New Life: A Second Chance

"Okay, back to serious business now," Principal Godric began, clapping his hands three times loudly, his demeanor now all serious.

The students quietened down, paying full attention.

"As you know, our very own Student Council President, Kyle Smith, has become a bit of a minor celebrity with this upcoming John Wick movie."

Claps filled the Hall. Some teachers, namely Ms Julie and Mr Andrews, weren't quite happy but they maintained a neutral expression. These were the teachers in charge of the Community Outreach Programme that Kyle had started last year but was never around to do the details.

Their impression of him wasn't quite good due to that. Despite the gushing Principal Godric did about Kyle, they were the types that only would judge as per what they saw and they haven't seen much. The idea was from Kyle yet the work was done by Beatrice. While he was gallivanting all over the place making a movie.

"I would like to remind you that while he may be a rising star out there but once he is in this hallowed halls of Sakura Academy, he is a regular student. This is a school of learning, and we are here to learn," Principal Godric said sternly.

Then, for good measure, he said as his eyes swept the entire hall, "Kyle even told me ... if his presence here disrupts classes, he will transfer out. Along with his sister. Most likely the other Elite Five will as well."

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There was pin-drop silence at that bombshell.

"You know how much he values school and everyone here. He's not just the Student Council President, but also the Leader of Sage Class. He has done more for this school than anyone can imagine. So, Sakura Academy Students. Are we here to learn, or we here to ogle at Kyle?!"

Silence.

"Okay, fine. You can ogle at him but do it at a distance," Principal Godric said with a laugh.

The students cheered.

Some of the teachers sighed. Never before have they seen such a Principal. But, he did get the job done. Also, their pay was slightly higher than the normal teacher's pay due to him fighting for their 'specialised status'.

Since each class was catered to specific types of teaching, they had obtained additional certificates of skills, which allowed them to be qualified for the higher pay bracket. For that, they were grateful to him. And the working environment here was very good.

"But seriously, remember what is important," Principal Godric said, "School, not disruptive ogling. Be it Kyle, or any other student here at Sakura Academy."

Amongst the students, Sayuri listened to all of this with a shake of her head.

The way the Principal was talking, it was as if Kyle was such a gem of the school. What? Just because he was good looking? Smart? Well-loved? Hard-working?

However, the more Sayuri went on, the more she realised there were a lot of positive traits of Kyle. She gritted her teeth in annoyance at first then she hit herself (which made the student next to her stare weirdly at her).

Sayuri didn't see this, however, for she was so focused on berating herself to notice anything else. She was scolding herself for doing it again. Letting her prejudice and personal feelings affect a proper judgment of the target.

This was much, much harder than she thought.

Once she got her thoughts back, it was only then she noticed the girl next to her giving her a certain look. Another weakness she has to overcome. She should be on high alert at all times yet the safe environment has made her lax.

Sayuri gave a nervous smile to the glaring girl, saying, "Sleepy".

Which just earned her more glare points.

"One final announcement before I hand-over the podium to our Vice-President, Beatrice Chin to say a few words about this year's activities," Principal Godric said, "This year, we have one new Sage Class member. Sayuri Hinata, a new student coming in as a second year. Sayuri, please stand up."

Sayuri was surprised, and did as she was told, bowing a bit to the Principal in front and to those on her right and left. Her eyes then landed on the Elite Five that were in front, but they hadn't even turned around to look.

Sayuri sat down, a bit peeved.

"Okay, Beatrice. All yours," Principal Godric said as he sat down.

Beatrice took a deep breath and walked on stage.

She looked at the people and did what Sam had suggested. To her surprise, she found that it worked and a smile worked up upon her face.

"This year, we have a new programme known as the 'Community Outreach Programme', or COP, and it will be implemented for the third years," Beatrice began, "and it will be for a week during the school holidays."

(slight groans could be heard)

"The purpose of COP is to help the less fortunate. We will be teaching the little ones to read, or help them with their homework, or take care of the elderly. While it is compulsory for the third years, anyone else can join."

(the groans got louder)

Beatrice could see how some didn't quite like the fact that this was something they were forced to do. On a holiday, even. She couldn't quite blame them but she also truly believed the COP was something that everyone could benefit from.

Best case scenario is that it creates one to be more empathetic to the less fortunate. At the very least, one would have some sort of self-awareness of how lucky they were compared to those they were helping.

"Each participant will get a certificate," Beatrice continued and the faces brightened up a bit. Although the certificate of participation would not contribute to their CGPA,* it was something that would give them an edge when applying for college or work.

"And for those who do exceptionally well, they will get a written testimonial."

Now that got their interest.

A written testimonial!! It could be anything such as a simple letter of sincere gratitude (but all the details needed to be there) to a formal note of acknowledgment of the skills or contributions given. In Country Tz, a written testimonial wasn't given easily, thus making it very valuable to indicate the character of a person.

A written testimonial would even be the deciding factor in college and work applications.

Beatrice was satisfied. Now the students actually looked eager to try it out.

The written testimonial had been Kyle's work and idea. He was the one that managed to convince the residents (charm them, of course) and the management. How he actually managed that when he was hardly around was still something Beatrice found amazing.

Beatrice might have handled the logistics, but the smoothness of it all was something Beatrice felt was owed to Kyle. That was just how he worked though - silently, selflessly, in the background. Af first, Beatrice thought Kyle was silly for not blowing his own trumpet but after a while, she saw that Kyle truly didn't care.

When she had asked him, he simply stated, "An empty vessel makes the most noise."