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u/ActuallyUndead • 3 hours ago
AITA for not wanting to clean the BASEMENT?
My (14M) parents (45M and 45F) are leading researchers in a hyper-specific field of study. As a result, they are not able to access the equipment they need at places like universities. And they refuse to work under “fascists” like LexCorp or Wayne Enterprises. So instead they have spent mine and my sister’s (16F) whole lives turning our basement and rooftop into places where they can conduct their research. (Rooftop is usually for equipment testing and the basement is more for their biological-related studies.)
Here’s my problem. A couple months ago I had a really bad accident in the basement lab. I brought my two friends over to show off what my parents do, and things ended very badly. It was dumb, and I shouldn’t have done it, but I’m also 14 and there’s literally nothing to do in my small town. The accident was so bad that in hindsight, I really should’ve been hospitalized. But, again 14, I was scared to tell my parents and hid it from them until I started to get a little bit better. They still don’t know.
The things in the basement are highly radioactive. Usually it’s not enough to harm a human, but ever since my accident I’ve been having allergic reactions to the things they keep down there. It varies depending on how bad my exposure is. (Like walking past something vs cleaning up a chemical spill.) So sometimes it’s just an itchy rash, other times it’s a burning pain in my lungs that makes it hard to breathe.
Ever since my tenth birthday, it has been my chore to tidy up the basement. (My sister gets the attic/rooftop) And I’m supposed to do so at least once a week. It’s not very hard work (throwing out broken beakers, disposing of chemical waste, wiping down the countertops and floor, and tidying their research papers) but I REALLY don’t want to do it. I’ve been having really bad reactions lately, and I don’t want to spend hours super uncomfortable and dealing with bad memories.
My sister (who knows about the accident) offered to clean the basement for me. Our parents found out and got really upset with me for trying to “pawn my chores off to (sister)”. When she asked if we could instead swap chores, they said no and that it was the “principle of the matter”. They were really, really upset with me about it. And all four of us ended up getting into a yelling match.
Basically that I had to clean the basement no matter what. I refused and promptly got grounded until I clean the basement. No seeing my friends, no phone, etc. etc.
My sister thinks I’m justified to refuse, and I really don’t want to apologize and just clean the basement. But my parents are really upset with me about it.
AITA for not wanting to clean the basement?
OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
It’s been my responsibility to clean the basement for four years now, and my parents don’t know about the accident. So I can’t really blame them for being upset at my sudden refusal to clean the basement.
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Loathe as he was to admit it, Clark had a certain…predisposition to seek out drama and gossip. It was a trait that made him an excellent reporter, in his humble opinion.
It was also the reason why he was aimlessly scrolling through r/AITA in-between editing his latest article.
Clark hummed, taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee. He looked down at the mug, arching an eyebrow at the liquid. For all the money that the Daily Planet raked in, they hadn’t improved upon their coffee quality in the years since he first began working there. Truly a tragedy. He raised the cup to his lips again, looking up at the screen before him. He clicked on a recent post that seemed innocuous enough.
He also knew that the innocuous titles often had the juiciest stories. So, Clark began reading with the intention of fulfilling his desire for non-supervillain drama.
His eyes darted across the screen, brow furrowing the further he read into the situation. Clark set his mug down on his desk, a frown forming on his face.
A child had written this post. A child, not much older than his own son, who seemed to be down-playing the amount of danger he was truly in. To say that the situation the boy described spoke of significant parental neglect was an understatement. The further into it Clark read, the more concerned he became for the child’s well-being. Radioactive biohazards? Homemade laboratories? The author (or ‘OP’ as Jon would say) was describing a situation not unlike those of Gotham’s finest villains.
Clark frowned at his screen, falling deep into thought. As a rational adult, he had reason to find the post…concerning. And the dozens of replies calling for the boy to seek out a “safe adult” or “call cps” shared his sentiments. Clark Kent could do nothing about a random child somewhere in the world who lived in a dangerous situation.
And, as much as it ate away at him, neither could Superman. He’d spent the better part of two decades masquerading as a superhero and trying to improve the state of the world.
Posts like this reminded him that the fight was never, ever going to be finished.
He folded his fingers together, resting them on his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. If only he knew where this boy was, if only he knew who this boy was. Maybe then he could make a difference.
Who are you, Reddit user ActuallyUndead?
Where are you?