during covid, my strategy for claiming my space at group events, was to make a beeline for the table and put my things down, then use the restroom or whatever needed to be done. then when I came back to my spot, I could avoid the 'ole, "you have cooties, so now I have to change spots" reaction from others. well, that strategy always failed, because inevitably the person sitting next to my crap would get up and move away from me, as soon as I sat down. even the man interviewing us at the witches meetup mentioned it the next time I saw him. he noticed it, too. there were I don't know how many people sitting around the table, so it was really stupid, but as a newcomer, I often notice the queen bee wannabe dynamic playing out just about everywhere I go.