New friend group? Watch for a couple of weeks. You’ll learn who’s kind, who’s fake, and who’s in charge.

Groups have structures that are never announced. Two weeks of watching shows you who is generous when nothing is at stake, who performs warmth, who decides where everyone goes, and who is quietly not enjoying themselves. None of it is visible on the first evening, when everyone is on their best behavior.

Be friendly from the start and slow about which people you attach yourself to. Notice who speaks well of absent members and who does not, since that is the clearest single signal. You are not auditioning, you are choosing too.