Helping neighbors with their lawns is supposed to be a fulfilling way to give back to the community.

But when one overly demanding neighbor pushed one exhausted high schooler too far, her yard became a cautionary tale in taking words too literally.

You’ll want to read on for this one!

Everything green? Okay…

When I was in high school and still living at home, we were required to do community service in order to graduate.

Those who did more than the minimum 10 hours were granted a recommendation from the high school to any college they applied to, identifying them as a “contributor to society.”

But this high schooler already had an impressive work ethic.

I had been running my own lawn-care business — better described as a community service — since 9th grade. By my senior year, all of my neighbors were having their yards mowed and trimmed by me.

In my final year of high school, I was still mowing lawns for free, as many of my neighbors were elderly and couldn’t manage the upkeep themselves. At the same time, I had become the alternate captain of my high school’s hockey team.

Most people were very grateful for his charitable spirit, except one woman.

Of course, there was always one person who had extra demands, regardless of what else I needed to get done. Let’s call her Karen.

Her yard was usually the last one I mowed since her house was closest to mine.

Initially, her requests were minor — things like moving lawn furniture so I could mow the entire yard properly.

But one day came the perfect storm.

Then came the day I’d had enough.

I had just mowed five yards in 95-degree Fahrenheit heat after finishing an hour-long conditioning session for hockey and another for lacrosse. I was already in a bad mood.

I got through all the yards without issue because most of my neighbors appreciated the work I was doing for free. Then it was Karen’s turn.

I was already running late for practice and knew it. As I started wheeling my mower out of her yard, I heard, “Where do you think you’re going?”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

I was stunned, as I wasn’t used to people running out and yelling at me.

At that point, I had finished mowing and was about to put away the spray jug of Roundup after spraying all the weeds in her yard.

I responded, “I’m done. I’m going home.”

Karen wasn’t going to allow this.

Karen snapped, “You’re leaving without completing my yard? There’s a lot of green that I’m not approving! I won’t sign off until all of the green in the yard has been hit!”

Cue malicious compliance.

He repeated her demand back to her, just to make sure he had it right.

I looked at her and said, “You want me to hit everything that’s green before I leave?”

Karen replied, “I want you to hit anything green before you leave.”

I think you can already see where this is going.

So he did exactly that!

As a high schooler told to spray “anything green,” I took her literally. I started spraying everything green.

Then came the hilarious fallout.

The next day after school, my dad called me into a room. When I walked in, Karen was there, scowling.

She said, “You killed all of my yard.”

I replied, “You told me to Roundup everything green in your yard.”

His dad presses Karen.

My dad asked, “Is that actually what you told him?”

Karen denied it at first. “Absolutely not!”

My dad pressed her, “Okay, what did you say?”

Karen hesitated before quietly admitting, “I told him to hit anything green in the yard.”

Now dad was on his side.

I hadn’t seen such a big grin on my dad’s face in ages.

He turned to me and said, “You didn’t…”

I responded, “I did.”

And he did it with gusto.

I had sprayed Roundup on Karen’s entire yard. Anything green? Roundup. Grass? Roundup. Flowers with green stems? Roundup. Her prized orchids? Roundup.

Since I was already late for practice, I didn’t just use the recommended level of concentrate — I doubled it.

The fallout was entertaining.

Luckily, his good reputation with his other neighbors helped him stave off any trouble with the law.

With the rest of the neighborhood vouching for the excellent care I provided for their yards, Karen’s attempt to report me to the police for property damage backfired.

She was warned for filing a false police report and scolded by the officers for giving instructions she didn’t actually want followed.

Turns out, this will be a lifelong grudge for Karen.

I’ve since moved back to the same neighborhood I grew up in. I still see Karen occasionally. She glares at me every time, and her yard has yet to recover.

Sounds like Karen (fitting name) got exactly what she deserved.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

In all likelihood, Karen probably enjoyed bossing around a high schooler more than she actually needed the assistance.

It sounds like roundup is some pretty dang powerful stuff.

This redditor knows that sometimes a big smile can cut deeper than a middle finger.

This commenter doesn’t really get community service.

If Karen is going to be so demanding, she really should be more clear with her instructions.

Choose your words carefully – or else!

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.