NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

After the scene was over, Kyle plopped down, spread-eagled, on the lawn, his arm placed across his eyes.

Keanu laughed seeing him there, "What's the matter? The scene wasn't that tough to do."

Kyle looked up at him, shielding his eyes from the sun as he answered, "How come your scenes have you always in a suit?"

"It can get pretty hot, you know," Keanu said, "Is this what you're complaining about? That I wear a suit?"

"Not that you wear a suit, but that most of my scenes are me without one! As in, I think I'm half-naked in 50% of my scenes!"

Kyle pretended to count on his fingers as he thought about it, "No, make that 80%?? The training routine scene. The torture scene. The changing uniform scene. I think I only managed to wear my cool outfit once. ONCE!"

Keanu sat down next to Kyle, patting his shoulder, "No one wants to see a half-naked 54-year-old man, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. Right, Grandpa," Kyle smirked, "As if?! I believe any woman - and man - would want to see you half naked. You had ONE scene before, right? Without a shirt? Compared to me, I'm the other way around."

"And you're still so fit," Kyle added for good measure.

Keanu looked at Kyle and patted his abs, saying, "Not as fit like you, though. Let me maintain my suave, dark and cool image with them only imagining what's underneath while you ..."

"What? What me?" Kyle retorted.

"Should show off to everyone exactly what sort of body I would probably have," Keanu said laughing softly, "You represent everything that one wants to attain but cannot get. See, but not touch. Adds more mystery to it."

Kyle snorted and using one hand to gesture to his body, "This. This is something anyone can get. Just do the exercises."

"Ah, but not everyone - let alone a kid - have the dedication to keep at it daily," Keanu said, raising an eyebrow, "I've seen you in the early mornings. That's truly admirable and impressive."

"So says the man that knows several martial arts just from preparing for the Matrix role," Kyle replied, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Fine, both of you are awesome, okay?" Sam chipped in, handing both of them a bottle of mineral water. "One is a legend and an internet darling while the other ... is a narcissistic muscle-bound kid."

"You sure you're my friend?" Kyle said, taking the bottle, "Maybe I should cut your salary for each insult."

"It's not an insult," Sam said, sitting down on the grass next to Kyle, "Just stating facts in a logical and precise manner."

"Also, cutting my salary for telling the truth would be against the Employment Act and a breach of our contract," Sam added on for good measure.

"Fine," Kyle replied with a languid smile, "I'll just add more work then. Justify that smart mouth of yours."

"Bring it on. It's getting super boring anyway," Sam replied, raising an eyebrow then a slow smile started forming, "Though you're going to be really, really busy after the whole shoot over."

Kyle frowned, "What? Other than the road shows and such for a couple of months, things will get back to normal. Back to the normal, mundane school life."

Sam started laughing, "You seriously have forgotten, haven't you?"

Kyle now opened his eyes, looking at Sam weirdly. Bringing himself up by the elbows, he demanded, "Just what are you talking about?"

Sam started laughing harder, clutching his stomach and then wiping the tears from his eyes, "Oh man, this is pure gold."

Kyle narrowed his eyes at Sam, waiting for him to finally get back his breath.

Sam looked at him, a twinkle in his eye as he said with a smirk, "You're the 2nd male lead in a John Wick film."

"Yeah, so?" Kyle said with a shrug.

"Ve-ery popular film and has been a major hit all the time," Sam continued on, "So now we have a fresh, young boy who not only has a lot of action scenes ... most of those scenes are also focused on that ridiculously ripped body of yours."

Kyle waited, impatience apparent in his eyes.

"And while this whole movie is going on, you're going to be touring to promote the movie," Sam carried on and looked at Kyle in the eyes, "Thus, showing off that stupidly handsome face of yours at various locations."

"Okay, yes. We've established I have a drool worthy body and a breathtakingly handsome face," Kyle said, "Again, so?"

"Thus, you are not only going to be showcasing to the whole. Entire. World. The boy that is Kyle Smith," Sam said slowly, letting that sink in, "You'll be out. There. In. Public. while doing so."

Kyle blinked.

Wait.

"Have you actually forgotten why we had to move the shoot here? The rabid fans made it difficult to actually shoot properly just because they knew about Keanu." Sam carried on relentlessly, "Imagine what will happen when you pop into the scene."

Kyle's eyes widened in horror.

"And you thought Valentine's Day in school was bad?" Sam said, laughing.

Kyle groaned.

"I'm dead," he moaned.

Sam turned to Keanu, who was looking rather puzzled, and explained, "Kyle as a sort of phobia about fans, ever since he was nearly stripped naked during Valentine's Day."

Keanu's eyebrows shot up at that. Kids were so vicious nowadays? Even he, as a top celebrity, was not harassed to that extent.

"It's a Kyle thing," Sam said with a laugh.

"It's not funny," Kyle groaned then his eyes brightened, "Maybe it won't be so bad now? I mean, at that time, we were still kids and they didn't know their limits? Also, there's going to be a lot of security at these venues, right?"

Kyle gave out a huge breath of relief, "It won't be so bad then."

"Ya think?" Sam said 'consolingly', "That may be when you're doing the promotions but at any other time? Spiderman Kyle was only a local celebrity. Imagine ... you ... international level ... This is not Country Sg that has very strict privacy laws that protect celebrities, you know."

"Oh shut up," Kyle said, sitting up, rubbing his hair in frustration, "No point thinking about it now. What's done is done and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Taking a deep breath, Kyle suddenly looked very serious as he then started giving out instructions, "First, contact Principal Godfrey and warn him about the potential backlash of this. Make a report on how to increase security plus amend the school rules concerning privacy and security.

"Your report must also include identifying all the weak areas and spots in which a person can sneak in. Calculate how many security guards are needed to patrol the area properly. Fix anything that needs to be fixed and fortify the school grounds.

"Also, use one of my company's name to upgrade the security equipment around the school and to donate funds to finance for the added security," Kyle said quickly, going through in his mind all the things that needed to be done to ensure that the school would not be swarmed with uninvited guests.

The moment Kyle started giving out the instructions, Sam stopped laughing and turned professional as he jotted down everything, "When do you want the report?"

"Within 3 days," Kyle stated, "Liason with Kay and Zero to make sure all the loopholse are covered. Once Principal Godfrey approves, start the work immediately on the security features. That has to be in place before the shooting ends. Remember to focus on the Student Council Room, Sage Class, Cafeteria and the dorms as these are the areas I frequent the most."

"Got it," Sam answered, shutting his notebook and went to get the things done. Looks like Kyle's threat about making him do more work came true faster than he realised.

"Darn it," Kyle cursed, "How could I have forgotten about that? Argh. Luckily Sam brought it up."

Keanu's head spun, and he felt like he would get whiplash at the sudden change in the way those two worked. One minute, it was a normal boy lamenting over his scenes and the next, a serious adult working a project. It was something completely unexpected.

Keanu looked at Kyle who now looked normal again and was still busy complaining, then at the Smith Mansion. He remembered the really joyful day that had been spent yesterday, playing with Dahlia and just having fun.

So many sides to the young man in front of him. It was amazing how a 14-year-old could be so well grounded and accomplished. Keanu felt a bit strange. The way the boy lived and approached life was so much like himself right now - and he was already in his 50s.

Keanu shook his head, thinking of many rich kids who were just decadent and wasteful. Worse, some of them did not appear to really know what 'life' really was like.

Just listening to the way Paris Hilton or Ivanka Trump talk about their 'hardships' in life made one realise that their way of life was so surreal that they were detached from reality and how 'normal' people actually lived.*

Kyle, on the other hand ...

Keanu was beginning to like the kid more and more.