My Neighbor Requested My 12-Year-Old Son to Mow Her Lawn, Then Declined to Pay – She Wasn’t Prepared for My Retaliation

Then one day, Ethan came home, sweat dripping from his forehead. His shirt was soaked, and he looked like he’d been running for hours.

“Ethan, what happened?” I asked, walking over to him as he plopped down on the couch.

“Mrs. Johnson asked me to mow her lawn,” he panted. “She said she’d pay me twenty bucks.”

I glanced out the window at Mrs. Johnson’s yard. It was huge, easily the biggest in the neighborhood. Ethan had mowed the entire thing. It looked perfect, lines neat and clean.

“Two days,” Ethan said, wiping his face with his shirt. “It took me two whole days. But she said she’d pay me when I was done.”

I smiled at him, proud. Ethan was a good kid, always looking to help out. He’d been saving up for weeks to buy a food processor for his grandma’s birthday. The twenty dollars would help him get a little closer.

“Did she pay you yet?” I asked, still looking out the window.

“No, but I’m sure she will,” Ethan said, his voice hopeful.

I nodded. Mrs. Johnson might be distant, but stiffing a kid out of twenty bucks? Even she wouldn’t do that. Or so I thought.

A few days passed, and I noticed Ethan was quieter than usual. He wasn’t his usual cheerful self, and it worried me.

“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked one evening as he sat by the window, staring at Mrs. Johnson’s house.

“She hasn’t paid me yet,” he said softly.

I frowned. “Well, have you asked her?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, I went over yesterday, but she told me she was busy and to come back later. So I went again today, and she told me… she told me to get lost.”

“What?” I gasped, shocked. “What do you mean ‘get lost’?”

Ethan looked down at his hands, his voice shaking just a little. “She said I should be grateful for the lesson I learned from mowing her lawn. That learning to work hard was the real payment. She said I didn’t need the money.”

My heart dropped, and my anger rose. This woman had tricked my son into doing two days of hard work and then refused to pay him. How dare she?

I clenched my fists, trying to stay calm for his sake, but inside I was boiling. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I’ll take care of it.”

Ethan gave me a small, trusting smile. But inside, I was already planning what I’d do next. Mrs. Johnson might think she was teaching my son a lesson, but she was about to learn one herself.

I sat on the porch the next morning, watching Mrs. Johnson pull out of her driveway, as polished as ever. The decision had been brewing inside me for days, and now, I felt no hesitation.

My son deserved justice, and if Mrs. Johnson wasn’t going to do the right thing, then I’d make sure she learned a lesson of her own. I got to making calls and leaving voice messages.

Around an hour later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Mark, my old friend from high school, who now ran a small landscaping business. I explained the situation in a quick, hushed tone.

“So, you want me to… trim her hedges into weird shapes?” he chuckled on the other end of the line.

Mrs. Johnson took immense pride in her yard, especially her hedges. Every Saturday morning, without fail, she’d be out there, pruning the bushes with meticulous care.

She had them shaped into perfect, symmetrical forms that gave her house a neat, upscale appearance. To her, those hedges weren’t just plants—they were a statement.

“Exactly. Nothing destructive. Just enough to give them a funny look. She’s proud of that yard, and I want her to notice.”

Mark was quiet for a moment, then laughed again. “You’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll swing by later today.”

Step one of the plan was set. Now, for step two. I grabbed my laptop, found a local mulch delivery service, and called them up, doing my best to mimic Mrs. Johnson’s crisp, no-nonsense tone.

“Hi, this is Katherine Johnson. I need three large truckloads of mulch delivered to my address. Yes, the whole driveway. Thank you.”

I hung up, feeling a strange thrill. My heart pounded in my chest. Was I really doing this?

Yes. Yes, I was.

Then, I left a few messages for my neighbors. While asking for small favors, I made sure to casually mention what Mrs. Johnson had done to Ethan.

Later that afternoon, three giant trucks rolled up and began unloading piles of mulch onto Mrs. Johnson’s driveway. I watched from my porch as the workers carefully emptied their loads, blocking her entire driveway with massive mounds of dark brown mulch. There was no way she was getting her car in tonight.

By then, the neighborhood had started to buzz. I saw a few of the neighbors peeking through their windows, whispering to each other. Word had gotten around about what Mrs. Johnson had done to Ethan, and now, they were seeing my revenge unfold right in front of them.

I could feel the tension building. Everyone was waiting for Mrs. Johnson to come home. So was I.

At around 6:30 p.m., her shiny black car turned the corner and pulled onto our street. As soon as she saw the mulch, her car screeched to a halt. She sat there for a moment, probably in shock. Then she slowly rolled forward, coming to a stop in front of the pile blocking her driveway.

I leaned back in my chair, sipping my tea, and waited.

Mrs. Johnson got out of the car, her face a mix of confusion and anger. She marched over to the hedges first, staring at the strange shapes they’d been trimmed into. She ran her hands through her perfectly styled hair and pulled out her phone, probably to call someone to fix it.

A few of the neighbors had gathered across the street, pretending to chat, but really watching her reaction. They exchanged quiet laughs and glances. Mrs. Johnson looked around, realizing she was being watched, and her eyes landed on me.

She stormed across the street, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement.

“Did you do this?” she snapped, her voice tight with rage.

I smiled, taking another sip of my tea. “Me? I don’t know anything about landscaping or mulch deliveries.”

Her face turned bright red. “This is unacceptable! You think this is funny?”

I set down my cup and stood up, meeting her gaze. “Not as funny as stiffing a 12-year-old out of twenty dollars.”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Maybe it’s just the universe teaching you a lesson,” I said, my tone sharp. “Hard work is its own reward, right?”

Mrs. Johnson clenched her jaw, her eyes darting from me to the piles of mulch and then back to the small crowd of neighbors now openly watching. She was trapped. She couldn’t argue with me without looking worse in front of the whole street.

“Fine,” she spat, turning on her heel and stomping into her house. A minute later, she reappeared with a crumpled twenty-dollar bill in her hand.

She shoved it at me, but I didn’t take it. “Give it to Ethan,” I said, stepping aside.

She shot me one last glare, then walked over to where Ethan stood at the edge of the yard. “Here,” she muttered, shoving the bill at him.

Ethan took the money, eyes wide with surprise. “Uh, thanks.”

Mrs. Johnson didn’t say another word as she hurried back to her car. She fumbled with her phone, probably trying to call someone to remove the mulch blocking her driveway. But I wasn’t worried about that. My job was done.

Ethan smiled so wide, I thought his face might split in two.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, beaming.

“Don’t thank me,” I said, ruffling his hair. “You earned it.”

Mrs. Johnson never asked Ethan for help again. And every time she passed the neighbors, I could see the embarrassment in her eyes. Her hedges grew back, and the mulch eventually disappeared, but the story of how she learned a lesson about honesty and hard work stayed with the neighborhood.

Sometimes, the people who seem the most put-together are the ones who need a good reminder that you don’t mess with a mother protecting her son.

Unemployed dad with face tattoo rejects 45 job offers since going viral with desperate work plea

A teenage father with ‘DEVAST8’ tattooed across his face is ‘waiting for the right job offer’ after his desperate plea for work went viral – and he has revealed he will be getting the jailhouse ink lasered off. 

Mark Cropp, 19, from New Zealand, took to social media on Wednesday afternoon to beg someone to look past his criminal convictions and heavily-tattooed face and give him a chance at work.

Within hours he had been inundated with job offers and said he had ‘stopped counting when he reached 45’. 

Scroll down for video 

Mark 'Devast8' Cropp (pictured) had his nickname 'DEVAST8' tattooed across his face in jail

Mark ‘Devast8’ Cropp (pictured) has revealed that he has turned down 45 job offers since his story went viral

The 19-year-old (pictured) had taken to social media in frustration that his face tattoos were preventing him from finding work

The 19-year-old (pictured) had taken to social media in frustration that his face tattoos were preventing him from finding work

But he told Daily Mail Australia he still hadn’t ‘done a day’s work’.

‘I am just waiting for the right one to come about,’ he said.

We live in ‘Britain’s unhappiest town’ – There are pickpockets

Some of the jobs required him to have his own car – he clarified – but he will need help getting to the work site.

‘Until I get my first paycheck and get a car I won’t be able to get myself around,’ he said.

The former criminal revealed he will be getting the artwork – designed by his brother after a night of drinking home brew in jail – removed as soon as possible.

Cropp's partner,  Taneia Ruki, told Daily Mail Australia Cropp has accepted a fulltime scaffolding job 

‘A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it,’ Cropp (pictured, right) said

Man with DEVAST8 tattoo speaks about trying to get a job

‘I am just working out a date to get it taken off – which sucks because it is going to hurt,’ he said. 

‘And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it.

‘But I know it is the best thing for my future – and I want to be a person my family can look to for support.’

The artwork was designed to make him ‘look tough’ when he landed in jail following a long string of violent behaviour.

This image shows Cropp (pictured) before the face tattoo which made him go viral on social media

This image shows Cropp (pictured) before the face tattoo which made him go viral on social media

The teenage father grabbed global headlines after he turned to social media to complain that his face tattoo was a stain on his job prospects

‘And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it,’ he said

Mark and girlfriend Taneia Ruki got together a year before he was sent to prison 

Mark and girlfriend Taneia Ruki got together a year before he was sent to prison 

It was meant to be a ‘little one along the jawline,’ but the pair got carried away after drinking home brew made from fermented apples, sugar and bread.  

‘I went into jail with four tattoos and I came out with a full body suit,’ he said.

But the face tattoo was the biggest shock to his family.

‘A week before I got out I taped a picture of my face to the inside of an envelope so my partner could see it – she was devastated – but now she likes it and can’t see me without it.’ 

DEVAST8 happens to be the 19-year-old’s nickname.

Mark Cropp (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia he is still waiting for the right job to come along
The viral social media sensation has other tattoos also, but plans to get the face ink lasered off

Mark Cropp (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia he is still waiting for the right job to come along

Cropp (pictured) says the face tattoo was supposed to be small but he and his brother got carried away after drinking homebrew

Cropp (pictured) says the face tattoo was supposed to be small but he and his brother got carried away after drinking homebrew

‘I was going through a rough patch’: Teen with DEVAST8 jail tattoo

‘I would end up devastating everyone I met or got close to. 

‘They would be disappointed with something I had done or said – I was always hearing “that’s devastating”,’ he said.

But he hopes the devastating chapters of his life are over – erased along with the ink on his face.

‘I have learnt from my mistake,’ he said.

‘I still don’t think people should be judged by the tattoos on their face – but I know it will keep happening unless I do something about it.’ 

Before his final desperate plea on Facebook the teenager said people had ‘laughed in (his) face’ when he had asked for work.  

The tattoo was drawn with a homemade gun which used a needle made from the spring of a pen and powered by a cassette player.

Plastic knives and forks are burnt to a black plastic powder and mixed with toothpaste and water to create the ink.

The teenager has been out of jail for two weeks. 

Mark has also been offered laser therapy to remove the tattoo and will have his first session on Tuesday (pictured right with partner) 

Mark has also been offered laser therapy to remove the tattoo and will have his first session on Tuesday (pictured right with partner) 

The New Zealander (pictured) has been out of jail for two weeks and says he has learnt from his mistake

The New Zealander (pictured) has been out of jail for two weeks and says he has learnt from his mistake

Related Posts

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*