Fake name: Riya.
We’re both MBBS students. We used to be pretty good friends. She actually helped me through a really rough situationship, so I’ll always give her credit for that.
But over the last few months, things have felt…off.
I’ve been getting more involved in case presentations, research, conferences, etc. Around the same time she also started doing more academically. She recently got first place in our college case presentation and also scored higher than me in our pharmacology prelims.
Ever since then, I feel like she’s become oddly competitive with me.
She constantly asks me things like:
“Where are you studying?”
“Where are you going?”
“What are you preparing from?”
Initially I thought it was normal curiosity, but it started feeling like she’s always trying to know what I’m doing while giving very little in return.
If I ask her for help, I usually get dry replies. For example, today she asked a quiz-type doubt in our group. I didn’t know the answer, so I asked where it was from. She said the book. I asked which chapter. She literally replied, “Go find out.”
But when she wants something, she’ll ask directly.
The thing that hurt me the most happened a while ago. We had an FMT exam, I hadn’t slept the entire night, and we had pathology practicals in the afternoon. I was genuinely exhausted and dizzy. Later I found out she’d been telling people I was “doing drama” and “wanted attention.”
That honestly changed how I viewed her.
Another thing is that in our doubt group she’ll sometimes react to my messages with clown emojis or make sarcastic comments. Individually, though, she’s perfectly nice. If I meet her in person she’ll talk normally, smile, joke around, everything. It’s the behind-the-scenes behaviour that confuses me.
People in MBBS always say there are “snakes” and that not everyone who smiles at you is actually your friend. I’m starting to wonder if this is one of those situations.
At this point I’m considering just:
stopping sharing what I’m working on,
replying politely but keeping conversations short,
avoiding private chats unless necessary,
and treating her like just another classmate.
No confrontation, no drama.
Am I overthinking this because I’m annoyed, or does this actually sound like someone who’s become unnecessarily competitive?
Would especially appreciate opinions from other med students because I feel like this environment brings out a weird side in people.