be kind when Beth was upset.

So she refused, which only made things worse.

I told her no. Respectfully, we are broke uni students & we were not the ones telling people to order freely.

Now everything is awkward and tense and I hate it. I want to sort it out, but I do not think I should be blamed for all of it, right? Sorry if this all sounds like petty high school drama.

Should I have just paid to keep the peace? AITA?

It was supposed to be a simple, low-stress birthday dinner… until things got weird.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter has some choice words about Lia.

Lia would much rather shift the blame than accept the responsibility herself.

The responsibility here falls squarely on Lia.

Lia deserves pretty much everything coming her way.

She tried hard not to stir the pot, but somehow she still ended up getting burned.

Ultimately she just came to support her friend, not get dragged into all this drama.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.