NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

That night, Xing Han's words kept playing repeatedly in Sam's mind, like a broken record.

'If she hops away just because you confess, then either chase after her or let her go'

In the end, Sam never did go and ask Beatrice about Betty's likes and dislikes.

After Xing Han's talk, he had a lot of things to process in his mind. The Tan Family Tradition was shocking enough, but it made him also think about the circumstances Xing Han was in - and his own.

Essentially, Xing Han didn't have a choice about who he married yet, he was not being down about it or negative about it. He didn't look happy about it, but he accepted it and was living life as best as he could. Coming to Sakura Academy and all, was part of his effort in doing something for himself.

Carpe Diem?

Sam scoffed at himself. He had the thought but his actions clearly proved otherwise. Xing Han was right. Again.

Sam punched his pillow in frustration.

Being the youngest never really bothered him as he had always been mature in thinking - in fact, most of the time, he felt those 'older' ones were the childish ones. He blended well with the Elite Five for they weren't as childish as people their age - well, except for Xing Han. Even then, it was adorable rather than irritating.

Now?

It appears that the roles have changed. Sam has never felt as 'young' as he did now. Xing Han was much more rationale and logical about the whole thing than he was. Perhaps Xing Han was right. He couldn't be objective because, this time, it involved him.

'If she hops away just because you confess, then either chase after her or let her go'

Sam took out his phone and unlocked it. He opened his gallery and started going through his folder, 'Bunny'.

Despite the fact that he had invaded her privacy by taking these secret shots, Sam had no regrets whatsoever. He laughed at himself. He's so far gone that he's become a stalker now and yet, he is hesitating and fearing to take that step?

Sam got up, went to his bookshelf and took out a brand new notebook. He looked at his bunny notebook and opened it. Tearing out every page that had writings on it, he proceeded to tear them into little pieces before throwing it into the trash. He did this until the notebook was clear of any form of writing on it.

He threw the rest into the wastepaper basket, even though there were still some unused pages. He tied the plastic and made a mental note to throw it out himself the next day. Seeing the tied up plastic bag, it was a symbolic representation of the old methods. The old Sam.

No, that was too much but certainly, a slightly different Sam.

He opened up the new notebook and wrote, in big, bold letters on the first page: "Chase Persistently or Let Go Completely"

He underlined the 'chase persistently' part and steeled himself. He must do his best but be prepared for the worst.

Underneath it, he then added in smaller letters, "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero"

'Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow'.

To remind him. To push him. To steel his resolve and not go back to simply planning and shying away from the fear of rejection.

He started looking through the pictures of Betty that were in his phone. He sighed. As lovely as the pictures were, it would be better if he was beside her in all of them. With that thought, he closed the gallery and went to bed.

?? Conference Room ??

The Conference Room was a rectangular room that the academic staff used for their monthly meetings. Today, it was being used by Sam in order to explain the Valentine's Day rules, and the responsibilities of each Class Representative.

Sam had obtained permission long ago to use the room and arrived earlier than the appointed time to ensure that everything was set up properly. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and noted that it was almost time. 15 minutes, to be exact.

Betty was supposed to be here to help him, so his nervousness wasn't due to the upcoming meeting but from being with her. He had to find ways to find out what her likes and dislikes were so that he could get that perfect gift.

Sam had decided against asking Beatrice as he wanted to do this by himself. He didn't want Beatrice to know he was getting Betty a gift but this time, it wasn't because he was afraid of her telling Betty. Rather, he wanted to be the first one to tell Betty.

Somehow, it felt wrong to have Beatrice know before Betty. He couldn't quite put his finger on the reason why, but he decided to act on it. Follow your heart, right? Even if it didn't make sense.

Five minutes later, the door creaked open and Betty came in. Her face brightened up when she saw Sam already there and she skipped over.

"Thank goodness you're here!" she gushed excitedly, "I thought I was too early."

Sam smiled at her, shaking his head, "No, you're not. I normally come earlier to make sure all the preparations are complete."

Betty nodded, noting that there was a pile of documents next to Sam and paper laid on the conference room table. The table was oval-shaped, with the head of the table facing the door. Betty counted the pieces of paper on the table.

There was one for each Class representative. Next to the paper, was a small bottle of mineral water as well.

"You're so well-prepared," Betty complimented, "It's like you're this mighty CEO, waiting for the meeting to start."

Sam laughed softly, "Hardly. CEO's assistant, maybe. The CEO would simply walk in when the time of the meeting comes whereas the assistant is the one that prepares everything and then calls the CEO."

"Oh," Betty said, hitting her own forehead, "That makes sense. Silly me."

Sam smiled gently at her, liking even this embarrassed expression of hers, "You're not silly," Sam said softly, "And even if you were, I'd still like you."

Betty was looking around her, at the conference room so she didn't hear what he said so she asked, "Sorry? I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

Sam sat up straight, and cleared his throat, "Nothing. I was just wondering when they'll get here. After this, shall we go out for a bite?"

Betty's eyes twinkled. This would be a great opportunity to find out more about Sam. She couldn't wait to tell Beatrice later.

"Sure! Where though? The cafeteria?" Betty asked.

"Of course," Sam confirmed. It wouldn't be good to eat out as Betty stayed in the dorms. The most convenient, though 'boring', would be the school cafeteria. Luckily, the food was good and the place was public - so there wouldn't be any awkward moments.

Or so he hoped.

He got a bit giddy thinking ... that this would be their first date. Albeit, unknown to the one in question.

Just then, the Class Reps started filing inside. At first, they were surprised to see Betty there but did not question it.

Sam simply nodded to every person that walked in, while Betty was happily smiling away as she stood behind Sam. Then beside him. Then went behind him. When she went to his side again, he took her hand and pulled her to sit down on the chair next to him.

Betty was so startled by him taking her hand that she plopped down on the chair, her eyes blinking rapidly. A man's hand was really big and firm and strong. She noticed it the last time when they held hands, as he dragged her away from Xing Han.

There was a huge difference between holding Xing Han's hand and Sam's hand. She subconsciously looked at her hand, thinking how soft Sam's hands were. Unlike Xing Han's, which was rough and what she'd think a guy's hand would be like. Sam's hand was ... nice.

Sam told her, "Just sit quietly here and listen. Please jot down any concerns that are raised but has not been dealt with properly."

Betty nodded her head vigorously, her nose twitching as she started playing with her twintails. She had been wondering just what she could do, and what she was doing here, but still - she came. Now that she had something concrete to do, she was happy.

Still, she was nervous. What if she messed up? People were looking at her like she didn't really belong there. In truth, she didn't, did she? Wouldn't Irene have been a better person to be here? After all, she was the Student Council Secretary.

Sam smiled upon seeing her nervous expression and patted her shoulder, saying, "Nothing to be nervous about. Just imagine that you're my assistant. You'll be fine."

Betty looked down, a bit shy, for having Sam realise how nervous she was and for having faith in her. She took a deep breath and looked up with a bright smile, dazzling everyone with it.

Sam's eyes narrowed at that.

Perhaps he should have just allowed her to pace about behind him. At least, while people would have been distracted by the energetic bunny, they wouldn't have been mesmerized by her. He glared at the ones who were looking at his bunny with interest, wishing he had the same intense 'death glare' of Kyle's.

Still, even though he didn't have the same effect ... it wasn't to say that it had absolutely no effect. The guys who were busy admiring the cute girl beside the Student Council PRO noticed the intensity of his glare at them.

They looked down.

Satisfied, Sam cleared his throat and said, "Let's begin."