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“I Got Fired The Next Day”: 34 Unexpected And Awkward Times People Saw Something They Weren’t Supposed To
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
Sometimes, everything that can happen, will happen, and the future unfolds according to possibilities, not probabilities. Reddit user Zarxpy recently asked users on the platform to share their "I wasn't supposed to see that" moments, and hundreds immediately jumped in. From lucky coincidences that earned them a couple of bucks to awkward situations ending in uncomfortable silence, their stories show that one second can completely change the course of your day, or, in rare cases, even your entire life. Here are the ones that stuck with us the most.
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#1
Had some friends over, a married couple where the wife was super pregnant, like 8 months along. My wife and I forgot something at the store and left them in our small apartment for maybe 15 minutes. Came back, and the husband was [pleasuring her] on our couch, deep and deaf in her thighs. Wife was gritting her teeth and grunting in pleasure. They didn't hear us come in.
So we left, paused for a few beats, then NOISILY came in with rattling keys and loud small talk. Husband and wife were bolt upright, sweaty with their hair and clothes messed up, arranging pillows in camouflage. We acted like we had no idea and went into the kitchen. When we came out, the wife ran to the bathroom to fix her hair. The husband, oblivious, had a glistening beard.
We had to endure most of the dinner with that beard. At SOME point, his wife must have said something, the husband excused himself, and went to the bathroom. At this point, my wife and I were nearly having aneurysms trying not to laugh. Then he came out with wet hair and beard, and my wife just lost it.
"Did... Did you just wash your hair?" I asked.
"I... got food in my beard."
His wife was covering her eyes and shaking her head. Mine was gasping for air in laughter. But nobody actually said aloud any truth about the matter.
We never spoke of that dinner again. To them, I mean. My wife and I spoke about it for YEARS as a private joke.
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#2
I used my key to walk into my grandparents house. They insisted everyone had keys, always wanted everyone to just walk in, so I did.
I walked in and my grandparents were lying on the couch in the den. Grandma was in her nightgown and Poppa, in a rushed manor, pulled his hands out from up her nightgown.
I went to the kitchen to get a coffee and a cookie and he joined me and said "I was just warming my hands on your grandmother's legs". Sure, Pop, we will go with that.
Actually loved it for them but I definitely wasn't supposed to see it. Told my mom when I got home and she was beside herself with glee, couldn't wait to call her brother and fill him in. I was probably 22ish.
#3
I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my dog pick up his pillow with his mouth and move it to the other end of his bed. Afterwards he looked at me like "You weren't supposed to see that."
#4
I worked at a restaurant that somehow stayed in business despite having barely any customers. I was basically the only employee. One night I stayed a little later than usual to do some cleaning when a handful of guys came through the back door carrying duffle bags and went straight to the owners office. He came out and told me I should go home and I can clean in the morning. Worked there for about a couple months after that and never said anything about it. I got paid cash under the table, way more than I should have. I think I know how it stayed in business now.
#5
As a computer nerd growing up in the early 2000s every one of my parents' friends wanted me to get rid of adware popups on their computers, and I enjoyed that..... **except** I would always find child [footage], evidence of affairs, or other illegal things. Never told my parents how often it'd happen.
But hey it eventually led to me being a successful cybersecurity researcher who loves his job.
#6
One of my first jobs was telesales for a long distance plan. I hit top sales for a few weeks in a row. Then I hit a bad week, had more then a few calls where the people we were trying to sell to were telling me they were already on a different plan that sounded very similar to ours. Just a different name. Then I went into the managers room to ask a question cause none of them were on the floor, I saw them building lists from other states phone books (while not 100% illegal it means they weren't checking do not call lists) There were also stacks of old call sheets with that other plans name on them. I got fired the next day. They got raided by the FCC and FBI the day after that. They were 100% scamming people by switching them between plans and collecting on the setup and cancellation fees.
#7
We had conference rooms with 3 levels of windows. The middle window was the tallest and frosted for privacy, but I'm 6'7". I walked past a meeting where they had payroll info on the screen in an Excel sheet. I also have a great memory. Got a raise and promotion earlier than expected bringing it up that I was paid less than peers.
#8
When enlisting, I needed my birth certificate. Asked mom where it was, she told me to check my baby book. Didn't find the birth cert, but I did find the fertility clinic profile for the donor they used to conceive me. Was an only child. Since, I've spoken with my donor often, and keep in contact with one of his children by marriage, my half sister.
#9
I went out to check on a client who had stopped by late at night to check something (long, unimportant story) and walked up on her making out with her lifelong best friend’s husband (the BF was also a client). I beat feet outta there before they saw me, spent two days trying to figure out what my personal and professional obligations were, and before I’d come to any conclusions, they got caught by the best friend/wife and it was no longer my problem.
#10
Snuck into my parents room one night as a kid to steal some of Mom's candy. Popped my head up at the foot of the bed to make sure parents were still sleeping. What I saw them doing at that angle , no child should ever see 🙈.
#11
Me, coworker and manager were all working late. I leave and come back 10 minutes later because I forgot something at my desk. I find my coworker sitting in my chair and my manager pulling up her pants super fast. They didn’t even push my chair in all the way! The audacity….
#12
One time in middle school I was [messing] around outside while I was supposed to be in class and caught a teacher smoking in the nature playground. “We didn’t see each other,” he said. I agreed and went back to class.
#13
It was like 2am and I wanted to grab something from the shed. I walked into the backyard and opened the door to the shed and see my housemate going down on my other housemate, who happens to have a girlfriend who also lives in the same sharehouse as us.
I pointed at them and laughed, walked into the shed, grabbed my stuff and walked out.
I moved out shortly after that as the sharehouse situation imploded very quickly from that night.
#14
When I was a kid I was a HUGE tomboy - had short hair, wanted to play with boys, and when I was 4 my poor nanny was tasked with putting me in a dress for a Christmas party and the *meltdown* I had was so extreme the family talked about it for years afterwards…
eventually I caved after *years* of pressure from both family and peers, (adults also stopped letting me get guy clothes) so when I was 11, back-to-school shopping was officially “girl” clothes… god, at first I was *so* uncomfortable.
A couple weeks later, I was looking for something in my mom’s room, and I opened a drawer and found a handwritten list of things she was thankful for… and very high on that list was “[me] finally dressing like a girl”.
Not a fun thing to find.
#15
Was a teenager. A friend and I were backpacking in the National Park. We were camping in this hidden secret spot. Not many people knew it was there. I was sitting on top of this fifteen foot tall cliff. Looking at the view drinking a bottle of wine. These two mature ladies came along. They must have been like thirty something. they started hanging out below the cliff. It was a nice sunny private spot and it had a view. They took off their clothes and started sunbathing. I had never seen a [bare] woman before. It was great. I was hoping they would start kissing or something. But instead of kissing, they started popping each other's pimples.
Fantasy meets reality.
#16
I had a sergeant that was all about bulking up and exercising. Great sergeant and very knowledgeable about health and physical fitness.
I was cleaning out a hmmwv and found a notebook and I opened it to see who left it. Written inside was a bunch of insecurities like “when I’m small I feel weak and worthless” and other such written very frankly like that.
I knew immediately that I saw nothing, touched nothing, and did not clean that hmmwv. Just dropped that book and walked away.
#17
Stayed home sick from school one day. Had to pee, but someone was in the shower, so I knocked to ask when they would be out. Door immediately opens to full frontal of my dad. We both just freeze and stare, then I run back to my room. Apparently he didn’t get the message that I was home sick and assumed I must be my mother. Next day there was a sign on the bathroom door ‘ beware crazy [bare] man’ LOL.
#18
I work pizza delivery. Someone ordered dinner to a brand new Mom and didn't tell her it was coming. Or she forgot. She opened the door in full wonderful post-life giving beauty and not much else. I got one quick glance and then immediately made direct eye contact with her forehead and said, "Hi, [ ] for X?"
I'm not entirely sure she was aware I was there, because she just goes, "Oh hey. Hi. Come on in. Sorry for the yeah. Just set it down where you can find room. Let me just get ...". I had been paid and tipped, so I just unloaded it on the kitchen counter, bade her a goodnight in a stage whisper and left.
#19
Saw my coworker [without clothes] when she was showing me pictures of her current girlfriend.
#20
I use to work security in a corporate building, randomly looked over at the CCTV cameras and saw two co workers playing tonsil hockey in the elevator. The guy got married a week prior and the woman was his wife's maid of honor.
#21
Saw an “I love you” message from the intern to my coworker when he was showing me something on his phone. He is her direct supervisor and she is 18 year old.
Edit: this coworker is 28 and when the message popped up the interns names had a heart beside it.
#22
I have the same name as a friend's girlfriend and she accidentally sent me [revealing pics] instead of her.
#23
I was about 12 years old and unbeknownst to my dad I was following him down the stairs down to my mom. All the sudden he stops on the stairs and opens his robe and quick closes it. Little did he realize there was a mirror at the bottom of the stairs and he flashed is preteen daughter.
#24
When I was a receptionist, the boss's wife would take over the front desk when I took lunch and use my computer. When I returned one afternoon, she was still logged into the computer when I sat back down. Up on the screen - her Ashley Madison profile.
#25
When I was in like the 4th grade we read this book about a kid who accidentally sees the count for the contest where you have to guess the number of jelly beans in the jar, and to coincide with this book the teacher was running her own jelly bean jar counting contest. This other kid and I were looking at the jar and we took the lid off and written under the lid was the number of jelly beans in the jar. The teacher saw us and stepped in quick but we had defiantly seen it.
I threw the contest, the other kid did not and he went home with the jar of jelly beans.
#26
Walked in on my brother and his “not girlfriend” last week when i didnt even think he was home and my boyfriend left his airpods in my brothers room.
#27
When I was a satellite TV tech I went to a customers 2nd floor apartment, scouted my termination points indoors, and then went out to setup the ladder. The unit on the first floor had nothing covering the sliding door (it did face an empty field) that provided me with a clear view of the tenant on her couch going to town with a battery operated boyfriend. Just propped up my ladder and climbed.
#28
Different than most, when I was in USMC boot camp I was lucky to be part of a small group of recruits that were selected to wake up early, make our beds, go to chow early, come back and clean the squad bay before everyone else got back from chow. It made boot camp a lot better. In each squad bay is a small office where the drill instructors do their thing, me and some other guys were talking about what might have been in there and someone dared me to go in.
What I found was a small sheet of laminated paper with the week’s schedule. It was big enough to fit in a breast pocket and I remembered seeing the drill instructors refer to it often. It was more or less a survival guide to boot camp. I memorized most of it after 10 minutes of constant scanning. It had some rules and regulations the drill instructors had to follow, like no PT within a certain time after chow and down to the exact minute that we would be in class or practicing drill. The drill instructors would always threaten that they would [mess] us up after chow because we did something wrong, it never phased me because I knew they legally couldn’t.
I knew when the schedule was too tight for any of that and more importantly I knew when the schedule allowed plenty of time for some one on one time with a drill instructor. Every Monday I would b line straight to the office when no one was around and take a long look at that sheet and never got caught.
#29
I was visiting a school for an audit and going around inspecting their property. Walked into a building where some equipment was stored i needed to inspect, and the employee there (librarian/teacher?) was watching gore videos on the computer, and quickly swapped tabs when he realised i was there and could see it. Probably shouldnt do that on a school site buddy...
#30
In the era before digital, data being presented to high ups was via slides projected on screens. Art department and others would create the content and I was in the photo dept at 19 and I would shoot all slides shown to execs. All the REAL truth behind things like life expectancy of employees they were trying to buy out, real accident reports, and data being sent to NRC about a nuke plant under construction that looked different than slides shown to execs. Eye opening.
I was young and seeing the ugly corporate beast from the inside ruined my opinion of any corporations. I don't trust any, as they really do not care about people - except the investors. I escaped the corporate life and was self employed for almost 30 years until medical retirement.
#31
Sent my wife a [revealing] photo of myself to spice up her day but didnt know she was at the nail salon. Let’s just say her best friend and the nail salon lady saw everything.
#32
I couldn’t have been any older than 7/8 years old and I walked into the bathroom and saw my Grandfather, completely [bare], shaving his pubic hair.
#33
I was on a flight home from Bali. This lady in front of me was going through her go pro footage on her laptop. I was watching through the seat crack on the window side. She was at the monkey forest and this monkey tried to climb her and grabbed her tank top and pulled on it to reveal her [chest] She paused and took a screenshot and then continued looking at the footage.
#34
I was playing on the beach with my kids. A woman next to me was changing in a pop up tent. The wind whipped the front of the tent up and I saw everything.
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