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If you’ve ever wondered why most schools have a lengthy break in the summer, it’s due to farming. It was originally intended as a break so that kids could help their parents on the farm.

In this story, one teen is annoyed that he has to help his dad on the farm. He would rather be playing video games or relaxing.

However, he helps his dad anyway. In fact, when his dad is late picking him up, instead of getting mad about it, he has some petty fun.

Let’s read all about it.

My Dad says he’ll pick me up at dark? Well, he hasn’t picked me up, so it must not be dark.

This happened about 10 years ago now, and I have a good chuckle about it every time I pass the place in my car.

I’m a pretty meek guy, so this is probably the only rebellious thing I did in my entire teenage life.

My Dad owns a farm, and, being his son, this meant that I had a job when I was a kid whether I liked it or not.

Mostly I understood this, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

In fact, he really hated it.

I resented having to spend entire days of summer vacation, dawn to dusk, in a tractor when it came time to harvest alfalfa, which we did ~4 times between spring and fall.

Basically imagine a teenager with ADHD forced to sit in one place for 14 hours, and you’ll understand how it felt.

Honestly, if I wasn’t a total introvert, I might have snapped sooner.

He really wanted a break.

So anyway, it’s the second day of harvest, and it’s getting to be late in the afternoon.

I’ve spent about 20 hours total in a haybine by this point over the past few days, and I ask my dad which fields to cut next, and I ask him when I’ll be done, hoping (in vain) that I can leave and go play video games or whatever.

This is where the titular line comes in: “I’ll pick you up at dark.”

Little does he know that my little teenage heart is clenchijg with rightous anger for all this wasted (paid) time.

Dad had a habit of not being on time.

So several hours pass, and I’m understandably getting pretty irritable.

It starts getting dark, and guess what? No sign of my dad.

At the time, it was becoming a bit of a recurring joke in my family about how my dad was always late, so I knew I was in for the long haul.

Then it occured to me, and the malicious compliance begins.

OP did something petty.

My dad said he’d pick me up at dark, and he wasn’t picking me up, so that must mean that it wasn’t dark yet.

And what don’t you need if it’s not dark outside? That’s right. Headlights.

So I continue going back and forth on this wide, empty field, squinting as the light continues to fade after sunset and stubbornly refuse to turn on the headlights.

I can easily see the edges of the field of course, but everything else is blending in pretty well.

OP’s dad did eventually pick him up.

I start purposely amd accidentally leaving some sharkfins, which are what we call the mistakes that haybine operators leave between rows when the don’t get any alfalfa.

A few small sharkfins per field are fine, even expected, but these are on a whole new level.

My dad shows up after about 30 minutes of total darkness. I forget our exact conversation, but I do remember the result.

After asking me why I didn’t turn on the lights, and me telling him why, he laughed uproariously, and I still remember it fondly to this day.

He wasn’t in trouble.

I mever did get any punishment.

I’m not even sure he understood the extent of the missed alfalfa, it was dark after all and it was hard to see in the dim moonlight, but whatever, it was just a few rows.

I, however, like to think he was a little proud of me, because I was the type of teenager who never got into mischief.

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But not everyone remembers this moment.

I asked him about it recently, and unfortunately he has no memory of the incident.

Oh well. I, however, will probably remember this little bit of malicious compliance fondly for the rest of my life.

It might have been pretty insignificant, and motivated by laziness, but it was also the first time I really stood up for myself against am authority figure.

It sounds like the rebellion was more memorable to OP than his dad, but it’s still a fun bit of mischief. His dad sounds like a good guy for not getting upset about it and even finding it funny.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This is my favorite part of the story too.

It really is an awesome memory.

Here’s another story about standing up to a dad.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who thinks her daughter should have planned a whole two-week vacation around her needs.

This is a good point.

It probably is true that OP’s dad has a lot of memories of him that OP will never remember. It really is interesting how some memories stick with us but others don’t, and the same memories don’t stick with everyone.

The fact that the dad laughed says a lot about him as parent.

What a wonderful memory.

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Author

Jayne Elliott

Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

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