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It is a biting cold day on Redheath common. Four youths are crouched down on the failing grass, a boy with dense curly hair and thick lensed glasses, another yet skinnier than the first with short cropped hair, a discrete beauty with long billowing auburn hair, reads a well thumbed copy of a Harry Potter book and the last, a small quiet Asian girl sits cross legged apparently lost in thought.
Two boys the youths vaguely recognise from school come gliding up towards their little group. The boys sport shell suits and are dressed head to toe in designer makes and unsubtle chains. One is swigging from a beer can, the other puffing away on a cigarette. It is obvious they mean trouble.

Blake (the curly haired youth): Oh no here we go again.
Jasmine (the auburn beauty): (briefly looking up from her book) Just ignore them; we all know that they have nothing better to do than verbally abuse those they deem weaker than themselves, but they are the week ones, they are the insecure ones.
First Boy: (approaching the group) 'ow are you retards doin' then?
Jasmine: (not evening bothering to look up) A retard is an offensive term to insult somebody with a learning disability or someone regarded as unintelligent as we are neither could you please go and find someone else to harass.
The first boy stares at Jasmine as if she is insane. The second simply laughs.

Second Boy: Ok darlin' keep your knickers on. But I suppose you are right you are all a bunch of spofs....all excep' her (points towards Shiznay, the small quiet girl) she does have a learnin' disability.
(Both boys laugh as if it is the funniest joke they have heard all year. Jasmine opens her mouth as if to defend her friend but Shiznay holds up a single figure to silence her.)
Shiznay: I don't have a learning disability I am just different to you....

Second Boy: (interrupting) you can say tha' again you dirty black.
Shiznay: I am not talking about the colour of skin. I am talking about the person we are inside. We are all different people and like different things that is what makes life exciting. It is confusing enough growing up as it is without having each other on our backs. You don't gain anything from coming over here and shouting your mouth off just accept that we are different and go back to smoking weed or whatever it is that you do best.

Jasmine: (Slightly surprised) couldn't have put it better myself Shiz.
The boys on the other hand seem on the outside ineffective as they slope off to the off licence, but maybe some of Shiznay's words had registered and maybe they would take a little of what she said with them on their journey into adulthood, for she was right making the change from child to adult is hard and fighting each other on the way makes it even harder. So next time you are about to open your mouth to insult a fellow teen, think are you going to gain something with your torment or just make life harder for them and for you?