Leo opened the door and was greeted by a rather chaotic room. He went inside, closed the door, and went to his desk. Beside his desk sat Jack looking down seemingly at the ground. After Leo sat down, he realized that Jack was looking at an open lunch box on his lap.
Leo leaned over to see a little ecosystem inside with some little rocks, dirt, and an empty bowl inside. Fred, who sat on the biggest rock, was staring at a worm Jack had placed inside. "Hey Jack, have you stocked up on worms already?"
"Yep." Jack was concentratedly staring at Fred. Only after the worm was eaten tension seemed to leave Jack as he relaxed in his chair while having a big smile on his face. Afterwards he pulled out a water bottle. He took the cap off and filled the bowl inside the box with water.
"Hey Third- *Cough* I mean Jack. Leo." Sarah said as she took a seat in front of Leo. She then greeted her friend, Bella, next to her who was coloring a picture of an ocean full of fishes.
"Hey, Sarah. So, how seriously did you get scolded?" Leo said with a slight smile on his face. Jack was occupied with his little frog friend and Bella was in her own world. The other kids were running around, after all kids had too much energy to spend.
"Hm, no. Not at all actually." She smirked a little while looking at Leo from the corner of her eyes.
"Why not?"
"Guess!" She answered not giving anything away. He knew the look that she gave him after saying that. She wanted to brag about something, and Leo definitely didn't want to entertain her, so he calmly pulled out his pencil case and water bottle.
Sarah waited for him to finish. Her smirk grew as she saw Leo's mouth open.
*Cough*
Leo took the water bottle and started to sip from it. Sarah's mouth twitched. After a few seconds, her irritation only seemed to grow as she saw Leo having no intention to continue this conversation.
"Come on! Guess, why I didn't get in trouble!" She finally said.
"Oh, and why should I?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Because- It is fun?" Sarah seemed unsure.
"Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes. "You will have me guessing for the whole day and that's not fun in my books. I would rather have you just tell me or not know it at all. So, are you going to tell me why or are going to keep playing the guessing game?" Sarah eyes widened but finally nodded meekly while saying that she would tell him.
"See, was it that hard? I like it more if you are more straightforward, otherwise we talk past each other or worse I will dislike you because you keep playing stupid games with me."
Negative and positive reinforcement. Leo would ignore her if she does something annoying or reward her for something he likes.
Obviously, he doesn't feed her candy or train her like a dog and the fact that he was petting her head now had nothing to do with anything.
He just primes her to do certain things or refrain from doing other things by telling her what he thinks about it.
Some would call that manipulation, but Leo would disagree. As long as what he says is sincere, it will just develop their relationship into a healthy and lasting one. He had done the same with his father of his past life.
Their relationship used to be rather conflictual and grew increasingly petty. After he moved out, they rarely had any contact with each other.
It was only after he started to search for ways to become a better version of himself, be it his fitness, the people he surrounded himself with or the things he read, that he started to rebuild their relationship. He knew that he had to be open and sincere but also self-reflective during their conflicts to solve their issues.
It was difficult, probably one of the most difficult things he had done back then but in the end it was worth it. He rarely had any fights with his dad after that if anything they grew closer than they had ever been.
Leo could only smile at the thought of his first visit back home after a long time. The tears and the bright smile his dad gave him when he opened the door wasn't something he could ever forget. In fact, he couldn't think of any other moment his dad had ever cried.
Leo decided that he would rather develop a lasting relationship build on sincerity from the start than to fix it afterwards. As for blackmailing her dad? That is all just fun and games, obviously he wouldn't extort that man. He always thinks about this quote when in doubt. 'Human beings are hypocrites.'
'Wait. That's the wrong quote!' Leo thought at no one. 'Return to monke' 'No, that's wrong as well!' Leo thought to himself.
"After we got into the car we drove for a few minutes before we stopped. Dad and I got out at this gigantic shop with at least a hundred different ice creams!" She excitedly told Leo. Saliva already flowed out as she thought about the ice cream.
"I got like a huge cone with 5 different ice creams! I also got a lot of sprinkles and a waffle! He even praised me for resisting you. He called you a future delengten- delanqent? I don't know but main point I didn't get scolded and got a giant ice cream, ohohohoh. Aren't I awesome!"
"Self-praise stinks and he probably meant future delegate of Canada." Leo nodded to himself.
"Delegate?" Sarah seemed confused.
"Yeah, a super important person!" Leo puffed his chest out as if he accomplished something.
"I am pretty sure your father meant delinquent, Sarah." Bella called out while continuing with her picture.
Sarah looked at Bella. "What's that?" "A criminal." "Ohhhh, that makes more sense." Sarah nodded before turning to Leo whose proud face froze.
'That makes no sense at all! Delinquent, huh? I'll show you a delinquent after I bea- Wait, no that will only prove him right!'
"Hello class. Come on sit down. Nick, sit down… and here, take a napkin. You have snot all over your face. Anyway, get your pencils out, I got some nice pictures for you to color."
…
"Hey, Leo do you want to go over my house? Mom let me have a corner inside the plant house for Fred" Jack asked while the two got on their bike.
"No, I got to meet my dad's mentor today. I told you in the break, remember?"
"Right! Alright, see you tomorrow then!"
"…Jack we always drive home together, why are you saying goodbye?"
"Eh? Hehehe, I forgot!" Jack said with absolutely no shame and with the dopey smile on his face.
"…Anyway, let's just go." Jack was always one who forgets most things when he is excited about something, so Leo really shouldn't be surprised anymore.
After a short while Leo arrived at home. He did his homework in 2 minutes as it was only 1 + 1 types of calculation or writing some letters a couple of times. He sorted his school related stuff in his room and then got his bag for his first lesson under Mang Tou.
His dad had already packed the bag in fear that Leo forgot something. Leo only had to wait for him to come back home from work. Leo wouldn't have to wait for long.
He ate the lunch that his mom had prepared and then waited fully clothed at the bottom of the stairs looking at the front door.
Only a few minutes passed until the door got unlocked and his dad came in. "Hey there buddy, did you wait long?" He said as he put down his suitcase and hung his jacket up.
Leo grabbed his dad's hand and wanted to drag him to the car. "Come on, let's go! I wanna train." "Hahaha now hold your horses. Let me get changed real quick. Don't want to sit there in my suit all day."
John then went to get changed into a more casual attire before getting inside the car with Leo. "Do you have your bag with you?" His dad asked as he slowly drove out of their driveway.
"Yes, of course!" Leo said as he patted his bag.
After driving out John put his seatbelt on and started driving towards their destination. It only took them 10 minutes to arrive.
Although Leo already lived in a more rural area, the area around their destination seemed even less populated. They got out of the car in front of a normal looking house. Next to them were multiple cars parked. It seemed like Leo could expect a lot of people. Behind the house in the background a vast forest could be seen.
Leo swung his bag over his shoulder as did his father.
John led the way while Leo looked around exploring the area with his eyes. After turning around the corner of the house a larger building that could be mistaken for a warehouse could be seen edging the forest.
A short 5 minutes' walk until they arrived at the building. Leo could already hear some voices coming from inside. John just opened the door and went inside. Leo followed suit as they walked through some halls before entering through a double door. The inside was bright, and the origin of the voices could be seen.
There were some hitting the heavy bag, some were doing strength training, some were sparring or warming up. What drew Leo's attention was the group of young kids that were standing around a middle-aged man with their parents on the side.
"Mentor! How are you? Long time no see!" John said happily as he approached the middle-aged man.
Who Leo presumed was Mang Tou turned to his father before a scowl was sent his father's way. "Hmph. There you are. No wonder you didn't show up anymore, you look miserable!"
Leo wasn't sure he could believe that this was his father's mentor, after all shouldn't he be 70 this year? At least, that is what his father told him.
"*Cough* Can you blame me? It is difficult raising your children and having a job! There is simply no time to train." John said as he shook his head with a shrug.
"Excuses! But I didn't expect anything more of you." Mang Tou said before turning his gaze towards Leo. "So, you want me to train your little spawn, eh?" Mang Tou crouched in front of Leo before solemnly asking him.
"Why do you want to become a martial artist?"
"I want to be the strongest fighter!" Leo said with as much conviction he could muster. It seemed to have stunned the mentor a little.
Mang Tou nodded. "A good response. It is an ambition that many pursue. You will have to steel yourself but if you do, I will make you into a fine warrior."
"So, can I join?" Leo asked for confirmation only to be answered by laughter.
"Of course! I would have let you join as long as your goal is anything but to impress girls. I only wanted to confirm that you are different than your useless father!"
"Hey, only I can call out my father' uselessness!" Leo retorted angrily only to be answered by more laughter.
"…Thanks buddy, you really know how to build up my self-esteem." John muttered as he then guided Leo to the changing room.
After they changed, they came outside again. They rejoined the group and were led through some doors before arriving in the outdoor facing the forest.
There was training equipment laying around and a few jumping ropes. John already told Leo that he would join a beginner group. He said that the timing of his willingness to begin training was impeccable.
Two out of the 5 other kids already had previous experience while the other children were complete beginners.
The other parents let the group to their own devices and started training inside with the others. It seemed like only the children of other members were able to join, at least that was what Leo assumed.