Even if you are not a fan of sitcoms, you probably know the basic and simple comic tricks that their writers use - fortunately, there are not so many of them. And one of the popular tricks that has been causing laughter from the audience for decades now is when one of the characters thinks that the other does not know their native language, and starts badmouthing them... and then the secret is revealed.
Believe it or not, this is exactly what happened to the user u/Agreeable_Sky1562 and her hapless roommate! The story appeared in the Petty Revenge community on Reddit quite recently, but has already managed to gain over 43.7K upvotes and nearly 2K comments. Short, funny, stylish - here's the formula for the most successful examples of the genre!
The author of the post is Afro Latina but many people wrongly assume she's African American and doesn't speak Spanish
Image credits: EZEKIXL OLUWATOBI AKINNEWU (not the actual photo)
The author's roommate assumed this too - and it backfired on her soon after
Image credits: Agreeable_Sky1562
The author of the post has a long-term boyfriend and often stays with him overnight
Image credits: Elle Hughes (not the actual phot0)
Image credits: Agreeable_Sky1562
So one day the author returned home and heard her roomie badmouthing her over the phone with her mom. In Spanish, of course
Image credits: Nil Alves (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Agreeable_Sky1562
The author just barged into the room exclaiming: "Wow! I didn't know you spoke Spanish too!" And these words were also in Spanish
So, the Original Poster (OP) is Afro Latina; however, she says that many people, when they first meet her, believe that she is African American and, accordingly, does not know Spanish. At the same time, Spanish is one of the author’s native languages, but she is in no hurry to dissuade people. And, as subsequent events show, she's doing the right thing.
The OP's roommate also appears to be Spanish-speaking, and when she calls her mom, she prefers that language. And then, one fine day, when the original poster came home from her boyfriend's, she accidentally heard what exactly her friend was talking about with her mother. Here, by the way, we need to make a small digression from the main story to tell you about the author's boyfriend.
Yes, the girl has a long-term partner and often spends nights at his house, but until they've tied the knot, the OP thinks it's important to keep her own place, as well as her own independence. Very commendable and right, don't you think? But the original poster’s roommate didn’t know about it at all!... Now let’s go back to our story.
So, the girl was talking to her mom, and at the moment when the OP entered, they were just discussing her moral fiber. Yes, yes, according to the author’s roomie, she constantly hangs out somewhere at late hours, staying with different men every night. In general, as the girl stated, the author is definitely ‘a street walker.’ What else her friend could have said, we will no longer know, because at this point the original poster decided to intervene. Well, let’s place a small cliffhanger here...
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Let's now praise the OP for impeccable restraint and sang-froid. Someone in her place might have thrown a fit, or someone else might have gotten into a fight. Personally, I'm not sure that in such a situation I would not turn on my sarcasm and cynicism to the fullest. But the author of the post acted, perhaps, in the most spectacular and fitting way.
The girl yelled in delight, addressing the roommate: "Wow, I didn't know you spoke Spanish too!" Of course, these words were also spoken in pure Spanish. In the OP's own words, her hapless friend's face turned absolutely red at that moment, she just smiled guiltily and immediately hung up. Petty revenge, isn't it? It remains to be hoped that this story will discourage the author's friend from both unjustified judgments and careless gossip behind the backs of her own friends...
Needless to say, the vast majority of people in the comments were simply delighted with this story, praising the original poster for her composure and wit. Many folks, by the way, were interested in how this roommate behaved after such a shameful failure, and the OP satisfied their curiosity. According to her, since then, the roomie has avoided her like the plague, spending 99% of the free time in her room in front of the TV.
By the way, it turns out that among the people in the comments, such cases occurred incredibly often, and in various countries, from the United States to Germany or Japan. Well, people are definitely not perfect; they are often very careless in their words, and even more often deceived in their impressions. In fact, commenters honestly admit that they did not always have enough exposure, like the original poster. “You handled it great!” one of the folks in the comments summarized.
Besides, we also have a similar story described in this post of ours - on how Mexican workers, believing that their new colleague, a Peruvian by origin, did not know Spanish, did not hesitate to discuss both bosses and colleagues in her presence, and herself as well, not mincing words at all. And in case something similar has happened to you too, then we are literally frozen in anticipation of one more great amusing tale in the comments below.
The roomie was ready to sink into the floor of shame that moment, and the people in the comments just cracked up at this story
