On the bus, one woman decided she could do whatever she wanted and put her dirty foot right on my armrest. I asked her several times to move it, but she just kept pretending to be asleep. In the end, I had to teach her a lesson she will never forget 😨
That day had been especially exhausting.
I finished my shift later than usual and felt as if I hadn’t slept for several days. All I wanted was to get home peacefully, lean back in my seat, and spend at least half an hour without thinking about anything.
The bus was almost full.
People were heading home from work. Some were looking at their phones, some were dozing off, and others were simply staring out the window. I took a seat by the aisle and held tightly onto the bag of items I had bought on my way home.
For the first few minutes, everything was calm. Then I felt something touch my elbow.
I looked to the side and saw a woman’s foot.
At first, I didn’t even understand what was happening.
The woman sitting behind me had stretched her leg forward and placed her foot directly on my armrest. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, and her foot looked as though it had spent the entire day walking through dusty streets.
I carefully turned around.
The woman was sitting with her eyes closed, pretending to be fast asleep.
I thought maybe she had accidentally stretched out her leg while sleeping.
So I calmly said:
— Excuse me, your foot is on my armrest.
There was no response. I repeated myself more loudly. The woman slightly opened one eye, looked at me, and closed it again.
She didn’t move her foot at all. The smell was becoming more noticeable. People nearby started wrinkling their noses and exchanging glances. Sitting there was becoming increasingly unpleasant. A few minutes later, I turned around again.
— Please move your foot.
This time, the woman let out a heavy sigh as if I were the one disturbing her rest.
— I’m tired, she muttered irritably. — You’ll survive.
Then she closed her eyes again.
I didn’t want to start an argument. The day had already been far too difficult for that.
So I sat quietly for a few more minutes.
But the woman clearly decided that if no one was stopping her, she could keep doing whatever she wanted.
After a while, she not only refused to move her foot, but actually made herself even more comfortable, completely taking over my armrest.
I looked around. Several passengers were already watching the scene. Some shook their heads. Others smiled quietly.
It was obvious that everyone understood exactly who was behaving badly.
That’s when I got an idea. Simple, but very effective. A way to teach her a lesson she definitely wouldn’t forget. 😲 You can find the continuation of this story in the first comment 👇
I pulled a bottle of cold water out of the bag I had bought after work.
I opened it and took a few sips.
Then I carefully raised the hand holding the bottle and pretended that the bus had suddenly lurched while turning a corner.
A few drops of cold water accidentally landed right on her foot.
The woman practically jumped out of her seat.
She opened her eyes wide and quickly pulled her leg back.
— What are you doing?! she shouted angrily.
I looked at her calmly.
— Sorry, the bus jolted.
She was about to say something else when a passenger sitting across from us suddenly spoke up:
— At least now your foot is finally off someone else’s seat.
Immediately afterward, someone behind us started laughing.
Then another person joined in.
Within seconds, half the nearby passengers were looking at the woman with obvious disapproval.
An elderly man by the window shook his head and added:
— The young man politely asked you three times to move your foot.
The woman looked around and realized that nobody was on her side.
She quickly put her shoes back on, turned toward the window, and didn’t say another word.
For the rest of the ride, her feet stayed exactly where they belonged.
And I was finally able to relax and look out the window in peace.
Sometimes people don’t understand simple requests.
But the moment they become the center of attention of an entire bus, their good manners suddenly return all by themselves.
