Back in my day, those things were called mitigated imperatives, and they were well-understood as meaning "you will do this this is not a question, I am simply phrasing it nicely to pretend you have a choice".

Today, wouldn't even look at me. Not even a good morning, not even an acknowledgement of me existing.

And it wouldn't get to me if we'd never had a friendship, but because we did... I miss her. And I feel hurt, and like I need to fix it, and it just sucks.

Fuck being afab and AuDHD.

One of the coworkers today, last summer we made each other friendship bracelets, she came to my house, I put a hair wrap in her hair. Then it all just... stopped being friendly. I think because I couldn't back her up on petty grievances with other staff members, because I hate needless drama.

I tried to just go to work, do my job, speak to no one, and they were all like "why don't you ever come sit with us and talk to us?" So then I did, but the 'friendships' are so two faced and backstabbing, and I'm just like... You're adults. Grow up, get over it, stop acting like babies.

I think it would be different if I thought even one person was happy I was coming back. If just one person was like "yay, Neff! I've missed getting to teach near you, this is great!" then I might not feel so disheartened about it all.

But I honestly think my colleagues don't want me back. It hurts.

Me being the only queer one doesn't help, either. Essentially no one respects my pronouns except my manager, so I'm misgendered constantly. Obviously I don't care about the kids or their parents using my pronouns, but my coworkers should fucking bother. I've been there a couple of years now.

I will routinely say that my job, the actual work, is great. It's just everything around it that I hate. And I know it's because I'm autistic, and have ADHD, and sometimes I do stuff people don't like - but I'll always apologise. I'm always willing to learn and grow, and make amends at work.

This is pretty much how work always feels for me, and I hate it. I love my actual work, hanging out with my classes of kids I teach to swim, but my coworkers are a mystery to me. If I don't go and sit with them before shifts, I'm antisocial and not nice, if I do sit with them, I'm awkward and weird

That vertical one looks like a camel?!

I... could not guess what that was, other than cursed.

Yeah, my wife gave me the news and I was like "hell of an innings" and have just been singing snatches of his songs since. What a guy.