Morning arrived with clear skies, as if the storm from the night before had never happened.
Students poured through the gates of King’s Crown Secondary School, laughing, arguing, and rushing to beat the morning bell.
Rasheed walked through the crowd with his hands in his pockets, his mind still fixed on the impossible red lightning.
Had he imagined it?
The question had haunted him all night.
A familiar voice broke his thoughts.
“I was starting to think you’d finally decided to transfer.”
Rasheed turned to find Omar Bello leaning against the school gate with his usual confident grin.
His white sneakers were spotless despite the muddy ground, and a stopwatch hung casually around his neck.
“You wish,” Rasheed replied.
Omar laughed.
“I hope you stretched this morning.”
“For what?”
“The four-hundred-meter race.”
Rasheed blinked.
“I forgot.”
“I know.” Omar folded his arms with a satisfied smile. “Which makes beating you even easier.”
“You’ve planned this all week, haven’t you?”
“Maybe.”
Before Rasheed could answer, another voice joined the conversation.
“So this is how you two say good morning?”
Adesewa Adeyemi walked toward them carrying a sketchbook under one arm.
Paint stained the sleeves of her denim jacket, and a pencil rested behind her ear.
She looked from Omar to Rasheed and sighed dramatically.
“One day, I’d like to see you two have a conversation that doesn’t sound like the beginning of a boxing match.”
“It’s called healthy competition,” Omar said.
“It’s called exhausting,” Adesewa corrected.
Rasheed smiled faintly.
She caught it immediately.
“There it is!” she said, pointing at him. “He can smile!”
“It was an accident,” Rasheed answered.
Omar groaned.
“I’ve been trying to get him to smile for years.”
“You usually insult him first,” Adesewa replied.
“That’s part of the strategy.”
She shook her head.
“You boys need help.”
The warning bell echoed across the campus.
Students hurried toward their classrooms.
As they walked across the courtyard, Rasheed noticed something strange.
For the briefest moment…
Everyone stopped moving.
A football hung motionless in the air.
A bird froze above the trees.
Even the breeze disappeared.
His heartbeat thundered in the silence.
Then everything snapped back into motion.
The football landed.
The bird continued flying.
Students kept walking as though nothing had happened.
Rasheed looked around.
No one else had noticed.
“You okay?” Adesewa asked.
He hesitated before answering.
“…Yeah.”
But he wasn’t.
Something was happening.
Something impossible.
Later that morning, the athletics field buzzed with excitement.
The annual inter-house qualifiers had begun.
Students crowded around the track, cheering as runners prepared at the starting line.
Omar bounced lightly on his feet.
“This won’t take long.”
Rasheed rolled his eyes.
“You talk too much.”
“I’ll still be talking when I cross the finish line.”
The starter raised the pistol.
“On your marks…”
The world suddenly felt quieter.
“Set…”
Rasheed’s pulse quickened.
Bang!
The runners exploded forward.
Omar immediately took the lead.
His stride was powerful and effortless.
Rasheed followed close behind.
The crowd roared.
Halfway through the race, something changed.
The cheers became muffled.
The runners around him slowed.
No…
Not slowed.
They almost stopped.
Rasheed’s eyes widened.
He could see individual drops of sweat suspended in the air.
Dust floated above the track like tiny stars.
His own heartbeat echoed inside his ears.
Without thinking, he pushed harder.
The world blurred.
A gust of wind erupted across the stadium.
When reality returned to normal, Rasheed found himself standing beyond the finish line.
Silence filled the field.
Every student stared at him.
Even Omar looked speechless.
The digital timer flickered wildly before shutting off completely.
No one understood what had just happened.
Least of all Rasheed.