New Life : A Second Chance

Sayuri was facing her grandfather, who was also her Sensei, her face pale.

"You want me to do what?!" Sayuri exclaimed, unable to believe her ears.

"You heard me the first time, young lady," her grandfather answered sternly, his face appearing a little disappointed over her outburst.

"I ... this ... " she began, hesitating and slightly ashamed.

She kept telling herself that she needed to learn how to manage her emotions better but it was hard. Meditation hardly helped and she knew that it was one of her greatest weakness.

Still, she couldn\'t believe what she had heard was her last mission. Or, rather, her last chance. If she rejected it, she would basically be giving up her chance to enter the Clan.

To give up something that she had been working her whole life towards?

She couldn\'t do that.

But the mission ...

It was so difficult. Why would her grandfather give her this?

"You have one year," her grandfather said, "Of course, that is the limit. If you manage to complete it before then, all you need to do is submit the report for evaluation."

Sayuri closed her eyes, focusing on the reasons she had for working so hard. It was for her parents. She needed to take over the company and in order to do that, she would need to be a part of the Clan.

She took several deep breaths and released it, calming herself. After a minute, she opened her eyes. Her grandfather was waiting patiently, knowing the sort of turmoil going on in her mind over this.

"Thank you, Sensei," she answered solemnly, "I thank you for this chance and accept."

"Good," her grandfather answered, then motioned to someone. A person came and handed Sayuri a key and a file.

"You are also required to learn to live by yourself. Be independent. Remember, no one is to know."

"Yes Grandfather," Sayuri answered, "I hear and obey."

She gripped the key tightly.

This was her final chance. She could not blow it.

? Country Hd ?

"You want me to do what?!" Chad exclaimed in the conference room. He was having a skype meeting with all of the movie investors.

"We want you to release the movie before the summer holidays," one of them said.

Chad rubbed the space between his brows and sighed.

"Moving the movie\'s release date forward isn\'t a problem as the main edits have already been done," Chad said, "It can be completed by the proposed date."

Chad looked at his calendar, "But is that really a good move? Wouldn\'t the summer be the best time for it to be released?"

"We thought so at first," one admitted, "But the way the world reacted over the teaser trailer tells us otherwise. We should strike while the iron is hot."

"Keanu had always given us this sort of pull, but you weren\'t so eager to release the movie earlier," Chad pointed out.

"It cannot be denied that Keanu\'s star attraction in the movies have made it so successful. However, none of the earlier trailers ever generated this sort of reaction," the main investor pointed out.

"Yes, didn\'t you see that \'Kyle\'s sightings\' site? They actually camped outside the airport for two days! Just to catch a glimpse of this \'perhaps\' new actor!" another was saying excitedly.

"Yes, we need to get him out there. Release his name and a new trailer, showing his face even more," the main investor said, "Then get him and Keanu to do the worldwide promotional tours. He is also required to attend the official screening when it opens here for the first time."

Chad could feel a headache coming on.

"We want to milk this out for as long as possible. Imagine if they are willing to do that at the airport - just how many would be willing to watch the movie itself? And having it before the summer means you\'re having a head start."

"Plus, not all countries have this \'summer\' concept so we could actually get really good box-office sales from other countries before then," another commented.

More and more investors were talking about it and it was agreed.

The movie would be released in four months time, rather than six. The promotional tours were to start two months prior and carry on while the movie was on, for a month.

When the video conferencing ended, Chad leaned back in his seat and looked at all of his people there.

"You heard them," Chad said, "Tell the marketing team what is happening. The first trailer needs to be out by the end of the month. Second full-length trailer in two months time. Also, get interviews with all the normal channels..."

"Erm, we already have them requesting it, actually," one of his assistants said.

"Great. Contact Keanu and Sam about the scheduling before you start arranging it," Chad ordered. One good thing about this was that Kyle is a legally independent adult so the didn\'t have to worry about the \'minor\' aspect.

Everyone got up to do their jobs and Chad was left behind, tapping the table as he was deep in thought.

? Sakura Academy ?

Principal Godfrey looked at the latest application into the school. It was a late application, and the said student was a second year. Looking at the results from the previous school, there was absolutely no problem for approving it.

He smiled, as he looked at the picture of a sweet-looking girl and the transcripts.

Principal Godfrey had no doubt that when this student sits for the IQ test, Sage Class would be welcoming another new classmate.

He smiled wider, thinking of all the new things that would be happening with her on board now. There were so many good things planned for the following year. New student for Sage Class, the Community Programme and the Student Enrichment Programme.

Sayuri Hinata.

He was looking forward to a brand new school year and what it would bring.