NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

**Back to present**

Thinking about the rather quiet and 'keep-to-herself-most-of-the-time' classmate, Sam looked at Beatrice who was waiting for his response to her question.

"Siblings?" he repeated, then replied, "I have three brothers and one sister."

"Wow!" Beatrice exclaimed, surprised, "How old are they?"

"12"

"Which one?"

"All of them," he replied seriously.

"You have quadruplet siblings?!" Beatrice gasped and was completely amazed. His parents had him one year after having four at once? How on Earth did his parents handle it?

Sam didn't answer as he looked at her, then at the others in the class. Something then clicked in her mind and she frowned.

"You're talking about the other Elite Five, aren't you?"

Sam tilted his head and Beatrice could feel her eye twitch. How could he lie to her like that?

"I didn't lie," Sam said quietly with conviction to her unspoken words as he looked at the Elite Five, "They are my siblings, just of a different mother and father. We have a bond that is as strong, if not stronger, than blood."

Beatrice was silent at that as she observed his serious face and she felt a bit ashamed. It was true. How could she simplify such a relationship between them? Just because they were not blood-related, did not mean that they couldn't see or regard each other as siblings.

"I'm sorry," Beatrice said.

Sam replied, "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's a common misconception."

"Still, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and assumed you were lying," explained Beatrice.

Sam was pleasantly surprised. He found out something about Beatrice from this. He had known she was a very 'straight' person - that is, following things by the book and tended to do things extremely formal-like. She was also a person who was open to her own mistakes and willing to own up to them. His respect and admiration for her grew.

"It's okay," Sam said, "I am truly lucky to have them. Otherwise, I'd be pretty lonely. What about you? Any siblings?"

"No," Beatrice replied softly, "But I do have a cousin-sister that I'm very close to. I wish she was my real sister so that we can be together more."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Beatrice said with a smile on her face. Beatrice rarely smiled and when she did, it transformed her rather strict looking face into something softer.

"Tell me about her," Sam encouraged, wanting to know more about this person that could make Beatrice give that expression. She seemed like she was willing to share but still shrank back to her shell after that initial start.

"Her name is Betty and she was actually named after me," Beatrice said, "But my Aunt didn't want it to be exact. So we practically grew up together since our mothers are so close. If it wasn't for Betty, I guess I would be quite anti-social."

Beatrice stopped for a while and appreciated that Sam did not snicker or something like that. She knew that she was actually quite a hermit and didn't mix around but she never quite saw herself as being 'anti-social'. It was more like because she never found anyone who she really liked to mix with. All the topics or things they talked about were alien to her. What latest idol? What trendy music? What fashion?

Until now.

Well, other than the rather childish antics Kyle would often get up to, things were rather surreal in Sage Class. People actually understood her and were actually interested in the things she was passionate about. She also found their own research fascinating and it was all mind-boggling. To think that she would be with these amazing people for the rest of her school life was truly exciting.

As Sam listened to Beatrice talking (which was the most he had EVER heard her talk), Sam found that he had a lot in common with Beatrice. In terms of personality, that is.

Both of them were quiet and preferred to just 'absorb' the atmosphere. Both of them only talked when needed to. Both of them got caught up whenever they got involved in a project or subject that they were passionate about.

However, that was the extent of their similarities. While Beatrice tended to shy away from things, Sam was the type that wouldn't mind staying in the thick of it. While Beatrice seemed uncomfortable sometimes when Kyle got up to his antics, Sam actually enjoyed it silently. Then again, that could be due to the fact that Sam grew up with the silly people by his side while Beatrice had no one.

Would Beatrice be more like him if she had friends like he had growing up?

Sam found Beatrice to be utterly fascinating and he started to study her. Don't get me wrong. It was a fascination born out of finding something unique that he wanted to decipher. He saw in her, a person that he could have been and he wondered what were the things that make her tick. Could she change? Would she change?

Sam's love for robotics and building things were borne out of his insatiable appetite to take things apart and understanding how it works, then making it better. At this point, you might be wondering why Sam was intending to pursue mass communications rather than robotics, right? It's quite simple. He viewed them both to be something of a similar concept: the pursuit of finding out information and analysing them. Putting his thoughts into something concrete.

With mass communications, however, it was much more complex and challenging than robotics. The former dealt with the unpredictable human factor. Robotics was much more structured and there weren't many variables to it. It couldn't surprise you. Sam was more fascinated with the unpredictability of human nature, even though it confused him. Robotics was a hobby and it helped calm him when dealing with the intricacies of human nature.

So Beatrice was one of those that he wanted to observe.

Beatrice noticed Sam's quiet gaze on her and it made her even more flustered. She had never had anyone show any interest in her before, let alone a guy. A hot guy. No, a little kid. A KID. Beatrice realised that she needs to be more comfortable with people, especially those that she found attractive. Otherwise, how is she going to cope when she graduates here?

To cover her nervousness, she began talking more about Betty.

"Betty is actually your age, Samuel," Beatrice began...

"Sam," he corrected automatically.

Beatrice carried on, seemingly oblivious to his statement, "She'll be coming here to Sakura Academy next year and I can hardly wait!" Her face was aglow with happiness even as she thought about it.

"I've even already applied to Matron to have her as my roommate next year. I hope it gets approved as normally first years are bunked together," Beatrice said worriedly.

"Don't worry. It won't be a problem," Sam assured her, "That's not a rule but rather, an in-house policy. It was based on the concept that first years would be more comfortable with each other and to avoid potential bullying. In your case, you'd be the perfect candidate to ease the first year in and you would not bully her."

"How do you know all this?" Beatrice asked curiously.

"Read about it," Sam dismissed it easily, "When Xing Han wanted to be Kyle's roommate, we had to go through the rules to make sure it could be done. After all, Kyle already had a roommate at that time."

"Oh, I see," Beatrice nodded.

"But what is she like? Betty, I mean," Sam prodded.

"She's the opposite of me," Beatrice said with a sigh, "Sometimes I wonder why we get along so well when that is the case."

Sam shrugged, "What is there to wonder about? Just go with the flow. Relish it. Look at me and the other Elite Five. I'm not exactly of the same mold now, am I?"

"You are. In a way," Beatrice said in disagreement, "The five of you have some similarities with each other in one way or another. Besides the fact that all of you are smart, that is."

"Okay, wait. This isn't about me. You were going to tell me about Betty?" Sam gently guided them back to the initial topic.

"Well, for one thing, she's a really cheerful person," Beatrice started.

"Like Xing Han?"

Beatrice pondered on that, "Yes, you could say that. She's bright and cheery while I am dark and moody."

"I think the term is 'serious and contemplative', Beatrice"

"She's not booksmart like me, but she's really smart about people. She is the one who would always warn me about people and to be wary of certain things. She's always protecting me," Beatrice said with a smile.

"There was one time that she stood up to this guy that I had befriended. He was actually befriending me to do his homework and at that time, I was too young and stupid to realise. I thought I was helping him study but instead, was giving him all the answers."

Beatrice chuckled at the memory and Sam was surprised at that. He had NEVER heard her laugh before.

"Imagine this tiny 6-year-old kid, shouting and scolding a 10-year-old boy. He couldn't even retaliate because she was so small and he had an image as the 'good boy' to uphold. It was then that I realised how naive I am and how even a 6-year-old knew better. I found it was better to just be by myself rather than get so embroiled in the drama of Life and People," Beatrice confessed.

She was surprised herself for saying the last bit but somehow, it came out before she could stop it. She was then so embarrassed that she coughed and got up quickly, smoothing her skirt.

"I think we should get about preparing the questions for the interview," Beatrice said and went to get some pen and paper.

Sam just watched her go, silently observing and making mental notes.