A/N: This is my entry for the contest, and also my first FanFiction now that I think about it. My OC is very worthy to join The White Ones, mainly because of his heartsong, "Reflection of Your Footprints", which is an original song by me, Midnight Trekker.

Original Songs:

One Precious Night

Down With My Heart

Reflection of Your Footprints

Northern Stars

By Midnight Trekker

Chapter 1

Graduation night was by far the most important night for any young penguin from any nation, not just those from Emperor Land. As such was the case for one very meek young penguin in a nation far from the home of the Emperors. Though this nation was composed of the same penguins, the talent ratio by male to female greatly favored the females over the males. This was a troubling truth for this adolescent male, his heart was filled with the proper words in order to finally express his feeling to his chickhood love, but he lacked the talent to sing them. He pondered this on and on as he paced in the back of the class in a densely walled area in the corner of his nation's home grounds. Emperor Land may have had their graduation ceremony on a glacier, but these penguins had it out of the way and off to the side instead. A colossal wall of thick ice was behind the stage, and the stage was nothing but a massive pile of rocks, on top of which stood the top singer in their class, which was of course a female. This was not his love however; his love was a great signer, but still far from the best. His love was but a simple penguin who was no kind of stand out, just as he wasn't. The only difference between the two was the fact that she could sing, he couldn't. The new graduate continued his walk of anguish and anticipation as he thought about his words. The only solution he could think of was to ask one of his friends to sing them for him. Ironically, it was just then that the penguin's group of friends arrived and saw him, but he didn't notice them due to his eyes locked on the ice beneath him as he paced.

"You think we should tell?" A penguin with brown eyes asked.

"No…it's sort of funny to watch him panic. Yet, I feel sorry for the guy too." One with green eyes, and a husky figure said.

"I'll go talk to him…" The last one said, this one was very slim down the sides, and had more of a grayish eye color. She walked up to her friend who was still in a bashful state, and then he almost had a heart attack when she called his name. "Key…!" And he screamed and fell over. She rushed up to him and looked at his eyes, they were closed tightly shut and once they opened, he shook his head as he returned to his sanity and gazed at who had startled him. The look in her eyes was kind, and also scared, like she knew he was worrying too much. He just placed his flipper over his face and sighed while still lying on the ground.

"Dang it MB…you know not to do that. I'm already stressing out enough as it is." The girl giggled at her friend's goofy behavior.

"I can see that…" She said and helped him to his feet. He smiled to her as he was pulled up.

"Thanks…you're a good friend." Those words hit her like a leopard seal's teeth gashing into her flesh. She loved Key so much, and he only thought of her as a friend.

Maria Bella, or MB to her friends, had joined Key's little group after she was bullied in school for her petty singing voice. Key stood up for her where few others had, the few others being his group of friends. Quickly accepted as the 'No Group, Group' the four of them all rapidly got along and shared practically every experience together, and those that they missed were told every detail, so it's as if they shared it. During this time, MB always had taken a liking to Key when he talked, escorted her to events, and always gave her confidence. Soon enough, as one might guess, she fell in love with him and waited until Graduation to sing to him as everyone else had to make it special. One thing she had overlooked was that Key had had a long time crush on another girl named Iris who, as mentioned before, was not at the top of the class, but still very good at singing. MB was certain that after she sang to him, as he lacked the ability to sing to her, they would fall in love and live happily, and she was excited, the time was drawing near.

Their other friends, Pudge, the husky one, and Leo, the brown eyed one, were never interested in girls, the two of them preferred to think about their own group and worry about others later. Each of the friends had also come up with nicknames for one another, and only used their real names for pep talks, emergencies, or simply to get their attention; Key's real name was Keary, Pudge's real name was Kale, and Leo's full name, not real name, was Leonard, they just left off the 'nard' part.

The song being sung by the girl at the top of the class was nearing its end, and Key was still nervous about Iris, and MB was still lying in wait. "We good over here…?" Pudge waddled over and asked, he always walked like he ate too much fish, but they loved him anyway.

"They look fine to me; are we still doing this thing Key?" Leo asked his friend. Key stared at MB, and then looked towards his two other friends.

"Yes, we have to. All three of you know I can't sing very well, my song is…is…" Key didn't like being egotistical, instead he was more of a push over.

"You already told me the words…Keary…" MB told him, right in front of Pudge and Leo, "And in my opinion, they're beautiful." She smiled at him and gave him a wink. He blushed, and then sighed; he had some confidence back now.

"Thanks MB…I mean…Maria…" He'd never said that before, Pudge and Leo had their beaks hanging open. "Alright, let's do this." Key said and headed into the crowd of penguins with Pudge and Leo, leaving MB behind in his icy dust, he'd left her stunned and full hearted at the same time.

That's only chapter 1, you've met all the important characters, and in case you are wondering, this is about Key, not MB. I bet you can guess what will happen, but you never know when someone might throw a curve ball at you.

Character List:

Keary- Nicknamed 'Key' by his friends; Keary is the candidate for The White Ones. He's a real pushover, but would still do anything for his friends, especially MB. Shy, meek, and extremely unsure of himself, Keary has the greatest potential for deception of any one penguin here, but not even he knows that yet.

Maria Bella- Sweet, kind, and thoughtful, Maria Bella, called 'MB' for short, is the heart of the group. She is in love with Keary, but he has never really returned the affection. Still completely loyal, and the best singer in the group, Maria Bella is everyone's most trusted friend, especially Keary.

Kale- He is a little over-weight, sort of like Atticus and Seymour, but is still loveable and funny to his friends. His weight made his friends nickname him 'Pudge', and he likes that name better than his real one. Kale is fun and a little dumb sometimes, but has great emotional strength channeled through his singing.

Leonard- Shortened to just 'Leo', Leonard is the nerd of the group. He's a better singer than Keary, and constantly argues with Pudge over who is better between them, but he still treats his friends equally, something no one does for him.

Stay in touch everyone!