On Sunday, Eden Academy's auditorium was packed. All the students and teachers had gathered there, and some students had even brought their parents.
This was the venue for the Eden's Good Voice finals. Three contestants had advanced to the final round:
Xana Sele, a seventeenth-year girl about to graduate,
Ann Grandelle, the fourth-year prodigy who had won the championship three years running,
and Richie Forger, an unremarkable six-year-old first-year whom nobody favored.
At the start of the finals, the three contestants would each enter a room with one-way glass, with teacher judges on the other side monitoring their entire composition process.
All three students had to produce original work. If any plagiarism or borrowing was discovered, the school would take severe disciplinary action, potentially even expelling the student.
During the hour the three students spent composing, the school would showcase outstanding pieces from this year's competition.
After an hour, the three students would draw lots to determine their performance order. All the students and teachers would vote, each casting their single vote for the contestant they believed deserved the championship.
Naturally, the entire Forger family had come. At a time like this, Forger was quite nervous too.
Forger had originally wanted to find someone to compose a piece for Richie so that he could memorize it and perform it directly.
But Richie had actually rejected Twilight's suggestion. He told Twilight that he would definitely finish composing a piece within the allotted time and win the championship in one fell swoop.
He had even reassured Twilight, telling him to relax and have faith in him.
The stage lights gradually dimmed. At some point, a staff member had already approached the Forger family below the stage.
The staff member guided Richie toward the little room where he would compose alone.
Henry stood