Free meals are always fun to have.

But if getting a free meal means paying for someone else’s pricey order the following day, then… no, thank you.

This is what OP realized quite late in the story after her colleague asked her to pay for their $22-meal.

Of course, she refused. But now, everybody thinks she’s a jerk.

AITAH for not paying for my coworkers lunch?

I’m a first responder, and was riding along with another shift for training purposes.

The first day, we drove through Chic-fil-A.

I ordered a small Mac and Cheese. In our area, that’s about $4.

He ordered a whole meal.

OP’s ride-along partner paid for her meal.

When we got to the window, they gave us 50% off, making mine $2.

The guy I was riding with said, “Don’t worry, I’ll cover you”.

“Cool. Thank you for covering my $2. I appreciate it.” Lol.

They ordered a meal again, but…

Second day, we went to a local bistro that’s decently pricey.

I ordered a salad that was about $10.

His meal totaled out to just over $20.

When we went to the register to pay, he told them, “She’s going to cover mine,” while pointing at me.

To say I was appalled is an understatement.

OP refused to pay for her partner’s meal.

The cashier looked at me and I calmly stated, “No, I will just be covering myself.”

The guy I was riding with got mad and started saying he covered me for lunch yesterday, so it’s only right that I cover him.

I’m not confrontational, but I’m also no punk. Lol.

I calmly stated, “$2 does not constitute $22 (or whatever the total was). If you’d like me to give you $2 to cover my small side I ordered yesterday, I will absolutely do that.”

“But I will not be paying for your meal,” and handed my card to the cashier.

They got into a heated argument.

He paid for his meal, and we went outside where he refused to let me get into the vehicle.

He continued to argue and cause a scene in the parking lot.

He told me I’m not longer allowed to ride with him, so I called for a supervisor.

Even the supervisor is siding with OP’s partner.

Once the supervisor arrived, he told them that he covered my lunch yesterday, and that I refused to extend the same courtesy, and that I embarrassed him and caused a scene, and he no longer feels comfortable riding with me.

I explained my side to the supervisor and apologized, because this is literally so ridiculous. Lol.

The supervisor essentially said I was wrong because I should’ve just been respectful and paid for him like he did me.

She continued to explain her side.

At this point, I was pissed and told them this sounds like extortion and that I wasn’t going to be taken advantage of.

I told them that $2 is a whole lot different than $22.

We’re first responders, and we don’t make a lot of money.

I continued to say if he wanted me to buy him a drink from the gas station or give him $2, I had absolutely no problem doing so, but I was not going to be bullied into covering his meal because he covered mine.

I ended up riding with someone else, because obviously, riding with him is no longer an option.

Everyone thinks what she did was wrong.

The person I switched to also said I was wrong and should’ve just paid for his meal.

I don’t think I’m wrong here.

Had I known the previous day that I would be expected to pay for his expensive meal after paying for my $2 mac and cheese, I would’ve never let him cover me.

I feel like since he put me on the spot, me putting him on the spot in return was only fair.

Is she really the jerk?

I don’t feel like I caused a scene.

I wasn’t the one who argued and refused to unlock the doors.

But now everyone’s saying that I’m not a team player and I embarrassed him, as well as our place of work.

Am I wrong here? AITAH?

Let’s see what other Reddit users have to say about this story.

This user says it’s clearly bullying.

Time to involve the HR, says this one.

Here’s the confusing part.

Gender war!

Finally, this user thinks it’s ridiculous!

These are teammates I wouldn’t wish to have. No, thank you.

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