In a small village near the edge of the earth, there lived a boy. Not by any means was this boy worth mentioning. In fact, the most remarkable part of the boy was how exceptionally unremarkable he was. He was merely average in athletics, he was not exceptional in any school subject, and by appearance the only noteworthy feature he had was his vivid jade green eyes. If this boy had any hidden talents, they were hidden even to him. Not to say he hadn't tried to find one. Unfortunately, the result was always the same. Merely average. And accepting himself as average, he began to lose interest in life itself.

Needless to say, an average kid with nothing he felt passionate about would not be welcome in any household. Unable to accept their son as he was, his parents had saved up all the money they had and sent him off to a prestigious boarding school. The school was well known for its success in many different subjects. Everything from athletes to artists to businessmen to scientists graduated from this school. But despite its astounding success, no school was without failures.

It just so happened he was one of them, the boy thought.

It was the same old story. C grades in almost every subject. And in a school like this, filled to the brim with prodigies and excellence, he wasn't even average anymore. Getting a C more often than not meant he was at the bottom of the pack.

The boy didn't even bother joining a club, despite encouragement from his teachers and eagerly recruiting club presidents. He already knew what the result would be.

This school was not successful for nothing. Even with this boy's difficult attitude and lack of motivation, they tried to help out. As a policy, students who did not join a club would have to sign up for more classes. The purpose of this was to hopefully give the opportunity for those students to find a subject that they enjoyed.

But in the boy's case, he had simply stopped trying. Oh, he took the classes alright. But he never paid any attention to a word his instructors said, instead opting to stare blankly out a window or fall asleep. Somehow he would always manage a passing grade, albeit sometimes barely.

This is how his first couple of years of his education in this school went. His teachers didn't know what to do with him, since he was technically meeting the requirements to pass. So they did the same thing they always had. Encouraged him to take more classes.

The same old song and dance. This year, he was taking a plethora of specific subjects including psychology, home economics, and physical training. Most of them he slept right through.

For physical training, however, he was not able to do such a thing. His instructor constantly pushed him to work out under the threat of failing him. Not wanting to repeat a course and be delayed in his graduation and escape of this facility, the boy had no choice but to half-heartedly go along with the demands. Of course, nothing changed. He was average to mediocre in nearly every activity. The saving grace was that many students took the subject as an easy elective credit, meaning his averageness did not stand out. But it was of little comfort.

On one particular day, the teacher announced that there would be a swimming unit. There was an excited buzz until he followed it up by saying the genders would be split up for it. The excitement deflated like a balloon. Of course, the boy could not care less.

When the unit finally came, the teacher informed them that he would be teaching the girls first, much to the chagrin of most of the boys. Not paying any mind to the murderous glares that he probably received every year, he informed the males that they were to use the weight room across the sports field in the meanwhile. And, he casually added, if any of them happened to be caught anywhere outside the room during this time, they would instantly be failed.

The teacher led the boys across the field and ushered them into the weight room, taking count of each one of them. Then off he went with the girls.

Finally, the boy was offered a chance to sleep in this class. But he had become so used to being uncomfortably forced to work out in this room that he just couldn't get into the mood. Looking around, he noticed to his surprise that many of classmates weren't using the machines either.

A small huddle featuring a group of boys that were only taking the class as an elective caught his attention. He wandered up to them and asked them what they were talking about.

"We're going to get some food."

Food sounded nice. The boy thought. It was much easier to relax on a full stomach. He asked if he could tag along.

The huddled group looked at him incredulously as if in disbelief. Then a mischievous grin appeared on one of their faces.

"Sure, why not?"

And the group of students left the weight room, with the boy in tow. Absentmindedly, he followed their footsteps, not really paying attention to where he was going. Before he knew it, the group had stopped. Caught by surprise, the boy looked up. They hadn't even left the school grounds. In fact, they were still in the training facility. He could still see the weight room. They had merely just crossed from their side of the sports field back to the other. In front of them was the massive brick wall separating the outside from the school. There were no doors along this wall. Slightly suspicious, the boy asked what they were going to eat. His companions smirked.

"Candy, of course."

Another boy, one who was going into engineering, spoke up as well.

"From this angle, using this hole I drilled earlier, it should be…Hwaa?!"

"W-what is it?!"

"I-I can see-!"

"Move over!"

"H-hey! Let me get in on this!"

"Cut it out! It was my idea!"

A flurry of excited whispers suddenly erupted from the group. From what, the boy could not tell. But he could see clearly that the group were all converging at one point in particular. And with the mention of a hole, his suspicions grew. But wanting to make sure for research purposes, he tapped the shoulder of the one closest to the hole.

"Ah'm still usin' it ova here!"

Not really caring about that, the boy promptly shoved him out of way and onto the ground with a loud thud. A noticeable hush fell over the crowd, and the boy was able to clearly hear some peculiar noises from the other side of the wall. He took a quick glance through the hole.

Instantly, he recoiled. Just as he thought, they were peeping. But he made a mistake. He had thought that it would be the swimming pool on the other side of the hole. But to his complete surprise, it was actually the girl's locker room. Meaning the sight he had just seen was filled with girls that were changing. Which meant-

He blushed at the recollection.

It was at that moment he recalled the teacher's words. If he were to be caught he would be failed. Considering the role of this class to many of the boys, it may have been a risk they were willing to take. But for him, it would likely mean that the school would accuse him of taking the subject lightly and force him to repeat it. And if the group of boys were just going to hang around here…He shuddered. This was not a risk he was willing to take.

And so he turned away, meaning to escape this danger. But when he turned around, he was met face to face with an angry buff student twice as big as him.

"Wherdya fink yer goin'?"

By the voice he recognized him as the one he pushed. Crouched at the hole, he didn't look nearly as imposing. Shrugging, the boy meant to shove past him, but a giant arm grabbed him before he got anywhere and pinned him against the wall.

"Ah said…" The brute repeated, in a notably loud voice. "Wherdya fink yer goin'?!"

The boy stared at him, annoyed. He supposed he was at fault for pissing this dude off. But he really needed to get back before this moron's voice got them caught. He suggested that they had this conversation someplace else. His suppressor laughed.

"We ain't goin' nowhere."

"H-hey, man. Calm down…you're gonna get us busted man."

"SHADDUP!"

Another member of the group who had tried to speak reason to the brute, flinched as he was yelled at and took a step back. Turning his attention back to his captive, the brute leered at him.

"Whattya fink ya are, huh? Pushin' me like dat…ya haf a deaf wish bud?"

The boy sighed. The only wish he had was for the guy in front of him would stop babbling like an idiot. He told him so.

The brute turned beet red with anger. Before he could react, the boy felt a sudden thrust on chest and felt his head get hit on the back of the wall. Seeing stars, he collapsed to the ground. His vision blurred, he could barely make out the outline of the big guy readying another punch-

"What was that?!"

The brute stopped mid windup and cast a worried glance over his shoulder. A member of the group yelled out.

"It's the teacher! Let's scram!"

And just like that the group vanished, scurrying off back to the safety of the weight room. The boy groggily tried to rise his feet, but his effort was wasted. His head spun in circles from the impact and he could not get up without stumbling back to the ground in pain. So that was it then. He was caught. He'd have to repeat the course and be labeled as a pervert. He sighed as he gave up trying to get up. In his case, he supposed it didn't really matter. It would just be a pain to deal with. A cool wind blew as he attempted to ease the pain in his head by resting his head against the cold wall outside of the locker room, waiting for him inevitable doom.

Without anything to distract him, he heard something inside the locker room. Merely the girls excited chatter as they changed. But, he realized, he heard something else. A quieter voice nearer to him, probably belonging to a girl changing just on the other side of the wall, was singing a curious melody. Normally, he'd pay no mind. But he had nothing else to do, so he listened in.

He couldn't quite catch the words, but it was a pleasant tune, he thought. Sort of uplifting. He closed his eyes to focus on it. And maybe it was just his head acting funny, but time had felt as if it slowed down. The noises of the other girls faded to the background. A small voice in his mind questioned what he was doing, but he continued to listen, entranced by the sound of her voice.

With a start, he realized he was smiling. Legitimately smiling, something that he hadn't done in a very, very long time. And with his smile, his discomfort felt as it had gone away. What was this music doing to him?

In any case, he suddenly felt a surge of energy return to him. What was he doing? If he stuck around here for much longer, he'd be caught. And then he'd have to repeat this horrible class. There was no way in hell he was letting that happening!

The boy rose to his feet, painfully reminded of the wounds he had suffered. But, still he struggled. He had to leave. He made to dash away, but he heard the sound of footsteps coming. It was too late. There was no way he could through the open field now. The teacher was here.

But still he was not going to give up just yet. For the first time in a long while, he felt the surge of adrenaline kicking in. Frantically, he looked around for a place for cover.

There! Around the sports field lay what he was looking for. Bleachers. In an open area, they were his only chance. Moving quickly, he ducked to the seats and crawled under. It wasn't the cleanest under there. He felt something slimy touch his skin as he scrambled to the deepest cover he could, and cobwebs stuck to his body. He would have to put up with it though, at least for the time being. He held his breath as the teacher approached. Since this was the only cover in sight, if the teacher decided that he was hiding…

"…They all ran away, didn't they?"

The boy sighed a breath of relief. If he assumed that, he probably wouldn't check here. Not that the teacher was wrong. The commotion must have tipped him off. Assuming they ran away was only logical. If the boy had been able to move a little earlier, he would have done the same thing. The teacher sighed.

"Ah…Why did I have to call out like that? Note to self: next time don't give away your position."

And at that very moment, a girl's joyous scream was heard along with the splash of the water. Instantly, the teacher reacted.

"I told you to not enter the pool yet!"

For a second, the teacher stood still, as if he was considering something. Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath.

"Gonna have to work on that…"

The teacher turned around and begun to head back, the boy carefully adjusting his position in accordance. He waited until he could no longer hear the footsteps. Once they had faded, he sighed heavily and returned back to the daylight.

It was likely the most intense thing he had done in his entire life.

What was he to do now? There was no way he was returning to the weight room now, not with all those boys there. And after his experience with the filth under the stands, he thought as he brushed a rotten banana peel out of his hair, he no longer felt hungry. Maybe he could just take a nap.

Without realizing it, he had stumbled back to the same spot where the hole was. For a second, he regarded it. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he plopped onto the ground and listened.

The melody behind him in the locker room had continued this entire time. He smiled in spite of himself. Something about that song was special. He imagined that some sort of angel would sing it. It had some mysterious power that could cheer even him up, no matter what he had just gone through.

"Hey, that's a nice melody!" He heard a girl call out from the locker room "I've never heard it on the radio before!"

The singing stopped.

"I-it's something I came up with…"

She had a timid voice. Much gentler than he would of thought.

"No kidding? What do you want to call it?"

The boy pressed his ear against the hole, for he wanted to know the title as well. One day he would find it again, once it had become famous.

"…I'm not sure yet."

"Aww, really? Well, don't worry about it, you'll come up with something!"

"T-thank you."

"Hey, we need to get going. The teacher is waiting for us."

"Y-yes! I'll be right out."

Hearing that the song had no name, the boy felt a sense of shock. A song like that deserved some recognition, and how would it achieve that without a name? Was she planning on keeping that song to herself? No, she was humming it to herself in public. So that meant she didn't think much of her own masterpiece. She didn't even know what she had. A talent that he could only dream of. What a waste. If that were the case, he would just ask her to sing it next class and point out how great it was.

It was at that moment he realized that he didn't know what the girl looked like. Hurriedly he peeped through the hole once more, but the girls had already left. He had missed his opportunity. But he was not deterred. That song had inspired him more than anything had ever before. That song was going to be heard around the world. And he would make sure of that.