The Easter Bully Transformation Project: Project Kids Adventure #5

By Gary M Nelson

The Project Kids really have their work cut out for themselves this time. After Peter Johansen nearly destroyed the Valentine’s Dance, you might expect the Project Kids to be glad to see the last of ‘Pimple Pete’. So why are they reaching out to him - and what do they hope to achieve?
As one small idea takes on a life of its own and one of their own is struck down in their prime, they find themselves struggling to answer one simple question: Can they actually un-bully a bully? ...And should they even try?
The answer lies in an unexpected place...and not even the Easter Bunny can help them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary M Nelson
• Release date: Apr 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370502073

Gary M Nelson

Gary M. Nelson, BSC, PMP (Gazza) is passionate about sharing knowledge and making Project Management concepts more accessible, particularly to new and aspiring Project Managers (of all ages). Said another way, he likes to tell stories to help convey complex concepts in a way that helps the concepts 'stick'. Who says learning shouldn't be fun?Born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), Gary moved west to B.C. at the very early age of 2, where he spent most of his formative years - aside from a 6 year stint where he learned to appreciate living in a very small town of 800 people. He then attended high school in Surrey, B.C. and went on to graduate from Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) in 1989 with a major in Computing science and a minor in English - an odd but useful mix (a techie who can write clearly)!Gary was tricked into becoming a Project Manager by his first manager, and has never looked back. His international experience includes projects in New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Canada, working on projects in the Telecom, Student Information Systems, Local Government and Healthcare sectors.Having wanted to write books since high school, it took many long years of successful procrastination until he finally felt he had something useful to write about, and wrote his first book of stories in 2012...on Project Management, of all things. Next, presented with the terrifying challenge of writing for children, he enlisted his youngest sons to be the first victims (reviewers and editors) and the Project Kids series of books were born. Several years on, he is amazed to see the books being translated into multiple languages, and reaching into schools and homes around the world.He enjoys speaking and training, has presented at numerous events and conferences and is also the author and host of Gazza’s Corner Project Management Blog and Podcast.Gary currently lives in New Zealand with his wife, three sons and two cats, and is loving every bit of it.

Book preview

1.Bully for You

It’ll never work, declared Amanda. You simply can’t un-bully a bully!

Amanda brushed her hair away from her green eyes so she could look more closely at her younger brother. They both shared their father’s dark brown hair and caramel colored skin, but Ben’s wiry mop tended to stick straight up, to the constant frustration of his mother. At eleven, Ben was a year younger than Amanda, but he was starting to catch up to her in height.

Ben chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of bran flakes. "Oh, I don’t know, Tim may be right. It’s not like people are actually born bullies…are they?"

Tim was one of Ben’s best friends, and had ended up leading their last project - even though he was still in primary school, and the project was a middle school dance. Tom was his red-head identical twin brother, and the same age as Ben.

Amanda shrugged. "Born, made, what’s the difference? A bully’s a bully. They’re mean and I hate them, especially Pimple Pete."

Ben stuffed another spoonful of soggy cereal into his mouth and quickly swallowed it. "It’s got to make a difference why, right? Like there has to be a reason why Pete tried to wreck the dance. I mean, you’d have to be crazy to do what he did."

It wasn’t just the one thing though, said Amanda. "He kept trying to take over running the dance like he did the year before, and then when that didn’t work, he ruined it!"

"Almost ruined it, you mean, said Ben. That was pretty smart of Becky to ignore him and just start putting the decorations back up. All the kids followed her, James started up the music, and it was almost like it never even happened."

Amanda shook her head. "It happened all right, and Pete deserves all the punishment he gets."

Ben sipped his orange juice and set the glass down on the table. "Rubbish pickup for the rest of the year, sure. But Becky said that’s not all the punishment he’s getting. Everyone’s been ignoring Pete this past week, even the janitor. And he smiles at everybody."

"So what? said Amanda. It’s just part of the punishment. It’ll keep him out of trouble for a while."

Maybe, said Ben, "or maybe not. That’s what worries Becky. She thinks she started it - ignoring him, I mean - but everybody’s still doing it. She says it can’t be healthy, and he might even go all crazy-evil on us or something. But she thinks ‘cos she started it, she needs to fix it."

Becky worries too much, Amanda shook her head. And she’s too soft.

I guess, grunted Ben. Say - what exactly did she mean by ‘Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer’?

I think it means we’ll need to keep an eye on Pete so he doesn’t cause us any more trouble, Amanda grimaced. "Which I guess means that we won’t be able to ignore him. But I don’t think we can actually fix him. A bully’s a bully, that’s all there is to it."

"Tim thinks it’s worth a try. He’s even started on the plan. He wants to go over it with us after school, said Ben, lifting the bowl to his face to drink the last of the milk. He said they’re all going to come over here after school."

"Fine, we’ll talk to Tim after school. But I still think it’s a dumb idea, Amanda shook her head. Let sleeping dogs lie, and let bullies…oh, just go away, or something!"

Ben just shook his head.

Where’s Tim? Ben asked Tom as he walked up to the swings in the playground before school.

Tom swung back and forth a couple of times before he answered. He was pumping his legs back and forth to try to get higher than James. He’s not feeling well, and he barely touched his breakfast. Mom says he’s got a temperature, so he gets to stay home today.

Ben grunted. "Huh, watching TV all day sounds pretty good to me, maybe I’ll feel sick tomorrow..."

Your mom’s too smart for that, said James, as his toes reached just above the top bar of the swings.

Ben frowned. Yeah, I guess you’re right. But maybe he’ll be able to work on the plan some today. Is he going to come over tonight?

In the distance, the first bell rang.

Tom slowed the swing down and used his heels to drag it to a stop. We’ll see, depends on how he’s feeling, I guess.

If Amanda had her way, we wouldn’t even be trying this un-bully thing, shrugged Ben. "She really doesn’t like Pimple Pete."

Yeah, well, that goes for most of the middle school and at least half of our school, said James as he bent down to tie a loose shoelace. But Becky thinks it’s important that we try, ‘cos she still feels like she started it.

And Tim, nodded Tom. "It was his idea first to try and fix it, so we’ll see what he comes up with."

Where’s Tim and Tom? asked Ben when he opened the front door. James was waiting on Ben’s doorstep with his older sister Susan. Both had blonde hair and blue eyes, but while Susan’s hair was long, combed and tied into pigtails, James’ hair could be best described as a bird’s nest, after the birds had a big party and left out all the dirty dishes. In other words, it was a mess - just the way he liked it.

I don’t know, I expected them to be here already, said Susan. They live closer than us.

Huh, maybe he really is sick, sighed Ben. Oh, wait - there they are!

Tom was carrying a bag over his shoulder. Tim followed behind, walking slower than usual.

How are you feeling? asked Ben, holding open the door for the twins. James and Susan had already gone up to the kitchen where Amanda was busy getting things ready.

I’m OK, thanks, said Tim. Mom gave me some medicine, and I feel a lot better than this morning. Could just be a flu bug or something.

Ben covered his mouth. No coughing on anyone, maybe you should be at home instead.

Tim shook his head. Nah, I’m not coughing, I don’t even have a runny nose - I was just warm and didn’t feel good. You’re probably safe.

Ben escorted the two boys up to the kitchen and they joined the others at the table. A fresh plate of chocolate chip cookies was waiting in the middle of the table. Tom grabbed one and started chewing.

Tim grimaced. Maybe later, save me one, OK?

Sure thing Tim, smiled Amada as she took a cookie off the plate and wrapped it in a napkin.

The doorbell rang and Amanda went to get the door.

Sorry I’m late, said Becky, her long brown hair falling forward as she took off her shoes. Mom wouldn’t let me come over until I had finished at least half of my homework. Some of that social studies stuff takes a lot of research, it’s not as quick to do as math. I just spoke to Alice and she said she was stuck doing homework tonight too, so it’s just us. And, oh - hey Tim! she smiled. I heard you weren’t at school today, are you feeling better?

I’m OK at the moment, thanks, said Tim. Being stuck at home gave me some more time to think about our next project anyway.

So what have you figured out? Becky asked brightly.

Tim groaned as Tom handed him a stack of papers from the bag. Tim shuffled through the papers, organizing them into four smaller stacks. He picked up a pencil, twirled it in his fingers a couple of times, then bit the end of it.

He slowly looked around the table, making sure he had everyone’s attention.

So...? prompted Becky.

Tim took a deep breath and let it out slowly in short gasps.

So... he bit the pencil again. So...it will never work...

Aha! said Amanda. "See? What did I say? I told you!"

Tim stared at Amanda and cleared his throat. "...What I was starting to say was that it will never work, unless all of us believe we can do it."

Amanda’s cheeks flushed bright red.

2.When there’s a Will...

This is going to be a very different project from anything we’ve ever done before, continued Tim.

James snorted. "Yeah, like have you ever heard of anyone actually un-bullying a bully? This might even be a world first. What do we know about this anyway? Who can we ask for help when we need it?"

My dad, maybe? suggested Amanda, trying to be helpful. After the Valentine’s Dance she didn’t want to be seen as not being a team player. He knows a lot about motivation and working with people and stuff.

Maybe, James shrugged. But what does he know about bullies? Shouldn’t we talk to a psychotherapist or psychologist or some other psych person - you know, an expert in this stuff?

"I know someone who looks like a psycho," Ben whispered to Susan, pointing at Amanda.

Susan pressed a finger to her lips and shook her head.

Tim looked down at the table. I think we have enough to get started, and when we need more help, we can ask for it. Otherwise we may never get this started.

Tim smoothed out the paper in front of him and looked up at his friends around the table.

"Right, it’s time for brainstorming. So we know what we want to do - un-bully a bully, so that Pimple...I mean Peter Johansen doesn’t turn evil - or at least more evil," said Tim, nodding at Becky.

"But in order to do that, we need to understand what bullies do, and more importantly, why they do it. Once we understand that, it should be simple to fix those problems. Then, voila, no more bully. Right?" Tim looked around the table.

It can’t be that simple, said James. If it was, everyone would be fixing bullies and there wouldn’t be any left.

"OK then, maybe we just start with what we know - what we know bullies do," said Tim.

They spent several minutes coming up with ideas. Tim reviewed the list.

Pick on people

Always want to get their way

Take kids’ lunch money

Push people around

Sabotage things

Start rumors

Hurt people

Make people feel uncomfortable

Keep doing it over and over

"OK, that’s a good start. Now, what are some of the reasons why a person might act like a bully? Tim shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I know we may not know much yet, but let’s see what we can think of and then maybe have Amanda’s dad look at it."

Becky offered to take notes, and she wrote down everyone’s ideas:

Trouble at home

Feeling angry

Feel like they don’t