One of my close friends called me last week and casually asked if I was free on Saturday night.
I said probably, thinking he wanted to go out somewhere.
Then he said, “Perfect bhai, meri flight 2:40 AM land hogi. Pick kar lena.”
For context, the airport is around 55 km from my house.
I laughed because I genuinely thought he was joking. He wasn't.
I asked why he wasn't just taking a cab and he said airport cabs are expensive, plus “apni gaadi me comfortable rahega.”
Apni gaadi.
My gaadi. 😭
The thing is, if he had called me and said he was stuck, had too much luggage, no cabs available, family emergency, anything like that… I would've gone without thinking twice. He's an old friend.
But this was a completely normal domestic flight. Cabs were available. He just didn't want to spend ₹1,500.
When I said it would take me almost four hours round trip, he got slightly annoyed and said, “Bhai dosti me itna bhi nahi kar sakta?”
That line irritated me more than the actual request.
Because now if I refuse, I'm apparently a bad friend. If I agree, I spend half my night driving 110 km because he wants to save cab money.
I eventually told him I had plans and couldn't come. He replied with just “koi na 👍”.
Since then he's been noticeably cold in the group chat.
Am I being selfish here? I genuinely can't tell anymore where “helping a friend” ends and “free driver because you own a car” begins.