Meanwhile, at Daffodil Academy, Mia and John stared at Leo in complete shock after hearing what had happened with Nate the other day.

"You’re telling me Nate actually apologized to you?" John asked again, still sounding unconvinced.

Leo nodded honestly.

"He even said he wouldn’t bother me anymore."

For a moment, both of them remained silent.

Because honestly?

It sounded far too good to be true.

Mia was the first to react.

"Don’t fall for that fake apology, Leo," she warned immediately while crossing her arms. "Everyone knows Nate can never change."

Her tone was firm and completely certain.

Leo blinked at her.

"But he looked serious."

"That’s exactly how manipulative people act," Mia replied without hesitation.

John, however, seemed less convinced.

"What if he’s actually sorry?" he argued. "Maybe Principal Thames warned him, and now he’s finally behaving properly."

Mia instantly shot him an irritated glare.

"There is absolutely no way Nate is sorry about anything."

Her words were sharp and non-negotiable.

John sighed.

"You’re being dramatic."

"And you’re being naive." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I’m just saying people can change."

Mia scoffed.

"Nate? Change? Please. That boy enjoys making other people miserable."

Leo looked between the two of them in growing confusion.

Honestly, he didn’t know what to think anymore.

Nate had genuinely sounded apologetic the other day.

And for the first time ever, he hadn’t looked arrogant or mocking while talking to him.

But at the same time...

Mia wasn’t exactly wrong either.

Everyone at school knew how terrible Nate usually behaved.

"You think too negatively sometimes," John muttered.

Mia narrowed her eyes immediately.

"And you trust people too easily."

Before John could respond again, Leo suddenly spoke up quietly.

"What if he really meant it though?"

Both Mia and John turned toward him.

Leo hesitated briefly before continuing.

"He didn’t yell at me or threaten me this time. He just apologized and left."

Mia’s expression softened slightly after seeing how conflicted he looked.

"I’m not saying you should hate him forever," she said more gently this time. "I just don’t want you getting hurt again."

Leo lowered his gaze slightly.

Because unfortunately...

That had already happened before.

More than once.

John noticed the sudden silence and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Okay, maybe Mia has a point," he admitted reluctantly. "But still, if Nate actually leaves Leo alone from now on, that’s a good thing."

Mia sighed dramatically.

"I’ll believe it when I see it."

Just then, Leo suddenly noticed something from the corner of his eye.

His expression froze slightly.

"Uh..."

John frowned.

"What?"

Leo slowly pointed toward the school corridor nearby.

Both Mia and John turned at the same time—

Only to immediately spot Nate walking down the hallway with his usual group of friends.

The moment Mia saw him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"See?" she whispered instantly. "Trouble."

Meanwhile, Nate casually glanced in their direction.

For a brief second, his eyes met Leo’s.

Leo instinctively stiffened.

But instead of mocking him like usual—

Nate simply gave a small nod before continuing to walk away.

The three children stood there in stunned silence.

Even Mia looked momentarily speechless.

John slowly turned toward her with a smug expression.

"Well..."

Mia immediately frowned.

"Don’t start."

John looked far too pleased with himself now.

"I’m just saying," he replied while shrugging innocently, "that didn’t exactly look threatening."

Mia crossed her arms tightly.

"One normal interaction doesn’t suddenly erase years of him being awful."

"But he nodded politely," John pointed out.

"That means nothing."

"It looked respectful."

"It looked suspicious."

John let out a tired sigh.

"You seriously think every single thing he does is part of some evil plan."

"Because it usually is."

Leo quietly listened to the two argue again before glancing back down the hallway.

Nate and his friends had already disappeared around the corner.

Still...

That small nod from earlier kept replaying in his head.

It was strange.

Usually, whenever Nate looked at him, Leo immediately felt nervous.

But this time felt different somehow.

Before he could think further, Mia suddenly grabbed his shoulder dramatically.

"Listen to me carefully," she said in a serious voice. "If Nate suddenly starts acting nice, that’s exactly when you should be careful."

Leo blinked.

"That sounds backwards."

"Exactly," Mia replied confidently.

John looked genuinely exhausted now.

"How does that even make sense?"

"It just does."

"No, it literally doesn’t."

Mia ignored him completely before turning back toward Leo.

"If he offers you snacks, don’t take them."

Leo looked even more confused.

"Why would he offer me snacks?"

"I don’t know," Mia admitted. "But if he does, reject them."

John nearly laughed.

"You sound like a paranoid grandmother."

"And you sound like someone who’d get kidnapped with free candy."

Leo couldn’t help laughing softly at that.

The tension from earlier finally eased slightly.

John pointed accusingly at Mia.

"You’re terrifying, you know that?"

"I’m smart."

"You watch too many crime shows."

"They teach survival skills."

Before the argument could continue, the school bell suddenly rang throughout the hallway.

The three immediately groaned.

"Math," John muttered with visible pain. "Why does suffering always come so suddenly?"

Mia rolled her eyes.

"It’s literally the same schedule every day."

"That doesn’t make it hurt less."

The three of them began walking toward their classroom together.

However, halfway there, Leo suddenly slowed down again.

His attention shifted toward the large classroom windows facing the courtyard below.

Mia noticed immediately.

"What now?"

Leo hesitated briefly before pointing outside.

"There..."

Both Mia and John looked down toward the courtyard.

Near the school gates, Nate stood beside his group again while casually talking to another student.

At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

Until another younger boy accidentally bumped into one of Nate’s friends while running past.

The child immediately froze in fear.

Even from this distance, Leo could see the panic on the younger student’s face.

Clearly, he expected trouble.

Mia folded her arms instantly.

"See? This is exactly what I mean."

But before anyone could say anything else—

Nate suddenly stepped forward.

Instead of yelling, he simply steadied the younger boy by the shoulder after he nearly lost balance.

Then he said something briefly before letting the kid leave.

The younger student looked completely shocked before quickly running off.

John blinked several times.

"...Okay."

Even Mia looked caught off guard this time.

"That..." John began slowly, "actually looked nice."

Mia narrowed her eyes suspiciously while continuing to stare outside.

"No."

John looked at her in disbelief.

"You literally just saw it happen."

"I don’t trust sudden character development."

Leo quietly watched Nate from the window.

And for the first time he started wondering if maybe something really had changed.