Recently I’ve been contacted by a woman who was on my university course and has just moved to my town, wanting to meet up (after life returns to normal). At university I found her incredibly clingy and draining and she was always obsessed with comparing and getting better grades than me on every assignment. I thought after she left that would be the last of her and I wouldn’t have to deal with it again. We didn’t stay in touch.
I don’t think she has changed her competitive ways as she “subtly” dropped in to the message twice that she had bought a house (we are in our late twenties and this is still quite an achievement for our peers) and to compound it all, she went on to gain a PhD whereas I didn’t (went into industry instead) which will be another thing for her to feel superior about.
How do I deal with this in a dignified way? We live in a small town and it’s very easy to bump into people you know, plus our field is quite small. At university I was too meek to tell her to shut up, but now I’m older I really can’t be bothered!