Chapter 1 of 3 - This story demonstrates that it is not appropriate to make threats or promises to administer bodily harm at school. The action of making threats or pulling pranks can often backfire as it did for Greg, Tim, and Bruce in this story called “Pranks, Idle Threats, And Promises.”
Chapter 1 - Monkey in the middle
“You better give it back, or else!” Bruce yelled.
Innocently, Greg asked, “Give what back?”
“My lunch,” Bruce snapped.
Greg, Tim, Bruce, and a bunch of other guys were congregated on a bleacher in the gym. Their bus had gotten them to school a full twenty-five minutes before the bell that released them to homeroom. There was only one teacher on duty so far, and she was busy at the entrance to the gym. She was oblivious to all these eighth-grade boys gathered on the far left bleacher.
Greg was sitting to the left of Bruce. Tim was sitting to Bruce’s right.
Bruce had put his books and brown bag lunch on the seat behind him. Greg leaned back and asked Tim a question. Tim leaned back to respond. Soon, the two of them appeared to be involved in this intense conversation about a movie they had both seen. Bruce leaned forward to accommodate them and got caught up in a conversation with a guy sitting right in front of him. That was the opportunity Greg was waiting for.
Surreptitiously, Greg reached over and grabbed Bruce’s brown lunch bag. He set it down on his own tower of books with a mischievous smile.
Tim was watching the action closely. He casually turned to Bruce and asked, “Hey, Bruce! What did you bring for lunch today?”
Bruce said, “I don’t know. I’ll have to look.” He turned around to grab his lunch. Of course, he found it gone. “Hey, what happened to my lunch? I hope it didn’t drop under the bleacher!” He peered down between the slats. He didn’t see it. Looking up with a frown, he spotted it sitting on Greg’s pile of books.
Bruce said, “Very funny, Greg! I’d like my lunch, please.
Impulsively, Greg decided against handing the lunch back to Bruce. Feeling bored, he decided to make this idle prank a little more interesting. Pretending to misunderstand, Greg said, “Uh, Bruce, it’s not time for lunch yet. You could go eat breakfast though.”
Bruce reached out to try to retrieve his lunch. Greg grabbed the bag and held it out of Bruce’s reach.
That’s when Bruce got fed up. Never at his best early in the morning, his temper flared. That’s when he yelled, “You better give it back, or else!”
With injured innocence, Greg asked, “Give what back?”
“My lunch,” Bruce snapped.
Greg was getting a kick out of pushing Bruce’s buttons so quickly. He made a motion with his eyes to Tim, who was watching avidly. Tim understood and backed up a ways. Quickly, Greg said, “All right! Here’s your lunch. Catch!” Then he threw the lunch high over Bruce’s head to Tim.
Tim said, “Look who’s the monkey in the middle. I have your lunch now!”
Bruce lunged for Tim just as Tim threw the lunch back to Greg. Then Bruce made a lunge for Greg just as Greg threw it back to Tim. This went on for several minutes, with Bruce getting more and more frustrated. Greg and Tim had an interested audience of several other guys who were laughing and making fun of Bruce.
Bruce finally sat down in total frustration. He was seething with anger. He looked straight ahead in stony silence.
Greg and Tim tossed Bruce’s lunch back and forth a few more times. Bored with his lack of reaction, Greg caught it and finally said, “Here, have your old lunch back!”
Bruce took it and noticed its crumpled condition. Looking inside, he saw that his sandwich was all squished and unappetizing-looking, and his potato chips were smashed to smithereens. Bruce totally lost control then. He turned to Greg and then Tim and yelled, “You’ve ruined my lunch! You both better buy me lunch today or you’ll be sorry!”
Greg pretended to be scared and asked, “Is that a threat?”
Bruce snapped, “No, it’s a promise!”
Tim sarcastically said, “What are you going to do? Throw crushed potato chips at us? Ruin our lunch? Or what?”
Bruce said, “I’ll meet you at the field near where the bus lets us off, and I’ll take you on, one at a time. So you better come up with enough money to buy me lunch today, if you know what’s good for you!” Bruce grabbed his books and his crumpled lunch bag. Then he moved to another bleacher, far away from those guys.
Click here to read Chapter 2 of 3 - Pranks, Idle Threats, and Promises
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