Sentence:  I felt superior to the neighborhood <WSD>friends</WSD> I was leaving behind , felt older than my years , and was full of compliments for myself as I headed into the subway that was carrying its packs of passengers out of that dull borough and into the unstable , tantalizing excitement of Manhattan . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a person you know well and regard with affection and trust