When Petty Revenge Sails Smooth: How a Lazy Groupmate Got Thrown Overboard
There’s nothing quite like the sinking feeling of realizing your group project is at the mercy of That One Groupmate—the eternal slacker, the Houdini of responsibility, the future captain of the S.S. Excuse. If you’ve ever been left holding the bag (or the PowerPoint), you know the pain. But what happens when the tides finally turn, and the group’s anchor gets exactly what’s coming to him? Grab your life vest, because this tale from r/PettyRevenge is about to set sail.
Let’s chart our course: Our story takes place in a maritime training school, where group projects don’t just earn you grades—they set the standard for the kind of sailor you might become. The original poster (u/Aki008035), fresh off a year of onboard training and armed with the only laptop in the group, was made the captain (read: group leader) of a four-person team. The mission? A simple presentation, all hands on deck.
Except, of course, not all hands showed up. Three out of four crew members finished their assigned parts within days. The fourth? The human embodiment of “dead weight.” Repeated reminders, group meetings, friendly nudges—nothing worked. The wayward mariner only managed to send his portion at the eleventh hour—midnight before the presentation—long after the OP had already covered his slack.
Now, here’s where things get deliciously petty (and educational): Instead of quietly letting the slacker coast, u/Aki008035 took a page from the official ship’s logbook and documented every reminder, every nudge, every group chat @mention. When the day of reckoning arrived, the OP calmly presented this digital paper trail to the lecturer. The verdict? The group’s presentation was postponed for proper preparation, and the lazy groupmate was cut adrift—tasked with doing an entirely new presentation solo.
The aftermath? In a last-ditch attempt at damage control, the ousted groupmate tried to spin a tale of sabotage, claiming he’d been set up by a hateful group leader. But, as u/Aki008035 pointed out, “Everyone had already seen and heard me reminding him multiple times to do his part… the message history was there for everyone to see.” In the age of screenshots, laziness sinks faster than a leaky dinghy.
The Reddit community, as always, brought the wind to this story’s sails. Top commenter u/Spirited_Pirate_3897 nailed it: “You didn’t sabotage him, you documented him. Beautiful difference. Screenshot everything like that, laziness hates a paper trail.” It’s a sentiment that resonates far beyond the classroom: in the workplace, the military, or anywhere teamwork matters, documentation isn’t just bureaucratic busywork—it’s your life raft when the waters get choppy.
u/Dougally and u/these-things-happen both chimed in with a chorus of “He sabotaged himself”—or, as the latter put it, channeling the Beastie Boys: “Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage.” Sometimes, the best revenge is simply letting someone’s own laziness do the hard work for you.
Other commenters dove into the maritime angle, noting that you wouldn’t want such a person “responsible for sailing a ship.” u/lazenintheglowofit even wondered if the slacker eventually dropped out, while u/GrandmasterJoke slyly referenced infamous nautical disasters (“Costa Concordia - his last command”). It’s all fun and games until someone’s group project performance hints at their real-world reliability. Would you trust your life to the guy who can’t bother to show up to a group meeting?
The humor didn’t stop there. u/bd82001 wished for their own group to “let me down one more time” at their funeral—a sentiment that’ll strike a chord with anyone who’s ever carried a team. Meanwhile, u/CoderJoe1 pointed out that the corporate world isn’t much different: “Same thing happens in every corporation, but they usually know how to kiss the right asses to be protected.” Some things, it seems, are universal.
But perhaps the most insightful comment came from the OP himself, reflecting on how the experience (and a year at sea) gave him the confidence to stand up for himself: “I probably wouldn't have too, if I was the same way I was in my first year. But apparently spending a year at sea forces you to grow some guts.” There’s a lesson here for anyone afraid to rock the boat—sometimes, you have to speak up to keep the ship afloat.
So, what can we learn from this maritime melodrama? Whether you’re navigating a group project or the high seas, accountability is the true north on your compass. Keep receipts, communicate clearly, and don’t be afraid to call out dead weight when it threatens to capsize your crew. And if all else fails, remember: screenshots are mightier than the sword.
Have you ever had to bail out a lazy groupmate, or did you find a clever way to dock their grade? Share your tales of teamwork triumph—or disaster—in the comments below. And next time you’re drafting your group chat reminders, make sure you tag the right people. After all, you never know when you’ll need your own paper trail to keep your ship sailing true.
Original Reddit Post: A lazy groupmate getting what he deserve