After frindle mania dies down, Nick becomes a slightly different person. He still has big ideas, but now they scare him a bit.

One day in social studies, Nick learns that if people stop buying products, stores and restaurants can go out of business. It hits him that the school cafeteria is like a restaurant and that the kids have the power to make the cafeteria serve good food instead of bad food. Nick knows he can convince everyone to bring their lunch every day until the lunch ladies agree to cook better food. Nick is sure it will work, and for a moment the idea excites him.

Then Nick wonders what will happen if his cafeteria idea gets as out of control as his frindle idea did. What if everyone does what Nick wants? What if he gets in trouble? What if people write about it in the newspaper and put Nick on the news? He decides his new idea is not worth all the trouble. For the first time ever, he keeps a big plan to himself.

Nick’s mom notices that Nick is acting quieter and more subdued. She asks if everything is all right, but Nick just says things are fine. Mrs. Granger notices the change in Nick, too. She sees how much more cautious Nick is, how much less often he jokes and laughs with his friends. She wonders how she can help him.

As time passes, Nick often thinks about the letter Mrs. Granger made him sign at the beginning of their frindle battle. He grows curious about it, and he waits for her to give it to him. When she does not, he thinks she has forgotten. He asks Mrs. Granger about it on the last day of school. Mrs. Granger refuses to let him have the letter, saying:

You will recall, Nicholas, that I said I would send you that letter when all this was over... and it’s not over.

Nick is surprised to hear this. He asks when it will be over, and Mrs. Granger tells him he will know. She also tells Nick that he did not do anything wrong with his big idea. She says she is proud of him and that she hopes he will go on to do great things.

After this conversation, Nick goes back to normal. Some time later, he puts his cafeteria plan into action, and pretty soon all the school cafeterias in town are serving great food. High school, too, is full of adventures for Nick.

Nick’s adventure with the word "frindle," however, is not over until ten years later. During those ten years, more and more people pick up the word. It is not just a joke anymore, and it is not just used by a few people in a few small towns. "Frindle" becomes a real word.