Chapter 1 of 4 - Wayne and Melinda are tired of being put down. They both decide to use some humorous retorts to help them defuse the conflict. The humorous retorts are so successful that they start teaching these techniques to some of their friends. Perhaps some of these ideas will work for you and your friends as well.
Chapter 1: Introducing Lucas and Wayne
Lucas loved doing those hit-and-run put-downs. He prided himself in being 'Johnny-NOT-on-the-spot' just in case his intended victim felt brave enough to get back at him in a physical way.
On this particular day, Lucas spotted Wayne. He didn't like him at all as Wayne was one of those brainy kids. He was always asking questions and volunteering answers in class.
Wayne was on his way to Keyboarding class. Lucas was heading toward Art class. Speeding up his walk a bit so he could get safely away if need be, he pretended to 'accidentally' bump into Wayne and said, "Hi, nerd brain!!!"
Wayne was used to this type of taunting. He had carefully practiced in front of his bedroom mirror to make certain his face showed no reaction.
Lucas didn't like being ignored one little bit. Just then, he saw some of his friends walking by who could witness his successful act of bullying. So Lucas looked at Wayne and yelled, "Hey, nice shoes, nerd brain! Where did you get them? Good Will?!!"
Wayne quickly debated whether he should respond or once again, ignore Lucas and keep on walking. Making his decision, he bravely said loud and clear in a long, drawn-out, sort of humorous sounding way, "Yeah! What's it to ya?!!"
Lucas was totally taken aback. This was not the angry or hurt response he was expecting. Instead, Wayne sounded almost cheerful. Lucas stammered, "Uh! Well, ... ah, whatever!"
Lucas's friends heard his put-down and Wayne's clever response. They all smirked. One boy named Mike said, "Nice going, Lucas! Looks like he told you!"
Again Lucas responded, "Whatever!" Then he rushed off, his face burning with resentment. He didn't understand what had gone wrong. Instead of bolstering his self-esteem, Lucas just felt stupid, furious with Wayne, and even angrier at himself. He decided he'd better stay away from Wayne and find somebody easier to pick on.
Don't get the idea that Lucas is such a bad guy. It's just that the only way that some kids know how to make themselves feel important is to put other kids down.
Wayne, on the other hand, was smiling broadly as he continued on his way to Keyboarding class. One of his friends, Les, who had witnessed the whole thing, said, "Hey, Wayne! That was great! How'd you do it? I mean, you always used to let Lucas really upset you."
Wayne responded, "Well, I finally realized that Lucas is really all talk. He only pretends to feel confident. So I figured if I used a humorous reaction instead of letting my buttons get pushed, it would make him back down."
Les said, "Well, it looks like it worked. I'll have to try that myself. What did you say again?"
Wayne repeated, "Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh! What's it to yaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
Les tried it out. "Like this? Yeahhhhhhhhhhh! What's it to you? No, that's not right."
Wayne advised, "Say ya - not you."
Les tried again. "Oh! Yeahhhhhhhhh! What's it to yaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Wayne smiled and nodded, "Exactly!"
"Thanks, Wayne." Then jokingly, Les said, "See ya at lunch."
Wayne laughed and said, "Right!"
Click here to read Chapter 2 of 4 - Thicken your Skin to Put-Downs
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