This was before the pandemic. I like to help people out, and I don’t wanna be seen as that guy who doesn’t want people copying his work.

The guy who sits next to me is a good guy, I don’t have anything against him but, he’s one of them guys that just like to fiddle around with your shit. Just small things like taking my piece of paper, pulling my earphones out, and making me the centre of jokes that he makes every once in a while. (Insulting me but, not directly most were funny)

I let it go because I’m not very emotional, and what he did just made me think that he was immature. The other guy who sits next(I’ll call him Person A) to me says that he respects me for not doing anything, and keeping my cool. Person A usually asks me why I haven’t done anything to the guy yet. (The annoying guy is built like Zion the NBA player) His height doesn’t frighten me.

I got pissed off when the annoying guy 1 day decided to pull my hat off from behind me. When I tried to get it back he pulled his hand away, and I told him to give me my hat back.

I then looked him in the eye, and told him not to fucking do that again as we sat down in our chairs. (Table seating changed, and his new seat is facing away from me on the opposite table)

He looked me right back in the eye: “Or what?”

Everyone in the area that could hear him was looking at me, and literally the whole class went silent. I cringe every time I think back to this moment but I held the eye contact and, I made my glare a lot more hostile.

Then I said with a serious look on my face: “Or I will fuckin beat your ass” with a really calm voice, and strong eye contact. Everyone who heard my threat provoked hostilities by shouting “Ooohh!”

He backed off, and turned around his seat with an annoyed expression. He didn’t say anything to anyone throughout the whole lesson, and he later stormed out the classroom 10 minutes after the confrontation.

When he left Person A kept telling me how shocked he was when he saw me pissed off for the first time. He mentioned that I was a very reserved person so he was shocked to see me pissed off.

Ever since that confrontation I gained the respect of the annoying guy, and he doesn’t do any of that annoying shit anymore.

I wanna know how I could have handled this better without being a coward or making stupid threats like that.