Public transportation can be particularly uncomfortable when it’s crowded.
In today’s story, a student boards a train that’s so crowded that many people are standing, yet one mom and her kids are taking up more seats than they need.
The student decided to get revenge on the mom.
Let’s see how the story plays out…
Take up seven seats with three people? Taste my backpack.
I was on my way home after spending a few months living at a boarding school at the time and was taking the commuter train from the capital to my parents house.
I’d already been traveling by long-distance train for close to five hours and was understandably tired.
The train arrives, packed up already and the horde of people pour in, I could have waited fifteen minutes for the next train but it wouldn’t have been much better.
I get onto the train and spot Karen(40+F) and her two kids (<8M) were taking up a total of seven seats on a train that would have been crowded even with four more seats free.
She made no effort to stop her kids from LYING ACROSS TWO AND THREE SEATS RESPECTIVELY even as the train was bursting at the seams with more people standing than sitting.
She sat next to Karen.
I declared an oath of vengeance, thankfully wearing a big coat and clunky backpack as I was traveling home from boarding school.
I took up spot right in front of her, holding on to one of the handles whilst shoving my backpack and bum in her face.
I was probably blocking at least part of the view of her phone.
Could I have taken my backpack off? Absolutely.
It’d have been crowded but I didn’t have to keep it on in a hot train.
Karen confronted her.
I then proceeded to make that 20+ minute train ride as miserable as I could for that Karen.
Any shaking or rumble of the train I *accidentally* bumped my backpack into her face, stepped on her toes or swung it in front of her face.
About five minutes in she tapped my back and I heard her say “eXcuSe mE! Your backpack is hitting me.”
She continued to make the ride difficult for Karen.
As fake apologetic that I could I turned around (sweeping the straps across her again) and said “Yeah it’s pretty crowded here. Not a single seat left.”
Felt amazing to just turn back around ignoring any response she might have given, I didn’t care, I was trying to see if I had a fart in store but sadly I’d eaten healthy that day.
I made sure she did not get to enjoy the next fifteen minutes of that ride, even as seats opened up I kept the spite up.
It was finally her train stop.
Could I have tried diplomacy?
Yeah. But I felt like she didn’t deserve the chance to make things right at the time.
She had been on the train longer than I had and it was already full before I got on at the capital.
Once my stop came up I remember considering following the train until she got off too.
There were only three or so more stops, but it would be more time to try and Super Saiyan some gas through my rectum but I decided to just get off and head home instead.
I did notice her glaring at me through the window as I left so I flashed her a smile… and my middle finger.
Her friends and family had mixed reactions to this story.
When I told the story at home I got mixed responses.
Dad was proud, younger siblings praised me as a hero and Mom thought I was justified until I flipped her off (Which tbh I don’t understand.
I was stepping on her toes and shoving my public transport backpack in her face but a finger was too far?)
So I’ll accept any judgement here. I’ve heard from friends “Oh you don’t have kids, she was probably tired too, you can’t just assault someone for being rude” but they’re the minority.
It is hard to know what the situation was like from Karen’s perspective. Her kids could’ve been particularly difficult that day.
Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…
This parent would’ve handled things differently.
Here’s the perspective of another parent…
This reader would’ve been more aggressive.
Another reader disagrees with OP’s mom.
It was a balance of bad behavior.
I wonder what he would’ve done if she hadn’t been wearing a backpack.
Too bad about not being able to conjure some gas, though.
If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.