Getting a group of friends to tell the bully “we’re done with this” works better than one hero. Bring backup.

Bullying is a social arrangement more than an individual act. It runs on an audience that goes along with it, so one person objecting can be absorbed as a difference of opinion, while four people make the behaviour cost something. That is why the lone stand gets admired and the group one works. It also means you are much safer going together.

Before anything happens again, talk to two or three people you know are uncomfortable with it. Agree on the one sentence you will all say, and that nobody gets left standing alone. Bring it to an adult together as well, since a group account is harder to dismiss.