Joan worked as a waitress at a restaurant. She, like her colleagues, disliked one of the regular clients, who was only known as Bethany. Whenever Bethany came to the restaurant, whispers could be heard among the staff, lamenting her presence.
"Oh no, it's her again."
"Brace yourself."
Those were the exchange heard with regards to Bethany arriving at the restaurant. She was extremely mean and quarrelsome and would always find reasons to nitpick. Being extremely wealthy and famous, with several businesses under her name, she felt justified in humiliating others whom she deemed were of lower social status.
"The tea isn't hot enough. Bring me another one," she ordered. Joan tried to bring up the matter to her boss, Dimitri, but instead of defending her, he told her to accede to Bethany's request, citing that it was disadvantageous to argue with influential people like her. Everyone obediently tolerated Bethany's insults and meanness. Whenever she kicked up a fuss, Dimitri would choose to side with her, which further fueled her meanness. One day, however, Bethany crossed the line. As usual, she entered the restaurant, and Joan served her order.
"Hurry up," Bethany demanded. Joan's patience wore thin.
"Don't talk to me in this manner," she argued. "That's not very polite of you."
"What? Impolite?" Bethany snapped. "You're supposed to put up with it."
"Put up with what? Your constant rude behavior?" Joan challenged her.
"If your destitute parents couldn't afford to give you an education and now, you're picking up successful people's leftovers, you have your parents to thank for this," Bethany said. This was the last straw for Joan, and she finally snapped.
"My parents gave me everything although they weren't rich. Thanks to them I didn't grow up to be rude like you," she said angrily. In a fit of anger, she grabbed the jar of cold water from Bethany's table and poured the drink right on the latter's head.
"What? Are you out of your mind? Do you know what's going to happen to you now?" Bethany shouted. Other patrons watched the scene from their tables, with some filming the fight with their mobile phones.
"I've never seen anything like this."
"Wow, what a show."
Patrons were heard commenting on the fight. Having realized what she had just done, Joan ran out of the hall, both in embarrassment and anger. Bethany could be heard cursing at her, claiming that she would be very sorry. Joan told Dimitri what had happened, but instead of considering the circumstances behind her actions, he fired her on the spot, claiming that her behavior was unacceptable.
Joan spent the evening sobbing, hurt by the unfairness. "It was her who started it. She insulted me. Why was it my fault?" she said in between tears. When she woke up in the morning, she saw multiple messages from her colleagues and acquaintances. "What is it? What happened?" she exclaimed. Everyone was expressing their admiration for her act.
"You did the right thing."
"I'm proud of you."
"Joan, you're a star now."
Joan turned on her laptop and saw hundreds of tags on social media, with the video of her heated exchange with Bethany receiving thousands of views. "This is incredible," she exclaimed. Under the comments section, netizens were writing about their own stories when rich and influential people put them down for being underprivileged. "I can't believe that so many people can relate to my story," she said, touched.
Joan started applying for new jobs, where she quickly got an interview at one of the restaurants. Despite her fears, her new boss Connor supported her actions at her previous workplace. "You're brave and you're not afraid to stand up for yourself and your family. Welcome to the team," he said. Joan was overjoyed. The restaurant where she used to work at became visibly empty, as people did not want to go to a place where the employees' dignity was not put above money and power. Joan's former colleagues also left their jobs, no longer wanting to work under Dimitri, who always prioritized money and power over the well-being of his employees. With business becoming worse by the day, the restaurant had to cease operations and Dimitri was forced to look for a job. He was also divorced from his wife. It turned out that he also did the same at home, where his mother constantly bullied his wife and kids, but he chose to side with his mother. After the video went viral, she filed for divorce and took the kids with her. Following the scandal, Bethany's businesses were boycotted. Within 6 months, she declared bankruptcy, becoming someone she used to despise. Meanwhile, Joan thrived at her new job under Connor's management, leaving her past with her previous workplace behind for good.
