New Life : A Second Chance

Everyone was gathered and sitting in the Hall excitedly. The new students were staring about them in complete amazement, feeling extremely lucky that they managed to enter Sakura Academy.

The competition to enter had been fierce.

There had been so many applications to enter that Principal Godric had quite a headache to filter them out. Entry requirements became much more stringent. Unlike most, however, Principal Godric wasn't focused solely on academic merit.

He wanted the school to be the place that the elite would shine even more as the Sage Class was there, but also the weak ones that would not shine in an ordinary academic setting. During the time the school had done the test when he first was admitted, he had also designed another exam. This time, the admissions exams for the upcoming new year.

Thus, every hopeful applicant had to sit for an admissions exam which was held a week after the school holidays. With the results, Principal Godric would choose the candidates based on two things: a comparison between their academic records and the scores obtained from the admissions exam.

If their scores were high on both, then they were accepted. These were possible candidates for Sage Class.

If their exam scores were high but academic records were weak, then they were accepted. These were candidates with the greatest chance of benefitting from the programme.

The rest of the numbers were then made up of those who scored high on the admissions exam.

Only 120 could be admitted and there had been 1000 applications. You can imagine the chaos and work involved.

The reason for such a high number of applications was because word had gotten around about Principal Godric's revolutionary education system. As a result, a lot of parents were very keen on enrolling their students there.

Initially, they were hesitant but all the parents of the current students had nothing but praise for the system. Though it had only been slightly more than a month since the system was in place, they had seen improvement in their kids.

Most of the new students, however, were not so much interested in the new school system. To them, school was school. It was the Student Council President that they were keen on.

Principal Godric was on the stage, watching at the students who were entering the Hall. He had a big smile on his face. Things were going well so far and he hoped it will continue to grow. It was unexpected that the programme ran quite smoothly even though it was just implemented and he was even more amazed at the enthusiastic response the parents had for it.

Principal Godric was humble, though, for he acknowledged that part of the reason for its success was due to the dedication of the teachers in implementing it. They had to work hard in order to be able to guide their students properly.

The students, too, though had been hesitant in the beginning, responded to the enthusiasm of the teachers. It wasn't to say that it was perfect, for there were still some who resisted it, but overall, it was a success. He hoped that it would continue to be able to build up and its system be implemented nationwide.

He was especially keen on Sage Class. The reports Kyle had given prior to the holidays had been encouraging and amazing. Principal Godric was excited, thinking of what Sage Class would come up with that year.

Just then, Kyle entered the Hall as it was nearly 8am. Upon seeing the Principal already on stage, Kyle quickly made his way up there while Kay went to sit with the rest of the Elite Five. Ali had reserved a seat for her and Sam.

As they were waiting for everything to start, Sam joined them.

Immediately upon sitting down, he looked around and his eyes immediately found his ... er, the little bunny .. no, the little girl ... no, the new student. Sam groaned, shook his head and slapped his cheeks again.

Ali gave him a look and asked, "Are you alright?"

Sam turned to look at him slowly and then asked, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Ali's eyes widened and his mouth was open to form a soundless "O". Seeing the extremely serious expression of Sam, Ali answered just as seriously, not intending to tease him at all.

"No," Ali said simply, "I believe in lust at first sight, but not love. How can you be in love with a person that you don't know? It's the person's exterior that you're attracted to, and that is lust. To truly love someone, you need to know the person. What she's like and all that."

Ali thought back to the 10 girls he had to choose from.

Each and every one of them was fantastic and spectacular in their own way. There were a few that he didn't quite like - or rather, there was no 'connection' of any sort. This is the year he was going to have to shortlist them. After that, it would be getting to know the ones left in a more intimate setting. He had a headache just thinking about it.

Sam nodded, agreeing.

It was illogical to attribute the sudden palpitation of the heart to be love. That sudden dryness in his throat. That butterflies in the stomach feeling.

It's just nervousness because he had never seen a human bunny before.

Ali sighed as his eyes misted over while he thought back, running his hand through his hair and he continued, "You're going to be spending the rest of your life with the one you choose, so it's not just a matter of beauty. Not external beauty, at least."

"It has to be a connection of the soul. The heart. External beauty will fade, but the connection of the heart would not. It takes work, of course, but that is more lasting than choosing based on what your little brother likes."

"Little ... brother?" Sam turned to look at him then his eyes widened as he realised what Ali meant. Sam nodded again, knowing that it made sense.

"So is that what you're looking for amongst your bride candidates?" Sam asked, curiously, "A connection of the soul?"

"Yes," Ali replied, looking ahead of him at the stage, "In my religion, I can marry four. However, it doesn't mean we should. Each wife has to be treated equally and you have to love them equally. I don't think I can do that and I have no idea how anyone can. It's not just a matter of being able to provide for them - my family is more than rich enough to provide for a whole room of concubines!"

Ali shook his head, "Not for me. I, Muhammad Ali, will only have one, whom I will be with till the end of my Life, God willing. So I must be very careful about who it is."

"Unfortunately, I have yet to feel anything other than just like and admiration so far. So whoever I marry, will be the one that I get along with the most," Ali said as he thought about it, "I've spent years getting to know these girls and so far, no spark of this 'love' thing. So I'll settle for 'good friend' and build it from there."

"So basically, you'll marry your best friend?" Sam continued prodding.

Ali turned to look at him. Since when was this a question about his love life? Wasn't it due to Sam himself experiencing something?

So instead of answering, Ali asked instead, "Did you find someone that you're attracted to, Sam?"

Ali studied him closely, noting the slight flicker of ... intense emotion ... in his eyes. That sparked Ali's interest even more. He knew how straight forward Sam is, so the best way to get information out of him was to just ask him. Looks like it was the best move.

Sam appeared to be struggling to find the words to say. In the end, he shrugged and said, "No. Not attracted to."

It was more like 'I want to carry her away' sort of feeling. That wasn't attraction, Sam acknowledged to himself. That was possessiveness. A sort of feeling that should never arise and he disdained it. He put it down to himself not being able to disassociate Betty, the human girl, from the thought of the 'cute adorable bunny of his'.

Sam was startled.

His?

He gulped.

Why was he being so irrational? Since when has he ever been so illogical?

He scolded himself harshly, using all sorts of curses he knew. He was NOT one of those who simply judged a girl by their looks and he definately was NOT one of those that viewed them as objects.

Ali noticed with amusement the conflict that Sam appeared to be under. He surmised that Sam did find someone he was attracted to, but he was trying to be logical about it. When your head and heart do not agree on something, it can be quite lethal.

"It's not att - traction," Sam started to say, then suddenly his voice broke, the last part of the sentence suddenly being high pitched. He blinked several times, cleared his throat and tried again, "I am NoOt attracted. No. Not at all."

Throughout the sentence, his voice faltered.

Ali grinned wider and grabbed Sam by the shoulders, messing his hair, "Sam!! Welcome to the world of men!!"

Kay and Xing Han turned and smiled at Sam, with Xing Han giving him two thumbs up. Sam pushed Ali aside, fixed his hair and sat back. Principal Godric was just starting his welcoming speech so everyone settled down.

Sam cleared his throat again. So THAT was why his emotions had been weird lately. Guess entering puberty was as troublesome as they said it was.

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