The hot ground pressed against their knees.
The sun was stronger now.
But Joy didn’t complain.
And surprisingly—
Neither did Tracy.
After a few minutes, Joy glanced at her.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
Tracy hesitated.
Then slowly…
She pulled her hand out of her bag.
Joy gasped.
The mark was still there.
Dark.
Clear.
Unmistakable.
It hadn’t faded at all.
“I can still feel it burning,” Tracy whispered. “No matter what I do…”
Tears filled her eyes again.
“I was so stupid, Joy…”
Joy gently held her other hand.
“What matters is that you’ve realized it.”
Tracy shook her head.
“No… it’s more than that,” she said. “I feel different… like… like I finally see things clearly.”
She looked at Joy.
“All this time… you were right. And I kept mocking you.”
Joy smiled slightly.
“It’s okay.”
But Tracy shook her head again.
“No… it’s not okay.”
Her voice broke.
“I don’t deserve your kindness after everything I said to you.”
Joy squeezed her hand gently.
“Kindness is not something you deserve,” she said softly. “It’s something you give… even when it’s hard.”
Tracy stared at her.
That sentence…
It hit deeper than anything else.
As the day went on, something unusual started happening.
Students began to notice.
Tracy wasn’t shouting.
She wasn’t insulting anyone.
She wasn’t even arguing.
At break time, when a younger student dropped her books, Tracy was the first to help pick them up.
The entire class froze.
“Is that… Tracy?” someone whispered.
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