The group chat always starts polite. “He was really looking at you.” Then someone else jumps in with, “No, but did you see his face?”

By the time the brunch photo gets screenshotted, the chat has turned into a tiny investigation. Who liked it. Which ex watched the story. Why the waiter brought her dessert first. Somebody blames the lighting, because apparently men at bars are famous for studying sun angles.

Under the jokes is the part nobody says cleanly: they had placed her in a finished category. Now the category is leaking all over the table.