in 8th grade, my friend marcus borrowed five dollars from me for the vending machine at school and never paid me back. i didn't care at first. but around sophomore year it became a running joke. every birthday, every graduation, every random group chat, i'd bring it up. "marcus, you still owe me five dollars." he'd always say "i'll get you eventually." fifteen years went by. we went to different colleges, got different jobs, and somehow stayed close. i even put "$5 - marcus" in my phone notes just to keep the joke alive. last month he got married, and he asked me to be his best man. i stood up to give my toast, and before i could even start, he grabbed the mic out of my hand. "before anything else, i'd like to settle a debt," he said. the whole room went quiet.