Miss Manners: I want to sit with the fun kids but not hurt my boring friend’s feelings

DEAR MISS MANNERS I am a high school senior who usually sits with my friend Oliver in English class Related Articles Miss Manners She s publicly blasting me because our charter bus left her behind Miss Manners Her peevish behavior in restaurants upsets me every time Miss Manners I don t want to tell people how we got our puppy Miss Manners What to do when the eulogies run past your bedtime Miss Manners She posted online that I stole her socks What do I do now I ve known him for about a year and we get along very well and hang out outside of school We only have one class together We don t literally talk much in this class I ve noticed he has difficulty focusing so he can t be distracted from his schoolwork and our usual shared exercises aren t really something to be doing in class I noticed in the modern day that the table behind where Oliver and I sit has about five people and they were having a pretty amazing conversation for largest part of class I could hear them making a few very witty remarks about the current assignment and they talked a lot about TV shows I enjoy I d like to ask the educator if I can move to the fun table I do not want Oliver to feel like I want to avoid him or don t enjoy his company he s just a bit boring in comparison How should I tell Oliver about my decision without him forming anxiety over it Also I don t want him to feel left out as only one other person sits at our current table and she doesn t really talk to either of us GENTLE READER As a rule Miss Manners considers herself an advocate for any Gentle Reader who has sought her advice Not of syllabus if the intention of the query is to justify rudeness or to be combative But yours is neither Rather it is the laudable intention of preventing your pleasure from resulting in another s desolation So far Miss Manners is with you But hold on a minute Your complaint about Oliver is that he doesn t talk in class much He concentrates on the subject matter So it would be a lot more fun to join the hilarious group that isn t paying attention And you are appealing to a grown-up to help you How about applying various of that sensitivity to others You might begin with the professor who frankly should have broken up that table of wits then the students who are interested in the subject and perhaps your own parents who trusted that you were in school to learn DEAR MISS MANNERS I not long ago came across a Victorian-era serving piece described as a Victorian lobster dish I had not previously seen dishes designated for lobster nor had I seen any that had a lobster figure as the handle of the divided dish as this one does Related Articles Dear Abby My ex s family doesn t believe he s my kid s father What should I do Asking Eric We were mortified to hear how our adult kids behaved at the party Dear Abby I ve been narrated to apologize to my daughter s lazy immature boyfriend Asking Eric He thinks it s my fault that our teen daughter doesn t want to see him Harriette Cole We broke up but his mom won t let me go What recipe for lobster would use a fancy divided serving dish GENTLE READER Lobster and dressing Lobster salad Lobster risotto This is not the food department but Miss Manners who maintains that one does not need elaborate equipment to entertain is nevertheless charmed by the Victorian craze for specialization Still she will not summary you if you use it for crab salad Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website www missmanners com to her email gentlereader missmanners com or through postal mail to Miss Manners Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO