Redditor user1345598221 is a sixteen-year-old who goes to a school with very strict late policies.
One day, he found himself facing the school’s disciplinary consequences after he helped a friend he was concerned about.
After standing firm on a defiant decision, he visited the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit and asked:
“AITA for not serving my detentions?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained why he thought his punishment was not fair.
“I’m in high school. My best friend [16 Male] has diabetes.”
“It was in between classes and we were talking when his blood sugar got pretty low, I could tell because he was blinking slow and acting really sleepy.”
“I walked him across the school to get one of his juices from the fridge in the nurse’s office. He got his juice and everything was fine, so we asked the nurse for a note to go to class tardy.”
“Nurse gave my friend a note but not me, and when i asked for one she said, ‘Your blood sugar wasn’t low, was it? You should have gone to class on time.'”
“Our high school has a very strict late policy, you get a 30 minute detention for every 1 minute you’re late to class, and your phone taken for the day. No exceptions.”
“I was sent to the office by the nurse and I was given 3.5 hours of detention, because I wasn’t in class for 7 minutes.”
“I told the v.principal that I wouldn’t serve any hours, and that my friend is more important than 7 minutes of class.”
“AITA for not letting him walk by himself? AITA for not serving my detentions?”
Strangers online were asked to declare one of the following:
- NTA – Not the A**hole
- YTA – You’re the A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everybody Sucks Here
A majority of Redditors sided with the OP as not the a**hole for helping out his best friend.
“NTA that nurse is garbage. I’m a type 1 diabetic and if you’re low, you NEED someone to go with you. There’s a chance you can pass out if you’re dropping too fast.”
“There’s a chance he’s low enough to not know where he is or where to go. That nurse is an idiot. You should not have been in class and you’re right. Your friend is more important than a few minutes of class.” – c_meltdown
“NTA. That was a medical emergency, and your friend had to have someone there. That nurse should not be anywhere near a school. I wish you had been at my school and stopped by my classroom; I would have personally given you a pass to your next class.” – birdingisfun
“NTA, but that nurse is.”
“Who the f’k punishes good Samaritans like that?”
“Did she smile a little ‘f’k-you’ smile as she delivered her quippy comeback?”
“This feels like a grown a** adult exercising the little power she has over you just so she can indulge in that feeling of power.”
“You helped a friend with a medical emergency. She, knowing full well about the tardy policy, got her rocks off on making sure you were punished for a good deed.”
“Especially as a medical professional….what the f’k kind of person takes a powertrip on a 16 yo kid who was helping his friend out?”
“It’s a disgusting thing done by a disgusting person. But frankly, a little sad that her life is such that she feels the need to do this to a student helping out a friend in need.”
“I’d escalate this to the principal. Get your parents involved NOW. This is about that nurse’s awful behavior, not you.”
“In a just world, theyd make her sit in a room for 3 and a half hours to think about what she did, not you.”
“Hypoglycemia is no joke, these people can injure themselves if not helped.”
“https://guidelines.diabetes.ca/docs/cpg/Ch14-Hypoglycemia.pdf” – theC*mCatcher
“NTA f’k that, there isn’t a single college that will reject you for missing detention. It’s just a power play. And If they give you after school detention, just go home.”
“You aren’t committing a criminal offense and they can only offer intimidation as punishment. Ultimately their powerless, you did the right thing.” – Cu3bone
“Please do listen to everyone telling you to get both your parents and your friend’s parents involved! This is unacceptable behavior from an adult who is supposed to be trusted to look after children, especially children with medical conditions.”
“You shouldn’t have been punished for helping your friend get to the nurse safely, and your friend shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable every time he needs to go to the nurse.”
“She’s supposed to be there to help him, not make his condition harder to manage. You weren’t being irresponsible in the slightest, you were quick-thinking and considerate, and took the appropriate action to make sure that your friend would be okay.”
“If you were my kid, I’d be proud to have raised someone who cared about their friends the way you do, who chose to do the right thing even with immature adults trying to intimidate you and make you think otherwise. Your priorities are in the right place, but theirs are not.” – athymeforclues
“NTA You don’t need to serve detentions Your friend could have collapsed or wandered off if left to walk somewhere by himself. When going hypoglycemic your ability to focus and make logical decisions goes downhill.”
“Blood sugars could be dropping very quickly. Walking to the nurse office is using energy and making this worse. It’s dangerous to be left alone.”
“I appreciate the nurse is probably trying to put off ‘helpful’ friends who are mostly trying to get out of class. I imagine she sees a lot of this. In this instance there is a need for company for a diabetic going low.” – – Ok-Bridge-5543
“NTA. You did a wonderful thing for a friend, and I can only hope that when my daughter goes to school she has a friend as caring as you.”
“When her blood sugars go low she loses consciousness or has incredibly bad seizures, as do many people who suffer with their sugars and as a mum I am so proud of you for being an amazing friend and person, and I would hope my own child grows up to have your compassion.”
“That nurse however needs a few choice words on how to do her job properly.” – StunningOccasion6498
“NTA. You’re a good bean and that nurse is a very impolite word.”
“I’ve had a hypoglycemia problem since I was about 12 or so. Usually I can handle it, but one of the signs of hypoglycemia is (wait for it)…confused mental state and passing out.”
“You can bet your a** that when my friends noticed I was dipping low, they’d stay with me until I was better, not just send me off on my own. It’s called being a decent person. If you’re a good kid with decent grades who doesn’t cause trouble, that nurse was completely out of line.” – flyin_high_flyin_bi
“NTA. Good decision. Complain to the Principal about the nurse – you voluntarily are being your friend’s ‘caregiver’. Nurse is being cold and negligent.”
“Here’s the thing…if you friend went into a diabetic event because you were not around, and you have already proven that you’ve been told not to stay with him or you’ll get detention – that’s a $$2mm suit right there.”
“I know because a relative is a negligence attorney and he tells me that these cases are often caused by negligent staff like nurses, bus drivers, etc.” – Elegant_Ad_3620
“NTA. WTF are those people thinking?!?! You walked your friend with a MEDICAL CONDITION to the NURSE.”
“What if someone fell and cracked their head and was bleeding and you walked them to the nurse. Would they give you detention then?! JFC!”
“Hell no. Fight this till the end. Have your parents fight it. It’s bullshit you got detention, especially THAT LONG. That’s just ridiculous.”
“You’re a good person, and those school people (esp that nurse) are major AHs!” – crazycatleslie
“They’re getting in dangerous legal territory if the imply that you should’ve left your friend, a known diabetic, alone in his time of crisis.”
“Not necessarily live threatening YET, but I know that my father often doesn’t take it serious whe his device tells him that his levels are low and he needs some sugar and from my own experience I know that this whole sleepy feeling can get ugly really quick if the levels crash hard and you don’t act quickly, so no – they really don’t want to enforce this here, otherwise they can find themselves on the receiving end soon. NTA.” – Lotex_Style
He updated Redditors expressing that while he appreciated the suggestions to get adults involved in his situation, he had other intentions.
“Thanks for the replies, i feel much more confident in my decision now.”
“For all the comments saying to involve my parents: Im trying to resolve it on my own, but if I can’t ill have my dad talk to the principal as well.”
The OP also noted in the thread that he and his friend informed their English teacher about the incident and “he’s backing me up, he might be able to get me out of detentions now.”