While we would all love to imagine siblings always getting along well, sometimes they just don’t.
But some siblings make their relationship more hostile than necessary, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
While taking the same advanced placement class as his sister, Redditor Long-Caramel3291 decided to distance himself as much as possible from her.
But when this turned into a months-long silent treatment, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he handled the situation poorly.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for pretending not to know my sister in a class that we’re both in?”
The OP and his sister were in the same advanced physics class.
“This happened at the start of summer, but its effects are still ongoing.”
“I’m (17 Male) taking AP Physics 1 this summer so that I can take AP Physics 2 in my senior year.”
“My sister also is taking AP Physics 2 and therefore is also taking AP Physics 1 this summer in the same middle college as me.”
The OP was embarrassed by her presence in class.
“The thing is that she’s going to be a junior, a year behind me.”
“It’s embarrassing as h**l to have my younger sister in the same advanced class as me, and I genuinely hate it.”
During class, the OP decided to distance himself.
“On one of the first days of class at the beginning of June, my sister came to my table to ask me a question, and I responded with, ‘Wait, sorry, who are you?'”
“She laughed, but I repeated it in a serious tone.”
“She responded with, ‘I’m your fu,’ and then I cut her off before she could finish and told her that I don’t help absolute randos in class.”
“My sister could tell I was being dead serious, so she just laughed a bit, shook her head, and walked away.”
This interaction caused way more problems than the OP expected.
“I’m not lying when I say this: we haven’t spoken a word to each other since that day.”
“At first, it started with my sister ignoring me, but then I got kind of petty and started to ignore her back, and well, we’re in the present time now.”
“Our parents don’t notice because they’re always busy at work, and at the dinner table, they’re the ones who initiate conversation.”
“AITA in all this?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some thought the OP created more problems for himself in the classroom.
“Someone should tell OP that by treating his sister badly, he called just as much attention, if not more, to the relationship than just casually answering her would have.”
“I also wonder how much sexism plays a part here also? Not only is his younger sibling in the same AP Physics class, but that sibling is also a girl. Everyone knows girls can’t be good at Physics. (ends sarcastic comment)” – MidnyteStorme
“I’m sure they’re all gossipy about and judging OP now.”
“They all saw and heard how much of a dick OP is and are, presumably, smart enough to realize that two people who look alike and have the same name are related.” – mydeadmom
“YTA.”
“You would get a lot more respect, and people would like you more, if you did the exact opposite, and bragged about how smart your younger sister is. ‘She’s in this hard class with us, and she’s a junior! Gonna have to work hard to keep up with you, Girl Genius! High five!'”
“Then occasionally use the nickname Girl Genius, which will endear you to every female student who hears it.”
“Women like a man who is caring, and chivalrous towards other women, especially his family. If I saw a guy treating his own sister the way you’re doing here, I would have nothing but contempt for him.” – MizWhatsIt
“If OP is straight, he’d have an in with the junior girls. ALL my girlfriends in jr high and high school had crushes on my football player older brother. He was too old for them (four years) but if we were closer in age, he would have had an easy time finding dates.”
“It got really tiresome, all the giggling that would start when he came home and I had friends over. Luckily my brother is a good guy and he would pretend not to notice. He wasn’t interested in young girls.” – Pencils_
“Here is how a well-balanced, mature older brother responds. I have rewritten your entire interaction just in case the advice isn’t clear enough.”
“Big bro: how awesome is it that we are in the same class, I’m so proud of you. Let me know if you need any help. Together we will ace this class.”
“Little sis: I’m so happy that I get to study this challenging class with my big bro. This could be a real bonding experience.”
“End scene. YTA.” – Puzzleheaded_Mud_231
Others pointed out that he should be more embarrassed for how he handled the situation.
“OP has main character syndrome where he thinks anyone would actually care about this. As if a giant record scratch noise and gasps would be heard across the land once it was known his younger sister was in the room.” – LurksAroundHere
“I would not have paid attention to it when I was younger if I was in that class, especially since different students excel in different areas in school.”
“Once OP started acting immature, I would absolutely start to pay attention and would find it interesting. I would also root for the younger sister to do well after seeing how much baby OP was acting like.” – InterestingTry5190
“It would be way more normal to just be like, ‘Yep, that’s my sister,’ and leave it at that. we literally had twins in our class and no one cared. We knew they were siblings and that was it.” – mahoganyecho
“At most, OP’s gonna be told his sister is smarter, but they’re probably just both really smart if they are at that high a level of education. OP is h**la insecure.” – MrMakerHasLigma
“Does OP not realize how much of a weirdo his classmates will think he is for pretending he doesn’t know his own sister? It is the most embarrassing and cringeworthy thing he could possibly do.” – PasDeTout
Some also pointed out the sister was not the one to start the silent treatment.
“YTA.”
“‘I’m not lying when I say this: we haven’t spoken a word to each other since that day. At first, it started with my sister ignoring me.’ No, at first it started with you ignoring your sister.”
“You don’t get to put the blame on your sister for this petty fight and act as if you’re shocked she started ignoring you after the way you treated her. You’re honestly acting like an insecure loser, and your classmates will probably think so too when they find out the game you’re playing. Treat your sister better.”
“Oh, and by the way: ‘Then I cut her off and told her that I don’t help absolute randos in class.’ Just so you know, this statement makes you look like an even bigger AH.”
“Most people in the class are ‘absolute randos.’ So unless every single other person in that class is your friend (which I doubt), saying you don’t help ‘randos’ shows you’re not even a kind person to the majority of your classroom. Your classmates are going to think you’re a d**k if you keep up with this charade.” – LurksAroundHere
“YTA. You say you’re seventeen but you remind me of a 10-year-old, the silent treatment you’re getting from your sister is deserved, but your silent treatment is childish.” – lostgirlfrmcanada
“I find it funny you became petty and started ignoring her as well when you were the instigator.”
“YOU IGNORED HER FIRST, and now you are even more pissy that you are receiving the same treatment?”
“Just say you are insecure and envious of your sister and hope she can forgive you someday. Major YTA.” – MyCatsLandlord
“YTA. Your fragile male ego can’t handle your younger sister being at the same scholastic level as you so you disavow knowing her.”
“Of course she is going to ignore you and show you that you are not someone she wants to be around. You need to take the first step and try to fix this because she will continue to ignore you.” – PurpleBugBull
“YTA. When I was in my sophomore year, I was in 2 classes with my stepbrother. My mom/his dad were married, I lived with my dad, and he lived with his mom.”
“Including this info to say, no one had reason to know we were related. Did he ignore me? H**l no! He actually sat right next to me in both classes, and told everyone who I was!”
“Cherish your relationships. Don’t be a butthead about it.” – justwannareadstories
The subReddit was side-eyeing the OP for how he handled this situation and sharing a classroom space with his sister, but they were especially upset with him for saying that she ignored him “first.” He was only having issues with his sister now because of how he treated her during class.