39 Unknown Caller

~ [Music Recommendation: "Tiptoe Thru The Tulips" by O'Neill Brothers (instrumental only)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter

Reconciling with mom felt like a huge burden was lifted from my chest. I was never good at arguing with people. It always weighed heavy in my conscience, especially the one with mom. But I'm glad it was over. Sometimes, you really just need to talk it out… peacefully.

We continued the next day of our trip and decided to go back to the theme park to explore the areas we only got to pass by yesterday because of the long lines at the rides, too crowded, or we somehow missed. It was literally impossible to explore the whole park in a day! Of course, we had to go back. Luckily, mom and dad didn't have anywhere they particularly wanted to go so my younger brother and I enjoyed our trip a bit more. We bought lots of stuff this time, too. For me, I got a couple of stuffed toys, tumblers, and shirts. My younger brother got some pillow with a matching blanket, some shirts and jackets, too. We also picked up some presents for our nanny and the maids back home.

For the next day, which was Sunday, our last day of the trip, we decided to just relax at the pool of the hotel and visit the maze garden which was really huge. I wasn't even sure how I managed to enter and get out in just a short span of time. I guess I had to thank my height. The hedges were pretty tall and they built it the way mazes were supposed to be—confusing. But thanks to my height, I was able to cheat my way and see where I was going. My younger brother though, got separated from me and got lost inside. Good thing mom was at our room where the maze was just below. She was evilly laughing at my younger brother as she guided him outside via call.

"Go to your left," mom said, half laughing. "Then go to your right."

I think she might have deliberately derailed him, too for a bit to learn his lesson. Mom strictly told him to follow me but he just ran off on his own. It wasn't my fault. I was familiarizing myself with the maze so I didn't want to run around. And maybe… just maybe, I was also teasing my stubborn younger brother. Ha-ha-ha! I felt so evil doing that. I could see him though, in case of emergency, I could just run towards him and help.

It was such a fun birthday slash vacation trip. I always loved how dad thinks of fun things to do. Maybe I should goal to travel all around the world in this new life of mine? That sounds cool. I should start creating my list of things to do before I die again. Anyway, we went home after that via car, and plane, then car again until we reached home. After giving my presents to the maids, I went upstairs, took a shower, and slept like a dead animal.

And so, it was Monday again, September 28th. Just a few more days and it would be October. Since mom and I reconciled, I prepared myself and looked for a college that had a writing course, preferably Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, or something alike. There weren't that many to choose from since it wasn't a very popular course if you'd compare to others. Luckily, three of the top schools in our country offered them. I just had to check for reviews on which school had the best professors and curriculum. If I'm going to learn, I'd prefer it to be from the best teachers. Upon checking the reviews though, the top 1 college hit the spot. I decided to apply immediately and schedule my entrance exam.

Busy with all the college preparations, and writing my new story using the laptop I received from Kai, I didn't notice how fast the week flew by. It was the weekend again and I stayed up all night on Friday. Time really flies fast when you enjoy yourself. It was ten in the morning when I felt sleepy. But then, a sudden call from an unknown number surprised me. Since it had the same area code as Kai's number, I thought it was him and answered it. Maybe he changed his number?

"Hello! Am I speaking with Senara Lee?" It was a woman. Her voice sounded like that of a middle-aged one, with a bit of an accent from her country, but very kind and cheerful. She sounded like a nice person.

"Yes, this is Senara. And who am I speaking with?" I asked, curious of who she was, why she was calling, and where she got my number.

"This is Qian Yu, one of the Executive Producers of Red Dragon Films," she cheerfully introduced herself. "I'm calling you because," she said that in a sing-song tone, "we would like to buy the rights to your story, Armageddon—Dawn of the New Generations, so we could turn it into an animated film. Basically, we'd like to offer you a deal! We could meet up and discuss the contract with you and all the things you need to know. So, what do you say?"

And there was silence… My whole world just stopped. My drowsiness went away in an instant.

Was I hearing things correctly? My story—the fanfic one, which I deliberately wrote in a way that it didn't follow any of the original story line except the world background, would be turned into an animated movie? And by "Red Dragon Films"? THE Red Dragon Films? The movie company that sold lots of blockbusters and award-winning movies?

"A… Are you for real?" I was so lost and couldn't believe it that those words just came out of my mouth. I must have sounded so rude. "I mean… I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Ms. Qian Yu laughed hysterically on the other line. It took her a whole minute trying to calm down. "You're so cute, dear. No, you're not dreaming. This is the real deal. Didn't expect your story will get chosen? You should have more confidence in yourself! I already talked to investors and they easily agreed!"

"Woah!" I marvelled to the max level. "Oh my goodness... I don't know what to say but… YES! I will! L-let's do that movie!"