Life at school was highly active. Spring had arrived, and besides the fact that these were the final months of the school year, there were also many competitions and events scheduled to take place. After listening to proposals from many parents, the village head decided to take everything into account, using the opportunity to prove that he held his position for good reason. The proposal was as follows: to organize a sports competition in which any student could participate by choice. The winner would receive a cash prize, which was intended to motivate the students to engage in sports. Leo was far from being athletic, but the money, however, was highly appealing.

​As usual, Lina went to visit Leo, inventing a new excuse each time just to go to his house. This time, she had decided that only Leo could help her design the poster for the competition. They were completely alone in the house, deeply focused on the poster, when Leo suddenly spoke up, completely off-topic:

"You know, I watch you... and I think that you truly do so much for the classroom and the school. But I also see that you could simply do even more. I don't know, it just feels like they don't want to give you that chance."

​At first, Lina did not understand what he meant.

"With the delinquents," Leo continued. "The teachers yell, Kai barks orders... but those guys never listen. I even get the impression that it produces the exact opposite effect."

​"Yes, you're right, I've noticed that too, and because of it, our class always falls behind the parallel ones," Lina agreed.

​"I think the problem is that people want to control them instead of trying to understand them," Leo pressed on. "You have to listen to a person. Nothing is done without a reason; aggression always has a cause. I used to think that changing those boys was impossible."

​"Oh, so you've actually thought about this topic even more deeply than I realized. You must have a plan, and I am certain that you are the only person who can find the right way to change them."

​Lina was thrilled to hear such words from Leo. In reality, she did not have a plan, but she did not want to lose face in front of him, so she improvised.

"Yes, I did have a plan. But I changed it when I found out about the competition. Now I am drawing up a new plan according to which those boys will participate in the tournament. They always stay away from school life, and if we show them that this life is actually very fun and interesting, they will change their worldview," Lina said proudly, quite pleased with her own invention.

​"Well then, good luck to you. It will definitely work out for you, I am sure," Leo said with a wide smile. "Would you like me to be by your side when you talk to them? I'll just stand behind you. I mean, I know you are a very strong and smart girl, but going to negotiate with a group of delinquents all by yourself is dangerous."

​Lina blushed and nodded in agreement.

​"You are going to participate in the competition," Leo said in a serious tone, without asking, making it sound more like a command.

​"What?" one of the guys from the delinquent group replied sarcastically.

​"Why the hell should we participate in that circus?" a second one added.

​"So that people can see you," Leo stated. "I have a good proposition, but this isn't a topic to discuss at school. When Lina and I approach you and the topic comes up about your participation in the competition, you will agree. We'll meet at the end of the day."

​After finishing his sentence, Leo stepped closer to the "leader" of the group and whispered in a much lower tone, "This is first and foremost for your own good, unless you prefer to settle for mere crumbs." He stepped back, continuing in a louder voice with a smirk, "Prove to me that you are actually serious guys," and walked away.

​At first, the delinquents did not understand what had just happened, but then they made a decision to listen to Leo. If they didn't like the proposition, they wouldn't show up at the competition, and they would give Leo a thorough beating.

​According to Leo's plan, everything was going smoothly. Lina approached the boys and gave an inspired, lengthy speech, concluding with her proposal. The delinquents shifted their glances toward Leo. Until that moment, Leo had been standing there with the face of an innocent boy, but noticing their stares, his expression changed, becoming cold and imposing. Right after that, the delinquents agreed to Lina's proposal.

​When the two of them were left alone, Leo said:

"Well done. I never doubted you for a second. You can do even more; you just simply need more confidence."

​"Yes, I know. I always hold myself back because Kai is both the class president and my friend. Even without this, we frequently argue over his role as president."

​"You are wrong to think that way. If you are capable of more, friendly feelings should not get in your way, especially since your actions benefit the entire classroom."

​Lina's eyes sparkled, and she became much more self-assured. She valued her friendship with Kai very highly, but Leo was right; she decided she had to become the class president, and that was final. The delinquents' participation in the competition would help her immensely in that matter.

​The days of the competition were approaching. The village was actively involved in the tournament arrangements, and more detailed information was presented regarding the types of sports involved, who the jury members would be, and the total number of participants.

​"And so, the competition will consist of several stages. Regarding the prize, I must say that the youth of our village, Arnivel, presented magnificent ideas, and the most interesting among them was the following: the engineers and designers have created a highly intriguing box in which the prize money will be placed. There will be a timer on the box; when the time comes and the winner is determined, the box will open on its own. Until that time arrives, it is impossible to open it. I should add that the team behind this brilliant concept and its execution will also receive a prize, which will serve as another motivating support for our children," the village head announced.

​"Is it just me, or is Leo genuinely asking for a beating?" one of the delinquents said with an angry smirk, glaring at Leo.

​Late at night after the village head's announcement, the delinquents went to pay a "visit" to Leo.

"In my opinion, the box situation is a very successful idea and it will help us even more," Leo said.

​Leo's cunning plan was as follows: “Lina will become the class president, and since she is in love with me, she will help me with certain matters. Kai will suffer by losing his leadership, and the delinquents will submit to me. I will never do farm work, but money is needed to live. Therefore, I will break the law using the hands of the delinquents. For starters, a lot of money is required, and presto—the competition. We will steal the money. Suspicion won't fall on the delinquents because they are participating in the match. The next suspect would be me since I am an outsider, but I will participate in the competition as well. After securing the cash, the next phase of the plan will begin.”

The competition began, and everyone was in shock upon seeing the delinquents.

​Before the box was placed in a visible spot, Leo was monitoring the situation. He was accompanied by one of the delinquents who was not participating in the tournament; that boy became the distraction for the adults so that no one would be near the box. The plan was this: the delinquent triggers the fire alarm, the adults leave the room to investigate the issue, they catch the delinquent in the act, and he pretends he did it because he watched a horror movie the previous night, claiming that in the movie, if the alarm had gone off, no one would have been killed, so out of fear that it might happen in reality, he decided to take that step. Needless to say, he played his role exceptionally well. Some teachers began to pity him, while a few others got angry. During that time, Leo approached the box, confident that there was another way to open it, specifically designed for emergencies. Since the box was built by non-professionals, they certainly hadn't come up with anything too complex. And he was right; the box opened, he took the money, and vanished.

​Kai won the competition, but when the moment for the prize arrived and the box was opened, it was completely empty. Everyone was shocked and thrown into total chaos. An investigation began to discover who had committed the theft and how, as the sum of money was not small.

​As everyone was leaving the school, Leo walked past Kai, saying in a sarcastic smile and tone:

"Congratulations on your victory," and walked forward without listening to or looking back at Kai.

​Kai was so furious he didn't know what to do; he was already exhausted and agitated over not receiving the money that rightfully belonged to him.

​After the competition, the atmosphere in Arnivel was tense. There was an uncaught thief on the loose, and there were no suspects. The villagers began to be much more careful with their belongings, and at school, the teachers also demanded that the students be cautious with their personal items.

​Lina had achieved what she wanted. Even though Kai had won the sports match, it was not enough for him to win the vote as well. Lina became the new class president.

​The delinquents had changed; they no longer caused trouble during classes. Leo was satisfied with his new status. He did not rule directly; he was always in the corner, appearing to be just an ordinary student, but everyone understood his role, not only in the classroom but also in the school.

​Lina began to openly hang out with Leo, and because of this, Kai grew furious. A fight broke out between them, harsher than usual, and as a result, it gave the impression that no one was talking to Kai anymore. Tyler, Eva, and Mark did not openly show that they were cutting him off, but it seemed like they simply did not want to fight anymore, and they slowly began to resume their communication with Leo.

​Everyone felt that something was wrong with Kai, but whenever he spoke, he became excessively aggressive. That ultimately forced everyone to keep their distance from him.

​Classes ended, and summer vacation arrived.