The Bluest Sky

1
THE PALM FRONDS rustled in the warm tropical breeze as I hunched down to take a sprinter’s stance. My best friends lined up next to me. Our daily race was about to begin.
“Ready?” Teo asked, adjusting his grip on the schoolbooks
nestled under his arm.
I nodded and looked over at Isabel, who was poised to take off as soon as I counted to three.
Ahead of us the cracks in the sidewalk fanned out like an intricate spiderweb, providing an extra challenge to our com- petition. We had to reach the lamppost at the end of the street without stepping on any of the jagged lines that crisscrossed our path.
I untucked my shirt, pushed up my eyeglasses, and waited for a few people to get out of the way.
Maybe this would be the day that I’d finally win, al-though I wasn’t too optimistic. My wins were usually in math competitions. I’d never been fast like Teo or agile like Isabel, but that didn’t stop me from trying to beat them… even if the statistical probability was extremely low.