Ricky dreamed of going to university — but he was too poor to even consider it. He spent every day scraping together enough money to support his mother and little brother. Dreams and aspirations had no place in his life.

His younger brother, Joey, dreamed of inventing things that could change the world. With a science convention coming up, Ricky found himself at the university more than he expected.

One day, he wandered into a class and just listened. The room was large, layered with chairs, all full. Some students looked bored, likely just chasing credit, while others took notes, asked questions, and participated eagerly.

It didn’t take long for the professor to notice him — an obvious outlier. Strangely, they let him audit the class for a week, giving him a chance to decide if he wanted to enroll. Of course, he couldn’t actually enroll — he wasn’t even a student — but he was grateful nonetheless. He promised himself he wouldn’t let the professor down.

Ricky returned to the auditorium the next day, prepared with a borrowed spiral notebook and a well-worn pencil.