As Aaron leapt up to meet his target, his back appeared suddenly distorted to those in line, who were the only people who had a clear view. As his fists collided with the round yellow ball, Nate, Van, and Craig watched in subdued horror as Aaron’s shirt was ripped to shreds and two gleaming white, feathered wings replaced it. He looked like an angel. The ball angled away from the hit, nailing Keith’s square directly in the center. There was no attempt made to return it. Keith stood in awe of what had just occurred, and the ball continued its bounce away from the court, running into the fence and finally coming to a halt in a dirty mud puddle.

Aaron followed the ball’s example, not stopping for anything and soaring upwards at an astonishing rate. After a moment he seemed to realize that he was actually flying, and upon this revelation he fell back to Earth, landing clumsily and falling backwards onto his hindquarters. The remains of his shirt lay in a broken heap nearby, his back’s only protection now being a pair of oversized wings and bloodstains where they met with what was left of his humanity.

Screams of agony ensued as the identical symptoms became evident in the other three: Shirts to pieces, shoulder blades to wings, a strange day to a flat out dreamlike one.

“God!” bellowed Nate, the pain mounting to an almost unendurable level. “Put reality down and just stop fucking twisting it!” He always tried to make a joke no matter how bad the situation, though this one was barely a joke.

Onlookers stood stupidly, screaming arguably louder than the four themselves, only adding to the sheer chaos of the scene. Teachers were dispatched to the blacktop, but they were about as helpful as the students. Aaron seemingly felt no pain, and as he tried to calm his friends, he also did his best to help them up. It was no use. Craig exchanged glances with Nate, his saying, “What’s going on, Nate? I’m kinda freaked out here!” and the reply stating in a confidence that clearly wasn’t there, “Don’t worry about it, man! We cool, we cool!”

He didn’t believe it, but then again, he didn’t have to. He just had to make Craig believe it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard to tell that that wasn’t going to work out so fantastically.

Nate looked back up at Aaron, and as his vision began to fade to an abyssal void, he noted the beauty of his friend’s newly-sprouted wings. The day really was nice; the sky was a bright blue, not a cloud was in sight, and as the midday sun gleamed upon those gorgeous wings, Nate fondly wondered if his were as gorgeous. He hoped that they were, but of course, he’d have to wipe the blood off first. Aaron began to lie down next to him, the fatigue evidently taking hold again, and Nate tried to call to him to stand back up so he could admire his wings, but he could no longer speak.

Black.