On the plane, a young man put his dirty and terribly smelly foot прямо on my seat: I asked him several times to remove it, but in the end I realized he didn’t understand the polite way, so I taught him a harsh lesson 

I was flying to see my parents and had been waiting for this day for almost a year. We hadn’t seen each other for nearly a year, and I just wanted to sit quietly on the plane, close my eyes, and get some rest. The flight was long, almost five hours, and I was already imagining how I’d get comfortable and simply fall asleep.

But that’s impossible when the people next to you think they can do whatever they want.

We had just taken off when I noticed a strange smell. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, thinking it came from the galley or that someone had spilled food. But the smell kept getting stronger and more unpleasant, and after a few seconds, I realized it wasn’t that at all.

I looked down and saw a чужая foot right on my armrest. Dirty. Bare. And the smell coming from it was so strong it was hard to breathe.

I turned around. Behind me sat a young guy who looked like he had no idea where he was. He was sprawled out in his seat and seemed to think all of this was completely normal.

People around us started turning their heads. Some frowned, others whispered quietly. The atmosphere was getting more and more tense.

I tried to speak calmly.

— Please remove your foot.

He didn’t even look at me right away, as if I had interrupted something important.

— I won’t. It’s comfortable like this.

I held myself back and repeated:

— That’s my armrest.

He smirked and shrugged.

— Then move somewhere else. I’m not going to remove anything.

That answer made everything tighten inside me. I gently pushed his foot down, but a second later he put it back again, as if it were some kind of game.

The smell became even stronger. People around us began openly expressing their discomfort.

— Your foot smells terrible, I said more firmly. — Please remove it. It’s bothering everyone.

He looked at me lazily and replied раздражённо:

— Close your nose. And your mouth too.

At that moment, I realized it was useless to argue with someone like him and that he simply didn’t understand polite words. Then I came up with a simple but effective plan to teach him a lesson. Here’s what I did.  You can find the continuation of the story in the first comment 

I turned away, pretended to calm down, and pressed the call button for the flight attendant.

When she arrived, I asked for hot tea. Just a regular one. She brought it after a few minutes. I took the cup, had a couple of sips, and sat calmly as if nothing was happening.

Then, at one moment, I slightly tilted my hand. The tea spilled. Not boiling, but hot enough for him to feel it immediately.

The guy jumped up, quickly pulling his foot away, and started shouting across the entire cabin.

— What are you doing?!

The flight attendant came almost immediately. I calmly apologized and said it was an accident. But I also added that his foot had been on my seat and that I had already asked him several times to remove it.

The passengers around us started supporting me. Some said the smell was unbearable, others confirmed that the guy had been acting arrogantly from the very beginning.

The flight attendant was no longer smiling. Very calmly but firmly, she explained that such behavior was unacceptable and that if he continued to break the rules, the captain could take action, even handing him over to the police after landing.

The guy immediately quieted down.

Someone in the cabin smirked, then someone else. Within a few seconds, half the people were already looking at him with clear irritation, and some didn’t even hide their smiles.

He didn’t say another word. For the rest of the flight, he sat properly, kept his feet to himself, and tried not to draw attention.

And I was finally able to lean back in my seat and close my eyes.

Sometimes people only understand when they face the consequences.