From ’s el, Nike and Coca-ched a campaign that could only have e from Billy’s vivid, awake ideas. Once again, Billy spoke without thinking, and now he could only shrug at what awaited him.

  -Do you know how to ride a bike?- asked the director, even though he had a stunt double prepared for the tougher parts of the video. The personal growth campaign was tered around several trial elements Billy would have to perform—far more iing than what he had initially expected.

  -I know how,- Billy replied fidently to the producers, -but I think just riding a bike is too mediocre. We need something more intense, something that challenges me as part of this program. -

  -What could that be?- asked the producer.

  -Mmm, we need a female partner—maybe an athlete, actress, or singer. Pieone who resonates with the female audiend is willing to skydive from a pne,- Billy said resolutely. He had it all figured out. Extreme sports now filled his mind as the perfect solution. Of course, he never really sidered the risks, but to him, that was the essence of rock—recklessness and the madhat Billy embodied was far from ordinary.

  Michael Ockrs choked on his saliva as he tried to respond. A pne? Jumping out? What kind of madness was this? He tried to stop Billy’s impulsive suggestion.

  -What are you talking about?- the Nike producers asked.

  -Yes! Filming a man jumping out of a pne sounds much more like personal growth than just cyg around a track. Something captivating. I call it a mini-dotary about two people who know nothing about skydiving and dare to do it. I’m free until June 25—three months to take courses, learn from experts, get trained, and find someone just as crazy and willing to jump from a pne,- Billy answered.

  No one quite uood what the boy in front of them was talking about, but the five-million-dolr tract seemed more profitable with someone so eager to do activities that many stars wouldn’t even sider. A move like that, especially from a star, was intriguing. Billy thought of calling Avril, but she was terrified of heights. Once she reached a certai, she would shake and scream, with no ce of going any higher.

  -I think Billy isn’t serious, he's just exaggerating a bit,- ented Michael Ockrs. It was true that the culture of extreme stunts would beore on in ter years, as extreme spained popurity. For now, these types of ideas were not as discreet.

  -I’m not exaggerating! I’m serious. sider my idea: jumping from a pne. I hope you all take this seriously. The symbol of the campaign is overing yourself, and well, I’ve never jumped from a pne. Fear won’t stop me. Plus, you cover the insurance. I make Warner a lot of money, so if you don’t value me, you’re missing out. This would be an incredible campaign,- Billy said, thinking how perfect it would be to get paid for doing something he’d wao do for a long time. Just being able to do it was worth it; otherwise, he wouldn’t have pushed for it.

  -But...,- Michael Ockrs was about to protest again.

  -I also make music—a track specifically for this kind of event. Something deeply revealing, something that captures the madness of festivals. It’ll be electro, not rock, but with my voice, it’ll captivate the masses. It’ll be the kind of thing that makes people rush to the stores,- Billy replied with a giant grin, fueled by his desire to jump from a pne.

  The Nike producer, a seasoned veteran who knew a lot about successful campaigns, reized that a move like this, filled with fresh ideas, would surely appeal to a different kind of audience.

  -I agree. Perfect. We’ll unch the campaign to private agents. The challenge is to get them to accept within a month. I want the campaign to start produ with the slogan ‘Improve Yourself.’ This o be a grand effort for people who aren’t afraid to give it their all, - Patrios, Nike’s new producer, spoke up, and everyone began moving into a.

  -I’ll promote it myself again, through a website I hired to publish my life,- Billy said, once again interrupting Patrios.

  -A website about you?- asked Michael Ockrs.

  Everyone looked at the boy.

  -Of course. How else I promote things as they are? It could show behind-the-ses footage, draw the publi, guide them to my site, and bring in those who are just curious—especially the younger crowd. It’s a perfect business model,- Billy expined.

  Michael Ockrs’ eyes lit up at the prospect of a marketing strategy that could strike at the core of audiehe idea seemed reckless, with so many possibilities for disaster. Now he uood why Jerry rarely interfered with the boy’s schemes. Billy was simply too young to be responsible for such wild ideas, which were, frankly, pletely insane.

  -I’ve got to call Jerry,- Michael thought, watg Billy sign an improvised tra a napkin.

  -Let the wyers and HR hahe rest of the terms. Don’t disappoint me, director,- Billy said, taking his seat and winking at Michael. He was thrilled with how everything had unfolded. up would be Warner’s approval, but that didn’t matter muow. Everything else was in pce for his uping intervieeter in Narnia—an iic role he was eager to take on with gusto.

  Behind him trailed a man who looked like he needed an expnation. His face was flushed, not from anger, but from the embarrassment and realizatiht on by his father’s legacy.

  -Don’t pull that face, Michael. The only point is t moo this pany. You o rex. Life’s rules are simple—you either go at your own pace or follow others. When you chase after someone else, you’ll run out of breath halfway through,- Billy said.

  What more could he do to enjoy himself? He could already feel the wind on his face.

  ***

  -He did what?- asked Osmand, Nike Europe's sales manager.

  -He said our ad looked like something his grandma would watch while shopping for yarn to crochet a sweater. The whole running-with-purpose thing didn’t resoh him. He wanted raw emotion, tet the gmour, and instead focus on his face before the jump,- responded os.

  What could be worse than being forced into a plete overhaul? The boy’s challenge had made young Patrick chase after an artistic idea that bordered on madness—filming areme dotary of the jump. It would be an unpreted two-week shoot, densed into 15 minutes.

  -Well, it doesn’t matter. If it’s as powerful a campaign as the kid cims, and it creates a brand logo, song, and story, then I suppose you’ve vinced me to carve out some spa the marketing budget. You’re asking for a female star, but she has to have the same level of fame as Billy—someoh a simir level of relevance,- Osmand remarked. He couldn’t deny the potential of such a campaign with someone so famous. In the ing days, during the unch, he expected to domihe advertising se.

  -How clever, - he thought, "to create a video like this, something no other star has done."

  He could hear the deep excitement in his heart.

  -Well, as a producer and director, I think we’ve got something wonderful cooking... We could evee a brand with this kid—something that’s not just an ad but a product people buy. Maybe shoes, like Jordan’s line, or a jacket, or pants,- Patrick mused, embrag the situation. Direg was his passion, and this new dire felt like climbing to new heights—though not in the chaotic Hollywood world he had oested.

  ...