Good morning, your post is well-detailed and nice, I had a good time reading it.

To avoid verbal bullying just the way I did, ignore these bullies totally, don't laugh with them at all, but you can talk with them if they are brilliant and quite responsible. Don't tell everyone everything about you, keep some things as secret. Smile when they bully you so that they will see you as a strong person.

I wish you good luck in this engagement challenge.