In middle school, I sprouted up like a beanstalk. The problem was that I was ridiculously skinny too (oh to have that metabolism again!), which meant finding jeans posed a major issue. I could either find jeans that fit my scrawny waist but were too short or I could wear long jeans that didn't fit my waist. I (or I should say my mom) opted for the waist fitting jeans. One day while wearing my new jeans, I started to hear kids say "is there a flood warning for today" or things along those lines. I didn't understand what they meant at first but I did notice everyone was laughing except me.
Once I realized they were talking about me, they ramped up their teases. They'd walk past me and call me "Flood" or roll up their pants when they walked into the classroom and say they were prepping for the flash flood. One time one of the boys who sat in front of me turned around with a ruler and measured how much space was between where my jeans ended and my shoe began. While reading "White Fang" by Jack London, London was describing a setting where the full moon "flooded" the open land with light. The worst offender of the bunch pretended that he didn't hear the phrase and asked the teacher to repeat it, which had the whole class erupting in laughter. It was terrible. It could have been worse, but to be made fun of so badly and have no one to support you was a really horrible experience to have.
Fast forward nearly 15 years later, I ran into the worst offender who was doing electrical work in my office. We recognized each other and stopped to chat. Somehow it came up how badly he made fun of me in middle school and I realized this was my moment! He would apologize and I'd be vindicated. Except all he said was "heh heh, yeah you really were a big nerd back then" and any hopes of me doling out justice for being bullied went out the window. I don't think he'll ever realize just how mean he was or how tough it was going to school for me during that time, and quite frankly it sucks, but what can you do about it? So I just responded with, "heh heh, yeah and you were an asshole back then, hopefully not anymore!" and left it at that.
I might not have been the apology I was hoping to get but it was good enough for me. Were you bullied in school? Did you ever run into your bully afterwards?