MY NEIGHBOR REFUSED TO PAY ME ($250) FOR CLEANING HER HOUSE AS WE’D AGREED — I PAID HER A HARSH VISIT LATER.
So, the other day, my young neighbor, who’d just moved into the neighborhood and loves throwing parties, came to me with a favor. She’d had another one of her wild parties, and then she got called out of town for work.
She asked if I could clean up the mess at her place and, of course, offered to pay. I agreed. Extra cash is always nice, right?
Cleaning up her disaster of a house took me a solid TWO DAYS. When she got back, I went over to get paid, and she had the nerve to say, “WE NEVER HAD ANY AGREEMENT!” We argued for a good half hour, but she wouldn’t budge.
Alright, she wanted to play dirty? No problem! I left her place, but I came back 20 minutes later!
I came back 20 minutes later, but this time, I wasn’t knocking on her door for a polite chat. I brought a large, black trash bag with me, one of those heavy-duty ones, and I was ready to make a statement. If she thought she could get away with not paying me, she had another thing coming.
I walked straight to her backyard, where she always left her trash cans. It was dark, but I knew she wouldn’t be home for a while — probably out with her friends, partying it up again. I took a deep breath, opened the trash bag, and started pulling out all the stuff I’d collected while cleaning her house. Dirty plates, plastic cups, half-eaten pizza slices, empty beer cans… everything she had left behind after her last party was now being strategically placed around her backyard. I made sure to spread it out, a little trail of garbage leading right to her back door.
I’d spent two days scrubbing her kitchen, picking up after her friends, cleaning stains off her carpets, and throwing away all kinds of junk. And now, every bit of that junk was back where it started — except worse. I knew it was petty, but the thought of her coming home to find her yard littered with her own mess gave me a sense of satisfaction that was hard to describe. She didn’t want to pay for cleaning? Fine. She could have her mess back.
As I was finishing up, I heard someone call out, “Hey, what are you doing?” I turned to see another neighbor, Mr. Thompson, watching me from his porch, his eyes squinting suspiciously.
“Just returning something that belongs to her,” I said, giving him a casual wave.
Mr. Thompson, who had lived in the neighborhood for years and had seen this girl’s parties more times than he cared to count, nodded knowingly. “She still owes you for that cleaning, doesn’t she?”
I shrugged. “Yep. Said we never had an agreement, so I figured she could have her trash back.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, good for you. She’s been driving us all crazy since she moved in. Maybe this’ll teach her a lesson.”
I finished my little task, feeling a mix of pettiness and justice, and headed back home. I didn’t expect her to come knocking anytime soon, and I was fine with that. She could clean up the mess herself this time, and maybe she’d think twice before trying to stiff someone again.
The next morning, as I was getting my mail, I heard a loud, shrill voice echoing from down the street. Sure enough, it was her — standing in her backyard, hands on her hips, staring at the chaos I’d left behind. She looked like she was about to explode.
I saw her storming down the street, and it didn’t take a genius to know she was headed straight for my house. I stood there by the mailbox, waiting, as she marched up to me, her face red with fury.
“What the hell is this?” she yelled, jabbing a finger in the direction of her yard.
I crossed my arms, keeping my expression calm. “Oh, that?” I said, pretending to think about it. “That’s all the trash I cleaned up from your party. I thought you’d want it back since you refused to pay me.”
“You can’t do that!” she shouted, her voice rising. “That’s vandalism or… or trespassing or something!”
“Is it?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, I just returned your property. You said we didn’t have an agreement, so technically, I wasn’t hired to clean it. It’s your stuff, after all.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but she quickly realized she didn’t have much of a leg to stand on. She must’ve known that if this escalated, she’d end up looking pretty bad. After all, no one in the neighborhood had much sympathy for the girl who kept everyone awake until 3 AM with loud music and random strangers stumbling around.
“Look, I don’t have time for this,” she said, her voice less aggressive now, almost pleading. “Can’t you just… clean it up again? And I’ll pay you, okay?”
I stared at her for a moment, letting her words sink in. I could tell she hated having to say it, and that made it all the more satisfying. “I’m not cleaning it up again,” I said firmly. “You had your chance, and you chose to be dishonest. But if you want to pay me the $250 we agreed on, I’ll consider this matter settled.”
She clenched her jaw, clearly struggling with the decision. Part of me wondered if she’d just storm off again, but after a tense moment, she sighed and reached into her purse, pulling out her wallet. “Fine,” she said, practically spitting the word out. “Here’s your money. But don’t expect me to ask for your help ever again.”
I took the cash from her, counted it to make sure it was all there, and then nodded. “That suits me just fine. Have a nice day,” I said, flashing her a smile as I turned to head back inside.
As I walked away, I could feel her glaring at me, but I didn’t care. I got what I was owed, and she got a taste of her own mess. Hopefully, she’d think twice before trying to cheat someone again. And if she didn’t… well, I had no problem paying her another “visit” if needed.
Later that afternoon, I saw Mr. Thompson again, this time watering his lawn. He gave me a thumbs-up and a grin. “Heard she finally paid up,” he said.
“Yep,” I replied. “I guess she didn’t want to deal with her own trash after all.”
“Well, good for you,” he said with a chuckle. “Sometimes people need a little reminder that they can’t treat folks like dirt. Looks like she got the message loud and clear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s hope so.”
And with that, I went back inside, feeling a little lighter, a little more victorious. It wasn’t the way I’d planned on handling things, but sometimes, you had to get a little creative to get the respect — and the payment — you deserved.
