As I cleaned the mess off my car, an idea formed in my head. If Brad was going to act like a bully, I could teach him a lesson—by giving him some “helpful” advice about upgrading his Halloween display. I suggested he add some high-tech equipment like fog machines and ghost projectors, knowing full well that the ones I recommended had terrible reviews and were notorious for breaking down.
Halloween night arrived, and Brad’s yard was packed with people admiring his display. But just as I expected, everything went wrong. The fog machine malfunctioned, spraying water instead of mist. The ghost projectors cast strange, unrecognizable shapes, and his giant inflatable Frankenstein started to deflate in the middle of the show.
The crowd’s amusement quickly turned to laughter as Brad scrambled to fix his setup, but it was too late. His Halloween masterpiece had turned into a spectacle for all the wrong reasons.
The next morning, Brad knocked on my door to apologize. He admitted he had overreacted and apologized for egging my car. I accepted his apology and made it clear that I hoped nothing like that would happen again.
As he walked away, I couldn’t help but smile, knowing I had gotten my point across without raising my voice.