I always thought it would be pretty difficult to have roommates who were much younger…

And now I know that it’s true, thanks to this story from Reddit!

But fear not, friends, because this person got even with her nasty roomies.

Check out what happened!

Bias Towards Seafood and Screaming Results in a “Healthy” Dish of Family Karma.

“For 7 months I, an East Asian (non-Vietnamese) lived in a household of 4 disrespectful, dull, mostly-narcissistic students in their Senior years of getting their Bachelors’ Degrees in similarly dull, un-discussed majors at a local, EXPENSIVE Christian college in Texas.

The primary bond was the food among them (the universal display of cooperation, attention-seeking, or apology-making – depending on the occasion) and so was the group shopping (to which I was never invited at the local American Costco) despite me being old enough to be their Grandmother, and studying to become a Hermitess-Nun (which I thought would go over well with their Buddhist beliefs).

These people were RUDE.

Well – I got consecrated as Hermitess sooner than expected (around Christmas time and well before Vietnamese New year) and – no congratulations, but an increased amount of side-eyes every now and then, and a distinct presence of people walking away from me and texting on their phones whenever I would begin to start conversation beyond “yes” or “no” answers with them.

No “thank you’s” when I paid out of my own pocket to hang appropriate holiday decorations that they obviously couldn’t afford (because they were spending it on liquor and weed on selected weekends), I thought the intermittent visits from The Landlady herself from Vietnam would turn things around.

It didn’t.

Different methods were tried for group text and cooperation and friendliness but – no, the majority of the household was hell-bent on existing in its own bubble. Finally, the Landlady revealed herself by word and deed as Narcissistic Ringleader of the group as Spring approached.

Final Exams were prepared for, and Graduation Day celebration at the house. All hell broke loose when she suddenly got a notice in the mail that her property taxes had gone up by $1,000 – at the same time that she learned her daughter had lost yet another college scholarship for continued education.

This was getting ugly…

The daughter’s boyfriend was summarily booted out of the house for premarital sleepovers, which resulted in audible rounds of screaming between mom and daughter, usually followed by nights on the phone to Vietnam for the family to coordinate “how to sell off the house.”

But apparently, the scream fests and drama simply weren’t enough unless shared with an innocent bystander, and a scapegoat had to be chosen.

I was alternately blamed, talked-down-to, response-baited, then also SCREAMED AT in rounds that only the Landlady chose, only what she thought my room should look like, only what she thought I should act like, only when she thought I should “move out” ( = “you move out in 3 days or I call Police!”) when other people couldn’t hear her/see her on the kitchen camera.

Exhausted, I sadly thought to myself, “So…..you said you were of Asian extraction, right, and now they’re trying to test your limits as their own Asian Kid…….snap…..!”

It was time to get busy.

So, A.) First order of Malicious Compliance meant I kept friendly email communication with the co-owner of the house: the only name that was on the Lease, anyway – not hers – behind her back as she spun out of control.

B.) Second order of Malicious Compliance: The Landlady talked about calling the Police so much that I decided that if I wasn’t video-ing her verbal attacks, I myself would “call the local Police” to see instead how she would handle the unexpected visit.

That was freaking awesome.

The Police told me that the only answer she knew to all the questions they asked was “yes, while nodding her head” so they asked me to tell her daughter (fellow roommate) to say they came to “calm her down and do a wellness check on me.” (this means the Humiliation of the Narcissistic ringleader, as word spreads that “Mom is unwell and screaming.”)

C.) Finally, the Third Order of Malicious Compliance was carried out when “Landlady” decided to exact revenge in a different way while still not daring to open her mouth in front of me in private or in public anymore. (She soon learned that her Son had promised me my Deposit money back the same day I was to move out, which made me very happy indeed.)

This sounds annoying.

So here’s how it went: this was a fish-eating household full of garlic, soy sauce and all sorts of pickled fish and entrails considered Vietnamese delicacies, but constantly getting into the AC and causing me allergic reactions while I worked remotely for my employer in the confines of my room.

The fancy Vietnamese cooking finally came to a halt as Graduation Day and my moving out day approached. Screaming Landlady got bolder and more stressed out, and suddenly decided that anything non-fish that I cooked in the oven on Sunday for my weekly meals was to be considered as “unhealthy, allergic and gives me allergies! You must turn off the AC and open all the windows when you cook whatever that is from now on!”

“Ok- I’m going to do you a healthy dish of Buddhist Karma, and make sure you enjoy it, then,” I thought.

On my last day of cooking there, I made sure I didn’t buy any of my regular foods – only fish.

I hadn’t cooked in several days so the entire group of family members and renters had gone out for Mother’s Day with the other Vietnamese parents, the AC was on (just barely – with all the whining about the electricity bills dominating household conversations now), windows closed, and living room fan adjacent to the open kitchen operating well.

This was going to be a big surprise.

It was so simple to fry up all that fish while they were gone, and I fried ALL of it, then wrapped it like I would my regular food, stuck it in the freezer, went to my room, turned my air purifier on, and waited for them to get home with the visiting Vietnamese parents in tow or not.

I could hear the coughing, the raising of windows, the comments, the back door to the kitchen being opened, but nobody came a-knocking on my room door to scream at me.

And YES, I did get my Deposit money back the same day I moved out, with no one daring to talk to me about anything while I loaded up the U Haul.

Now THAT’S how to still enjoy fish while you’re allergic to it!”

Here’s what folks had to say on Reddit.

This person weighed in.

And another reader shared their thoughts.

She hit them right in the face with a stinky surprise!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.