A shy schoolboy found himself the victim of merciless bullying by his school bus driver.
The child tolerated the abuse until one fateful bus ride saw him finding the confidence to stand up to the nasty adult.
Redditor Cormorant11 was a shy child who never made friends his age. His only way to pass the time during the brief bus journey home from school was by reading.
He kept to himself all the time, but that didn’t save him from amassing trouble.
A bus driver holding the door open for passengers to board | Source: Shutterstock
The original poster (OP) would sometimes sit with his older brother on the bus, which somehow helped him make some new friends older than him because they were all his brother’s friends. When OP moved to middle school, he ran into a new bus driver who separated children by age before allocating seats.
OP thought the guy was impolite. The driver had yelled at him a few times for sitting with his older brother. Frustrated by the man’s nagging, OP decided to move to the front row, hoping he’d be spared at least now.
A boy carrying a backpack as he’s about to board a school bus | Source: Pixabay
As a little boy, instead of being idle, most of the time, he sat alone in the front and read books. He was shy and didn’t like talking to children his age. OP’s routine on the bus didn’t go unmissed. The driver had been noticing him reading books and, at some point, started to taunt him about how he must be intelligent reading all the time.
A few days later, the driver picked at him again, but this time, OP knew what to do to shut his taunts permanently.
Eventually, the driver came up with a quirky nickname for OP—the “Book Boy.” Every time OP boarded the bus, the man would say sarcastic things like, “Heya, book boy…whatcha reading today?”
A little boy reading a books | Source: Pixabay
The driver exceeded his limits by also poking fun at OP for not having any friends. The boy patiently put up with him, but the final straw on one such bus ride tested his patience to the extreme.
The man announced over the intercom: “Will someone come sit with book boy?” OP was startled and felt ridiculed. “He needs to make some friends,” added the driver about OP, who was then 10 years old.
A mother comforting her distraught son | Source: Pexels
OP was distraught and went home crying. He narrated the incident to his mother and was surprised by what she told him. OP’s mother comforted him and advised him not to let the driver affect him.
She praised him for being a bright boy, one who would grow up to be successful, unlike the bus driver, who was probably just upset with how his life turned out. The woman’s words breathed some fresh air into OP’s mind, and they quickly brewed an idea in the back of his head.
A young boy smiling while being comforted by his mother | Source: Pexels
The little boy had never felt so confident about himself. He started reading with great intensity and remained indifferent to his bullies. A few days later, the driver picked at him again, but this time, OP knew what to do to shut his taunts down permanently.
While dropping the child off at the stop, the driver sarcastically asked Cormorant11, “So, book boy, why are you always reading so much?” OP knew this was the right chance for a little payback. He didn’t miss a beat and merrily hopped off the bus, saying, “So I don’t grow up to be a bus driver!”
A little boy carrying a backpack as he walks down a street | Source: Pexels
The boy never looked back to see the wreckage. Years later, OP took to Reddit’s “PrettyRevenge” subreddit to narrate his experience. The story was soon met with an overwhelming reaction from people online.
How Did People React to the Original Poster’s Revenge Story?
Reddit users were amazed by Cormorant11’s story and rushed to the comment section to share their opinions. “This made me smile so big. The fact that you didn’t look back at him makes it even colder and more awesome,” user brendanvista wrote.
The front of a parked yellow school bus | Source: Unsplash
“Awesome advice from a very cool mother… Good on you for standing up for yourself!” exclaimed another person. As people flooded their comments applauding OP’s courage, user DeePrincess recounted a similar incident, writing:
“OMG, that’s awesome. I had an old crone who drove our yellow bus when I was younger, and I could never stand up to her.”
Another reader noted how some bus drivers have low self-esteem and resorted to bullying their passengers. The person recalled how their bus driver threatened to throw them off the vehicle at age 21 if they used their headphones onboard.
The passenger complained to the driver’s company and got a warning but continued to bully the young man, with the commenter asking for advice on how to take matters into their own hands. Someone who described themselves as a “fellow introverted bookworm” praised Cormorant11 for his bravery.
The Reddit user said some people couldn’t understand that bookworms just wished to be left alone to enjoy their books. Another social media user thought OP’s comeback was great and confessed that they would’ve thought of something “witty” hours later and kicked themselves!
OP’s courageous move that day not only put off the driver’s taunts, but he never poked his nose in the child’s business again. The story ended with a dramatic twist with OP making friends with a fellow student who found his response to the driver hilarious while getting off the bus that day.
Two young boys walking in the woods | Source: Pexels
“We’ve been friends ever since… My bus driver never bothered me again,” OP concluded. The positive responses Cormorant11 got from his post led him to share more memories about his experiences at school.
How Was the Original Poster Bullied at School for His Love of Reading?
Cormorant11 also revealed how his middle school experience wasn’t a great one. After the bus driver’s bullying was dealt with, the OP’s aides informed them they weren’t allowed to read during lunch as it was a time allocated for eating.
Children running towards a school building | Source: Shutterstock
The Reddit user recalled how stubborn he was at the time and read anyway. Cormorant11 was surprised to recall the repressed memory that in retaliation, the aides made him move to a different table where mean children sat as a form of punishment so they could bully him.
Sometimes when they caught him reading, he was sent to the principal’s office more than once. Luckily, the principal didn’t have an issue with the reading and let him do so outside his office whenever the aides sent him there. Eventually, Cormorant11 started taking his lunch to the nurse and read there, adding:
“I’m not surprised that people in my year always said how much they hate reading.”
A boy sitting at a table holding a book | Source: Shutterstock
In hindsight, the situation angered him as he wondered if reading isn’t something children should be encouraged to do. Is it okay for adults to bully young children? Do you think OP would’ve made new friends had the driver not separated the students agewise?
