I feel a bit like Mark from Peep Show when he got engaged to Sophie and then realised he didn't love her.

My friends think I've finished university, when in fact I've still got another year to do. This is because I failed my first year, and I didn't tell them at the time because I was embarrassed. I know I've talked about this on here before, but the academic year is over and this shit is starting to get real.

I didn't want to lie to them but they now think I've finished with a 2:1 degree (because they asked me what my results were), and one of them wants me to write for his website, which might involve filling out a form and proving that I have a degree.

But at the same time I suspect they think I'm lying because when I resat my first year I was at home all the time, and I go all quiet whenever they ask me things like 'what's your dissertation about?', which they probably notice. They also used to ask me questions like 'what year are you in?' all the time, which seemed deliberate to make me feel uncomfortable.

They think I'm back at home for good, when in fact I'm going back to university in October (and it's 75 miles away from where I live). They also probably assume I'm looking for work now, when I'm not (and they really hate people who don't work).

I feel really stuck and I don't know what the fuck to do. Telling them the truth is pretty out of the question because they hate people who lie and they'll probably ostracise me from the group if they find out I've been 'lying' to them for the past 2 years, meaning I won't have a social life here, and it's difficult to make new friends here. (They're not all bad, it's just one or two of them who dominate the group and manage to alienate people from the group if they suddenly decide they don't like them.)

Is there anything you can do at university that isn't strictly degree-related but gives you a good reason to be there (i.e. 'research')? I need ideas. I was gonna tell them I'm doing a Masters but it might be a bit late for that now.