New Student Demanded I Stop Bringing Seafood for Lunch. Even After I Switched to Cold Salads, She Fumed.

There are certain unwritten rules we all learn to live by, especially in shared spaces. We wipe down the counter, we don’t leave our things strewn about, and we try to be considerate of others’ senses. This is particularly true in a communal lunchroom, where strong smells can be a point of contention.

However, one young woman recently shared a story online that shows what happens when a simple request for courtesy escalates into outright bullying, proving that for some, no compromise is ever enough. It’s a tale that will make you wonder what has happened to common decency.

The Incident

The story begins in a perfectly pleasant university course. A small group of about twenty students got along well and shared a common area for lunch every day. Our storyteller, a young woman who was pescatarian at the time, lived in a harbor town and frequently brought delicious leftovers of fish, shrimp, and clams for her midday meal.

She would heat them in the microwave, and far from complaining, her classmates were often curious, with some even asking for a taste of her home cooking.

But the friendly atmosphere soured when a new student joined the class. On her very first day, she immediately complained about the smell of the young woman’s heated fish. She declared that she “absolutely hated fish and said that I wasn’t allowed to bring it for lunch.”

What an entrance! Trying to keep the peace, the pescatarian student caved to the increasingly intense complaints. She stopped heating her fish dishes altogether, switching to cold options like seafood salads and sandwiches, or bringing warm vegetarian meals instead. It was a thoughtful and fair compromise.

But apparently, it wasn’t good enough. The new student began to complain even when the young woman heated a vegetarian dish, insisting it “smelled fishy.” She then demanded that the student stop bringing in “anything related to fish” at all.

This was simply too much. The young woman pointed out how ridiculous the demand was, but the newcomer just called her an “inconsiderate [j..k].” To make matters worse, she started spreading lies behind her back, turning a once-enjoyable lunch break into a stiff and miserable affair filled with dirty looks.

The Internet Reacts

When the story was shared online, people had plenty to say about this lunchtime tyrant. The court of public opinion was in session, and readers quickly sorted themselves into a few distinct camps.

First, there was the “Absolutely Not” crowd, who were furious on the young woman’s behalf. They saw the new student’s behavior not as a simple complaint, but as a power play from an entitled bully. One commenter put it bluntly: “She can eat somewhere else if the smell bothers her that bad.”

Another was even more direct, saying, “Screw that girl. She’s just trying to act like an entitled b..t that controls everyone.” Many felt the original student had already been far too accommodating, with one person writing, “I would’ve told her to go eat elsewhere. There’s no way I would’ve accommodated her the way you did.”

Then came the “Microwave Police,” who served as the devil’s advocate. While they agreed the new student’s behavior was appalling, they did point out a generally accepted rule of communal kitchens. “It is absolutely one of the universal standard shared office microwave principles – no mess, no fish,” one declared.

Another agreed, advising, “never microwave fish in a public microwave. Ever. It’s just commonly understood to be g..ss and rude.” They saw the initial act as a minor etiquette mistake, but one that didn’t justify the subsequent harassment.

Finally, a third group concluded that this feud was never really about the fish to begin with. They pointed to the complainer’s bizarre reactions to vegetarian food as proof that she simply had it out for the other student.

As one person noted, “sounds like the new student has a bee in her bonnet for no apparent reason.” This theory was confirmed when the student shared that her classmate complained about a lentil stew and a cold bean wrap, refusing to believe they were fish-free. It was clear this had become a personal vendetta.

The Etiquette Verdict

Let’s be perfectly clear: microwaving very fragrant foods, especially fish, in a shared space is generally considered poor form. It’s a lesson many of us learn the hard way in our first office job. The young woman in this story, upon receiving a complaint, did exactly the right thing by graciously stopping the practice and finding alternatives. Her social obligation ended there.

The moment the other student began policing cold salads and inventing fishy smells in vegetarian stews, she crossed the line from making a reasonable request to engaging in harassment. True etiquette is about mutual respect and compromise, not about one person’s ability to control everyone else’s lunch menu.

Your Thoughts

This whole situation leaves us with a question about dealing with unreasonable people. When faced with such demanding behavior, is it better to compromise to keep the peace, or is it important to stand your ground from the start?