Dear Prudence,
How do I tell someone they can’t be in my prom group? I am a senior and this will be my last prom. Right now, my prom group consists of my boyfriend and three more of my long-term friends (one couple and one solo boy). Another friend of mine asked to be in my friend group; however, none of us want that. She is not friends with the others, although she thinks they like her well enough and she asked me specifically if she could join us.
The truth is, I don’t like her. She desperately wants to be the center of attention at all times, and last year, she went with another group of our older mutual friends while I went with this group. She ended up leaving early because she felt “left out,” despite everyone doing their best to include her. But not before trying to interrupt my boyfriend and me in the middle of a slow dance and crying in the bathroom when I didn’t let her. I really don’t want to go through this again, but she and the friend she is going with have already been left out of another group, and I’m involved in a lot of activities with her, including being co-captains of a sports team and co-presidents of a club. I can’t completely burn bridges with her, but she is suffocating me and I don’t want her to ruin my and my friends last big high school event together. What do I say?