Teen Told She Can’t Sell Food At School Bazaar When Others Fear The Competition, Maliciously Complies

“There is nothing in the rules that says a dog can’t play baseball” and other technicalities are often a feature of fiction, but every now and then, folks manage to make it work in real life. Be it getting away with some petty revenge, or just an expert case of malicious compliance, finding that line between the “letter of the law” and the “spirit of the law” is always fun to read about.

One young woman managed to expertly circumvent a school principal's rules against selling food by getting creative. Bored Panda got in touch with the young woman who made the post and she was kind enough to share some more details.

Image source: Wikipendotia

Bored Panda got in touch with OP and she was kind enough to answer some more questions that we had. First and foremost, we wanted to know why she picked crepes as an option to sell over literally every other possibility. “They are very inexpensive to make (compared to cupcakes and cookies) and they are easy to store and keep warm. More than that, people could choose what to stuff them with, so it created a lot of options,” she shared with us.

In general, we were curious to hear her thoughts about the reaction online. “I didn't really expect my story to get any attention when I posted it, I was just making some crepes that day and the story came back to me, I got a good laugh and then decided to share it. From the comments I got, people seemed to enjoy how I found the loophole that allowed my classmates and I to keep selling our crepes, and how the girls who tried to get us in trouble got their comeuppance.”

Some commenters had questions about the principal's involvement and the degree of impartiality in his rules. “From what I know, the principal mostly got involved to keep the peace, and possibly to avoid friction with angry parents. I'd like to add, since people in the comments asked that a lot, that I didn't take him up on his recommendation to become a lawyer. I got into public health, but I still draw, and I still make crepes!” she shared with Bored Panda.

Despite the massive gap in ages and authority, the principle was forced to capitulate and accept OP’s change in product. After all, he had set the rule and done it in such a way that a clever enough person could easily undermine it. He can’t just go back on his own words, even if OP has completely circumnavigated his rule.

This is perhaps one of the main draws of the story. Getting by on a technicality, in the right circumstances, is downright funny content. It’s a good reminder that, no matter how “set in stone” a law can be, human ingenuity finds a way. It’s also simply fun to see a young person outsmart an adult.

That being said, there is no denying that rules, ultimately, are pretty important. After all, every company and wanna-be-millionaire would be looting us dry if they could get away with it. The internet is awash with examples of just that, from hotels that lie on ads, to bosses that exploit their workers. While OP didn’t become a lawyer, it must be comforting to know that there are individuals out there ready and able to unleash their full pettiness against unjust rules and regulations.