'AITA for always dumping lemon on all my food?' 'Maybe I am being a jerk.'

"AITA for always dumping lemon on all my food?"

I might be the ahole here and will accept my judgement. I grew up in a big household where all food and leftovers were fair game, even when I became old enough to buy my own food.

To combat this, I started absolutely drowning my food in lemon juice. I could tolerate the taste, and even grew to quite like it. No one would touch my prepared foods or leftovers. It's a habit I've carried well into adulthood.

I recently went on a large trip with some girlfriends. The Airbnb and excursions are all evenly split, food is paid for by ourselves because some people have specialty allergies or foods. We have been going out to dinner the last few nights. I always ask for extra lemons at the table, and soak my food before eating.

After a couple days into the trip, one of the girls complained at breakfast that I was making food inedible to other people. This was news to me since the only food I was lemoning was my restaurant leftovers that I would eat the next day.

What apparently had been happening since the first night, was one of the girls (the one who complained) stays up later than the rest of us, and would eat or pick at any leftovers, disregarding the names on the containers. After 2x trying my food on separate occasions, she realized what I was doing and was pissed.

I said she shouldn't be eating others foods that weren't communal, and she said "well it's just how the rest of us feel." No one else at the table said anything and breakfast was tense.

Later, while getting ready to go out, the other girls one by one told me that they didn't like their leftovers being eaten and were glad I said something, but didn't want tensions going forward.

That night at dinner, I purposely lemoned my food again. The complainer made an angry noise and stormed off to the bathroom. I didn't say anything and the rest of our dinner continued normally without her until she came back out sniffling before we left the restaurant.

She gave me dirty looks the whole ride back. I am exasperated by this nonsense drama but maybe I am being a jerk. AITA for souring the trip?

Here's what people had to say about this one:

Jdawn82 said:

NTA - I can’t believe she’s mad because she can’t eat your food when you’re not looking. I’m guessing she probably gets something small and cheap at the restaurants too and that’s how she’s trying to save money.

Puzzleheaded-Rip8887 said:

NTA. She sounds like a mooch.

ATLBrysco said:

NTA, OP - tell her to stick to her own box of leftovers or suffer the consequences. I will say (although not asked to judge) your friends softly are the big brown eye for not standing up to the girl and telling her they didn't like her stealing either - that's what's giving this girl her sense of entitlement and "everyone else feels the same way!" Congrats on having a backbone!

MidwestLPN said:

NTA I think you and the rest of your girlfriends need to re evaluate your friendship with this girl. Obviously this is something that has been going on for a long time. And to gaslight you and say all the other girls are with her shows a clear sense of entitlement.

That the rest of your girlfriends came up to you and thanked you for speaking up about this shows they were not on the same page as this mooch. I say future girl trips, leave the mooch at home.

totallyworkinghere said:

NTA. It's your food. It would be one thing if you were dumping lemon all over a meal to be shared with a group, but just your food that only you intend to eat? Make it as crazy inedible as you want! Douse it in lemon, hot sauce, whatever strikes your fancy.

keesouth said:

NTA. Her sense of entitlement is crazy. She has absolutely no right to scavenge your leftovers. I'm surprised she had the audacity to say anything about it.

bamf1701 said:

NTA. This isn't about you putting lemon on your food - this is about one person complaining because she could not steal leftovers from the other people in the group. She is just gaslighting you to make it look like you are the rude one. Believe the rest of your friends when they said they agreed with you.

This one girl is using a tactic of making it more uncomfortable to confront her than to let her get away with stealing from her so she can get her way. It's a common tactic among bullies.

And she is giving you dirty looks because she realizes that she can't bully you like she can the others. Basically - you shattered her view that she can control the entire group. So keep strong, you not only are doing nothing wrong, you are standing up to a bully!