Being a retail employee means enforcing rules, even when they’re unpopular.

One teen tried to sweet talk his way into getting GTA 5 without meeting legal age requirements, thinking charm would win.

But when his mother found out exactly why the game had received such a mature rating, the situation exploded into a dramatic, memorable retail meltdown.

Read on for the full story!

How I made a Kid cry or “Tales from a Retro Game Store”

I work at a small, privately owned retro game store. You name it, I have something for it.

This tale takes place a few days after GTA 5 came out. On this slow day at work, I was killing time doing what I usually do: playing SNES games on one of our displays.

It had been an hour or so since my last customer, so I was itching to make a sale when Mom and Kid came in. I jumped up and gave them my spiel, and they assured me they were fine and were just looking.

But when the employee saw what game the kid was trying to buy, he knew trouble was ahead.

A few minutes later, Kid and Mom came up to me with, you guessed it, GTA 5 in hand.

Kid had that look of pure bliss—the one where you just know he is envisioning the future minutes away where he has popped that brand new game into his 360 and is merrily running over civilians and blowing them apart.

Except there was one thing standing between him and that future: a fell and powerful guardian. That would be me.

They don’t usually like being the bad guy, for several reasons.

I should mention that for the most part, I don’t like telling people they can’t buy something.

It is sad not only because I’m missing out on a sale, but because I’m a gamer and it sucks when that happy feeling of a new game or system is ripped away from you.

“Your card was declined,” “You have to be 17 or older to buy this,” etc., are phrases I dislike.

Interactions like this usually go a certain way.

Whenever a minor or someone who looks like a minor tries to buy an M-rated game, I am required by law to ask for an ID or get verbal guardian approval before the sale.

Most parents fall into one of two categories: the “I don’t care, I just pay for the thing” type, and the “I actually know what is going on here and am totally cool with it” type. Those are the ones who just say yes, and after covering my legal duty, I make the sale.

But this particular mother went a bit off script.

Not Mom.

No, when I tell her about the M rating, she actually stops and ASKS WHY IT’S M RATED.

My heart stopped. I heard choirs and bells and that little tone we all know and love when Mario picks up a coin.

This is most definitely not what this kid wanted to hear.

Kid’s heart dropped at this, but hope lingered in his eyes. Every part of his body language screamed: “Dude… be cool.”

NOPE!

I like my job, and I like to think I do it well. I’m paid to play and talk about games from the Atari on up to the PS4 and Xbox One.

So when someone asks me about a game, I’m going to tell them EVERYTHING about it.

So this retail employee was brutally honest.

And that’s just what Mom got.

First blow: Language. Mom’s approval doesn’t take any visible damage. Kid is optimistic and reassures Mom he is mature enough to handle it.

Quick second punch: Drugs and alcohol. I think I saw a grimace, but Mom recovers quickly. Kid whispers assurances and praise in her ear like Wormtongue in LoTR.

But the kid’s enthusiasm couldn’t last.

I’m getting serious now: Violence. Finally, a crack in the armor. Mom starts to show some concern and wants to make sure Kid REALLY wants this game and can handle it.

Kid puts on his most mature look. If he had a tux, monocle, and top hat, he would have magically donned them at this point to complete the illusion. He does, he can, he could pay the mortgage right now—he’s that mature.

This mom hadn’t heard the worst of it yet.

You’re doing well, Kid, but I have a secret weapon: Nudity. Yep, GTA 5 didn’t get a partial nudity rating; this was full-on adult content.

This is what Kid feared, hoped I didn’t know, or wasn’t going to share. Critical hit. TKO. Mom was out.

This mom was now determined to never let her kid near this game.

She refused to get it and told Kid he wasn’t going anywhere near that game until he was old enough. I thought that was the end of it, but Kid was quick on his feet.

He played the “friends already have it” card, followed by “dad will be okay with it, call him.”

She decided to call her husband for help.

Mom stepped out to call Dad while I was left getting the most venom-filled, spiteful glare I’ve ever seen. Seriously, if looks could kill, this one would have.

Mom came back and was on the fence again.

Apparently Dad wasn’t against it, but she still was. I was given the phone and asked to tell him exactly what I told her, which I did.

Mom got the phone back and told Kid he was not getting the game.

Here’s where things really got dramatic.

Reddit, I have seen tantrums, explosions, and complete personality turnarounds, but DANG! Kid takes the cake. All illusion of maturity flew out the window as he played every cliché trick in the book.

He screamed, threatened, cried, begged—everything. He went on for nearly 30 minutes, so I’ll just share my three favorite parts.

He seemed to have multiple strategies to get his mom to change his mind.

Favorite 1: He transitioned from rage to bawling seamlessly, sniffling and snotting the whole time. All the while, he insisted he was mature enough to handle the nudity.

Favorite 2: The “xxx has it so screw you, I’ll just play it there.”

But mom wasn’t budging.

Mom handled this perfectly: “You won’t when I call everyone’s parents and ask what their kids are playing.”

Favorite 3: Kid yells he doesn’t need Mom and will buy the game himself in a few days. Mom, unfazed, asks if he could buy it without her. I tell them he isn’t 17, so no sale without ID.

Them leaving the store was quite the sight to behold.

The night ends with Mom dragging his bawling, snot-dripping, raging *** out of my store, apologizing profusely for his antics. Before they get out of earshot, I hear her list off the long list of punishments he’s going to receive.

What a story.

What did Reddit have to say?

This kid really wasn’t acting his age at all.

Many parents seem to be fairly inconsistent with enforcing age-related restrictions on media.

This commenter admires a parent who’s actually willing to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.

The retail employee walked away feeling both exhausted and kind of entertained.

No amount of pleasing or scheming beats a determined parent.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.