Six months ago, a new neighbor moved in next door—a woman in her 40s with a teenage son. At first, she seemed friendly, and I even let her borrow a few things and use my outdoor grill when we weren’t home. It felt like a neighborly gesture, and I didn’t think much of it.
But things quickly went south.
One weekend, my family and I went to visit my parents. When we returned, I was shocked to find my backyard in complete disarray. Empty bottles, food scraps, and a greasy, filthy grill greeted me. It looked like a wild party had taken place—and it had, courtesy of my neighbor and her son.
I confronted Claire about the mess, but she brushed it off, saying it was her son’s birthday and that “kids will be kids.” She even suggested I was overreacting. But this wasn’t just a minor issue—it was my property, and they had treated it like a public park.
I decided to handle the situation calmly and wrote down three simple rules:
- If you use something, clean it and return it.
- Please clean up after your child.
- Just be considerate.
I handed her the note, hoping we could resolve things amicably. But the next morning, I found a list of her rules taped to my door. Yes, her rules—for my property. The list included demands like no grilling after 7 PM, avoiding strong seasonings, and even claiming my garden hose and patio furniture as “community property.”
The audacity was staggering.
To make matters worse, my daughter showed me a TikTok video posted by Claire’s son, Adam. In the video, he and his friends were laughing and trashing my backyard, filming themselves as they made a mess. They even shared it online for the world to see.
Fed up, I decided to fight back. I recorded a video of Claire’s absurd list of rules and posted it on social media. Within days, the video went viral, amassing over 5 million views. The comments were filled with outrage:
“HER rules on YOUR property? Unbelievable!”
“Build a fence. These people are out of control.”
“This is peak entitlement.”
The backlash was swift. Two days later, Adam showed up at my door, looking utterly defeated. He begged me to take the videos down, saying it was ruining his life at school. I calmly explained that actions have consequences and that he needed to learn to respect other people’s property. After a moment of hesitation, I agreed to remove the videos, but not without a firm reminder about accountability.
Claire, meanwhile, stood silently by her house, a cigarette in hand, her expression unreadable. As I walked back inside, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of justice.
“You win,” she muttered under her breath.
I turned to her and said, “This wasn’t about winning, Claire. It was about respect. You can’t treat someone else’s home like your own and expect no consequences.”
And with that, I closed the door, leaving her standing alone in the dark.
