Chapter 3

The first day of her new mission began immediately.

After a breakfast where Ava politely corrected Leo' s table manners-"Don't talk with your mouth full," and "Use your fork, not your fingers"-they headed off to school.

Their new elementary school was a brick building with a large, grassy playground.

Ava remembered it vaguely, a place of distant, fuzzy memories.

But now it was sharp and real.

She walked into the second-grade classroom, her adult mind cataloging every detail, while her small body trembled with a strange mix of dread and determination.

She found her assigned seat and then watched as Leo lumbered into the room.

He was already the class clown, making faces at other kids and tripping over his own feet to get a laugh.

He plopped into a seat at the back, immediately starting to poke the girl in front of him with a pencil.

The teacher, a stern-faced woman named Ms. Evans, was already looking at him with a weary expression.

Ava watched him, a cold calculation forming in her mind.

The target was clear.

He was overweight, his diet consisting of junk food.

He was lazy, his homework already crumpled in his backpack.

He was disruptive, seeking attention through negative behavior.

This was the raw material she had to work with.

After school, she found him in the backyard, trying to climb the big oak tree and failing, his short legs dangling uselessly.

She marched right up to him.

"Leo," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

He grunted, dropping back to the ground with a thud.

"What?"

"From now on, I'm your boss," she declared.

Leo stared at her, then burst out laughing.

It was a loud, wheezing laugh.

"My boss? You're a girl. And you're smaller than me."

"That doesn't matter," Ava said calmly.

"I'm smarter than you. And I'm going to help you."

"I don't need your help," he scoffed, turning his back on her to try and climb the tree again.

He was stubborn.

She expected that.

She walked around the tree to face him, blocking his path.

"Yes, you do. You're fat, you're bad at school, and you have no manners. If you don't change, you're going to grow up to be a loser."

The words hit him harder than she expected.

His face fell, the playful arrogance replaced by a flash of hurt.

"I'm not fat!" he yelled, his voice cracking.

"And I'm not a loser!"

"You got a D on the math quiz today," Ava stated flatly.

"And you ate three cupcakes at lunch. That's what losers do."

He stood there, fuming, his little fists clenched at his sides.

He looked like he was about to either cry or punch her.

"You're mean!"

"I'm honest," Ava corrected.

"And I'm going to fix you. Starting now. You're going to run five laps around the yard."

"No way!" he shouted, crossing his arms defiantly.

Ava didn't flinch.

She had a trump card.

An unfair advantage.

"If you don't do what I say," she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "I'll tell Dad that you stole a dollar from his wallet this morning to buy candy."

Leo' s jaw dropped.

His eyes went wide with shock and fear.

"How... how did you know that?"

Ava just gave him a small, knowing smile.

She hadn' t actually seen him do it, but it was exactly the kind of thing the old Leo would have done.

A lucky guess, powered by the knowledge of his future self's character.

"I know everything, Leo. I'm your boss, remember? Now run."