Walking All Over You

(I, a German, invite my American friend to my place for two weeks of vacation and knowing she probably won’t get the chance again, offer to go see London with her for a few days despite me having been there before and not making enough at my job to just fly to other cities without difficulty. I do save up, though, and she knows about my situation, herself not having that kind of problem anymore despite being in a similar situation only a few years before. I drive us to the airport, two hours from my home, we fly to London, find the tube, find the office to pick up the keys to the apartment we rented, and walk there since the map says it’s not far. My friend HATES walking, as I’ve come to find out, and she constantly complains about having to walk everywhere, even to the tube station, which is an outrage apparently… First evening after settling in, we decide to look around the area and promptly get lost. I find the way back, but by now she’s in such a bad mood that she just stops and refuses to move anymore.)

Friend: “I’m gonna call a cab.”

Me: “The street our apartment is on is right over there. We can walk there in less than five minutes? I don’t want to pay for a cab for that small distance.”

Friend: “I. Am. Not. Walking. Anymore!”

(She flags a cab, one of the black, expensive ones, and makes me talk to the driver, who is surprised that we’d stop him for that small distance, but I tell him we’re tourists and got lost and he’s nice enough to take us there. He and I make small-talk on the (very short) way despite me having problems understanding his accent while she sits in stony silence and stares out of the window. Less than two minutes later we’re in front of our door.)

Friend: *looks at me* “You got the fare?” *gets out*

Me: *speechless*

(I paid, and the vacation only got worse from there. We’re not friends anymore.)