Turning The Tables
In middle school, there was a kid named Tommy who was just mean. He was kind of dense, not good-looking, and he liked to be a jerk to people for no reason. I only saw him a couple of times a week in math class, but we were assigned seats that were close to one another. So, he felt compelled to pick on me. For the most part, I brushed it off, but the kid had a friend or two that looked up to him, and I guess he felt like hot stuff for belittling others.
One day, I came to class, and Tommy was already there with his buddies, looking ready to be a jerk for the day. I then set my plan in motion. I just smiled and said, “Hi, Tommy! How are you doing today”? He was taken aback by the question and mumbled, “Uhh…Fine”. He Didn’t say much else to me that day. In the next class, I brought some dessert I hadn’t opened.
I walked in, greeted him, and said, “Hey Tommy, I couldn’t finish my lunch. Do you want this dessert, or should I give it to somebody else”? He said, “Uhh no, I’ll take it”. After that, he stopped being mean. I don’t know what he was like in his other classes, but I never saw him be a jerk again.