A Good Deal
There's a little boy at Miranda's school, I'll call him P, who has picked on Miranda for a long time. They were in the same class last year, and although they're in different classes this year, he still sees her on the playground and they have P.E. together (all the grade one classes do P.E. at the same time).
P is a bit of a little snot and he likes to pick on Miranda. He teases her about being short, which she is, but that's not like something she can help or change, so it's a pretty dumb thing to pick on. He also tells her she's fat, which she isn't. She's not skinny, but she's definitely not fat. About that worst that can be said is that she's short-waisted and when she's had a meal, her tummy pokes out for a bit.
Today, since Miranda was going to have P.E., I gave her a strategy to use if P started picking on her. I said to her, just say, "Don't be stupid," when he says you're short or you're fat or whatever it is he decides to say. So she did. Everything he said, she just said, "Don't be stupid." He finally got fed up with it and told on her.
Now, the teacher is well aware of the conflict here, because Miranda has, in the past, told on P for teasing her. The teacher got them together and proposed a deal. If P would be nice to Miranda, she would stop saying "Don't be stupid" and she wouldn't tell on him. Miranda thought it was a good deal. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), P also thought it was a good deal, and he agreed to be nice to Miranda.
How long that will last, I don't know, but if he starts again, she's ready to tell him not to be stupid. Perhaps it will remind him of the deal he agreed to.
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