First few verses of Stained Glass Masquerade by Casting Crows.
Lyrics in bold, our story in normal font.
Done by me, and very much edited by Geraldine Chia. (Xiang Yun! edit too okay :D)

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

He wore tattered long pants that were torn beyond repair, and his shirt bore little white patches that were stitched to cover the holes and tears on it. And when he looked down, he could see his dirt encrusted toes protrude out of the worn canvas shoes that he wore. Truth to be told, he was less than appropriately dressed, and that he knew very well.

In front of him was placed a single beige cowboy hat that was streaked in dirt and grime, and it was probably picked out from one of the dumps he liked to search every once in a while. It wasn't the best looking hat, but it served its purpose well. Passer-bys flipped pennies into it, barely sparing the young lad a glance before walking away importantly. But regardless of their careless attitude toward him, he always gave them the warmest and the widest smile he could muster up.

By now, the young man had gathered quite a crowd. He beamed at them, before clearing his throat and introducing himself to them, "My name is Lucas, humble servant to audiences.".

Few clapped, while most shot condesending glares at him. Some wondered how such a dirty boy managed to weasel into such a beautiful place as this. And truly, it was beautiful. Men walked around in classy business suits and wore expensive silk ties while the women donned on pearls and diamonds and cashmere sweaters. And this made him feel ultimately like the biggest loser in the world. He would even go so far as to say that the grafiti on the walls looked much nicer than him.

He wondered how he was ever going to fit in.


so i tuck it all away, like everything's okay
if i make them all believe it, maybe i'll believe it too
so with a painted grin, i play the heart again
so everyone will see me the way that i see them

"What is that stench?" Someone had whispered loudly, obviously with the intent of letting him hear it. Lucas still maintained his ever brilliant smile, but inside he hurt. His confidence dropped lower with each passing second, but he knew that the show must go on.

He took out a mask that looked ordinary, if anything. It was barely a piece of unwanted, discarded cloth with two holes unevenly cut out for the eyes. He looked back up once more at the crowd and grinned, "Now, if Your Excellencies would permit it, I would be honoured to demonstrate the art of fire-breathing."

Surely the extra emphasis placed on fire-breathing could not have gone unnoticed! Ah, but it was. His hopes for more enthusiastic response from the people were dashed, but Lucas knew that it would not stop him. So he started his performance.

He twirled a bit in the air before doing mid-flips, much to the delighted shrieks of the children in front. He flashed a charming smile at them, before turning three cartwheels and a whole series of full back flips across the bare, cement floor.

The kids were getting more excited by the second. Some were shouting with joy and waving their tiny hands in the air, and Lucas felt a certain joy trigger deep within himself.

"Mama, it's so impressive, isn't it? Wow."

The boy's eyes were positively gleaming, but his mother shot him a dark look. "No it ain't, you hear? You speak once more of this and you see if I don't whip you sound and good, boy."

Lucas didn't hear the last statement made by the boy's mother. It was drowned in the sound of cheering and applause from the children situated right in the front rows closest to him. It encouraged him more than ever, and this time, he smiled in all brilliance, a genuine smile. No longer a fake smile just for presentation's sake, but a real genuine smile.