A classroom should be a place of learning and respect, but not every teacher follows that rule. One woman still remembers the impact a terrible homeroom teacher left on her, even years later.

When she holds a memorial for another beloved teacher at her home, the same terrible teacher makes an unexpected appearance.

But instead of revealing his cruelty to his peers, she leaves him to squirm in his own shame in a satisfying role reversal.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

Horrible teacher gets his comeuppance

In junior high, I had a wonderful homeroom teacher—she really cared about every student. She wasn’t afraid to demand good manners and integrity from us.

On the other hand, in high school, I had a horrible homeroom teacher. He badgered female students about all sorts of inappropriate things.

Once, he called me in for a private discussion and told me that everyone in class hated and despised me. It turned out to be untrue, of course.

Luckily, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the greatest joys of finishing high school was finally getting away from him.

Years passed.

I kept in touch with my homeroom teacher from junior high.

Even after school, this beloved teacher still played a big role in her life.

My husband often helped her with technical stuff around her home. Our daughters even treated her as an honorary grandmother.

A year after she passed away, the teachers wanted to hold a memorial meeting for her.

They planned to invite teachers who had known and liked her, along with any students who wished to attend.

She enthusiastically agreed to host the memorial at her own home.

They wanted to hold the meeting at the school in the afternoon, but the principal refused. So they asked me instead, and I gladly agreed to host it in our large living room.

I arranged the room nicely, with photos of her placed all around.

One of the teachers hung a notice about the meeting in the teachers’ lounge, giving the time, our name, and address.

But soon, an unexpected guest arrived.

When the time came, people started arriving. To my surprise, that creep of a homeroom teacher also showed up.

He hadn’t realized it was my home, since I had taken my husband’s surname.

When I opened the door and he saw me, he started and froze.

But her reaction isn’t quite what you’d expect.

I politely invited him in.

The meeting was really good — stories were told, feelings were expressed, and we all truly felt her presence in our memories.

He behaved unexpectedly too.

And he sat there, silent and abashed, hardly saying a word the entire time.

It was a subtle, sweet revenge to see this bully finally cowed.

Time proved to be the most effective teacher here.

Let’s see what Reddit had to say.

This commenter thinks maybe this whole event had him questioning his own legacy as a teacher.

This story really embodies a well-known adage.

This commenter doesn’t think they would treat this teacher so nicely.

Oh, how the tables turn.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.