Kai sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the console like it was some kind of alien object.

  His mind raced.

  “How… how is this here? Did I really do this?”

  Standing slowly, he walked over to the console again, running his fingers over its smooth surface, as if touching it would give him answers.

  “No way this is a coincidence. But… maybe I’m overthinking it?”

  Still, something about it didn’t sit right.

  He turned on his computer, logging into his game account, half-hoping to find something normal — something that would explain this all away.

  But when he checked his inventory—

  There it was.

  The limited-edition item, sitting proudly in his collection.

  Right where it should be if he had actually gone back and succeeded in getting it.

  “Okay… okay, so that part worked.”

  But it was the console that still nagged at him.

  “Why would that show up?”

  Then, as if mocking his doubts, a message pinged into his inbox.

  A subject line blinking on the screen:

  Congratulations! You’ve been selected to receive a free console!

  Kai stared at it, breath caught.

  His chest tightened.

  “Selected for a giveaway? I didn’t enter any giveaway…”

  His eyes skimmed the email over and over again, but it was all perfectly official — like this had always been the case.

  “Did I… make this happen?

  The thought was terrifying — and thrilling.

  Kai stood up, pacing the room now, heart pounding.

  “If I did this… if I really brought this console into reality… what else could I do?”

  He turned, eyes landing on his desk.

  On his old, plain lamp, sitting right where it always had been.

  “What if I tried something small? Something no one else would notice.”

  His hands shook slightly as the idea settled fully in his mind.

  “If I go back and imagine something different… and it’s here when I return…”

  “Then I’ll know.”

  Kai moved back to the closet, heart pounding but full of determination.

  He lit the candle, the small flame dancing, and sat down cross-legged, breathing deeply to calm himself.

  “Alright… back to that same moment.”

  “The day I got the item. Right before I logged in to get it.”

  Closing his eyes, the pyramid formed quickly, spiraling faster than before — like his mind had grown stronger with every attempt.

  The feeling — the joy from the headset gift — came easily now, warm and ready, his key to open the door.

  “Take me there.”

  Woush.

  Colors spun, the smoky space swirled —

  And then he was there again.

  Standing in the same room.

  His mom still talking about her coworker, unaware of anything different.

  Kai glanced around, heart racing, and locked his eyes on his desk lamp.

  “That’s my target. The lamp.”

  He took a slow breath and focused on how he wanted it to be.

  “A new lamp. Sleek, modern. Black base, thin silver neck. Bright LED glow. Not the old one. Something cooler.”

  He held the image in his mind, sharp and detailed.

  He let himself feel what it would be like to have it — that same excitement as if his mom had surprised him with it.

  “It’s mine. It belongs on my desk. I can see it there.”

  As he locked the image and feeling together, a knock on the door came again.

  “Kai? You still in there?”

  His mom’s voice — just like last time.

  The sound startled him—

  Snap.

  He was pulled back, breath catching as he opened his eyes.

  The candle flickered in front of him, steady and calm.

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  Kai stood slowly, heart pounding in his ears, and walked out of the closet.

  “Okay… let’s see.”

  His eyes darted to the desk—

  And his heart stopped.

  “No way…”

  There, sitting on the desk where his old lamp had been, was the new lamp he had imagined.

  Sleek.

  Black base.

  Silver neck.

  Bright LED glow, turned off but ready to use.

  Just like he had pictured.

  Kai walked over slowly, reaching out to touch it.

  The surface was cool under his fingertips.

  Real. Solid. There.

  “I really did it…”

  “I changed something real. Something permanent.”

  He sat down hard on his bed, head spinning.

  “This isn’t just about memories. I can change the present. I can bring things back. Maybe even rewrite things.”

  A chill ran down his spine, but at the same time, a spark of wonder and power filled his chest.

  “If I can do this… what else could I do?”

  As Kai stared at the lamp, the console still sitting nearby, one thought pulsed through his mind:

  “I’ve only scratched the surface.”

  And he knew — there was no turning back now.

  The next day, as Kai walked down the hallway toward class, his mind was a storm.

  No matter how many times he tried to shake it off, the image of that lamp sitting on his desk—new, real, impossible—kept flashing in his head.

  “I made it real. I actually brought it here.”

  His chest felt tight, filled with a mix of wonder and fear.

  “What if I can’t control this? What if I accidentally change something bigger?”

  He barely noticed the people moving past him, the noise of lockers slamming and conversations buzzing like background noise.

  Then—

  “Yo, Kai!”

  A familiar voice cut through his thoughts.

  Kai blinked and turned, seeing Brandon coming down the hallway with his usual easy grin.

  “Man, you look like you’re on another planet,” Brandon said, catching up to him.

  Kai gave a small smile. “Yeah… something like that.”

  Brandon fell into step beside him, glancing over curiously.

  “Everything good?”

  Kai hesitated, searching for words.

  “Yeah, just… thinking about stuff,” he finally said, though his mind was still racing.

  Brandon nudged him lightly with his elbow, smirking.

  “You always thinking, man. You gotta chill. Like, join us after class, we’re planning something fun. Maybe that’ll get you out of your head.”

  Kai looked at him, grateful for the offer.

  “Yeah… maybe.”

  “Hey,” Brandon added more softly, “seriously though, if you ever wanna talk about… whatever that ‘stuff’ is, you know, I’m here, right?”

  Kai paused, a genuine smile breaking through the fog in his mind.

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  Brandon grinned, throwing an arm casually around Kai’s shoulders for a second before letting go.

  “No problem, man. Gotta watch out for my new acting buddy.”

  As Brandon walked off toward his class, Kai stood there for a moment, feeling a little lighter.

  “Maybe I’m not as alone as I thought.”

  But as the bell rang, pulling him back to reality, the weight of last night settled on him again.

  Kai slid into his seat at the back of biology class, still lost in thought.

  He barely noticed as other students filled in, chatting and laughing like always.

  The door creaked open, and Mr. Finch, the biology teacher, strolled in carrying a stack of papers.

  “Alright, everyone, settle down,” Mr. Finch called, placing the papers on the desk. “Today, we’re diving into something fun — electricity in the brain and how the nervous system works.”

  That caught Kai’s attention.

  He blinked, sitting up a little straighter.

  “Electricity in the brain?”

  “You might not think about it much,” Mr. Finch continued, “but your brain and body are constantly firing electrical signals. Every movement — all of it is controlled by tiny electrical impulses running through your nerves.”

  Kai felt a chill crawl down his spine.

  “Electrical signals in the brain?”

  “The nervous system is like a highway,” Mr. Finch explained, drawing a rough diagram of a brain and nerves on the whiteboard. “Your brain sends signals, and your body reacts — sometimes in ways you can’t even control.”

  Kai leaned forward now, heart pounding.

  “Like when I hold a feeling and travel to a memory… is that a signal too? Am I sending something through my brain, triggering this?”

  Mr. Finch kept talking, but Kai was only half-listening now — his mind connecting dots faster than ever.

  “And what’s interesting,” Mr. Finch added, “is that fear, joy, anger — release chemicals that amplify those signals. They make your body react stronger, faster. Think of adrenaline when you’re scared, or endorphins when you’re happy.”

  Kai’s eyes widened slightly.

  “So my powers… they’re tied to the natural system of the body? To the energy running through me when I feel something strong enough?”

  His pulse quickened.

  “What if that’s what I’ve been tapping into? Not just emotion… but the actual energy that moves through my body and mind when I feel something real?”

  Kai stared at the diagram on the board, a spark lighting in his mind.

  “Maybe it’s not just magic… maybe it’s something real. Something inside me, like electricity, that I’ve never been taught to control.”

  Suddenly, it all made sense:

  ? The stronger the emotion, the stronger the signal.

  ? The clearer the memory, the more focused the path.

  ? The feeling is the key, but the energy inside him is what opens the door.

  “That’s why the spiral feels like energy running through me… why I get dizzy, like I’m charging up.”

  Kai sat back, a quiet awe filling him.

  For the first time, it felt like he wasn’t crazy.

  Like there was a reason for all of this.

  As class went on, Kai stayed quiet, his thoughts racing faster than any signal in the nervous system.

  “What else can I do if I learn to control that energy? And what happens if I lose control?”

  When the bell finally rang, and everyone filed out of class, Kai sat in his seat for a moment longer, still staring at the board.

  Electricity. Emotion. Power.

  “There’s more to this than I thought.”

  Grabbing his bag, Kai stood slowly, a determined glint in his eyes.

  “Time to find out how far this goes.”

  After school, the theater class was exactly what Kai needed.

  For an hour, he didn’t have to think about swirling lights, time travel, or reality-bending emotions.

  He just laughed along with the others, tried (and failed) at improv games, and read his lines during scene practice.

  Even Naomi, who usually kept her distance, gave him a small nod of approval when he delivered a line with more confidence than usual.

  When class wrapped up, and people started gathering their things, Brandon slung an arm around Kai’s shoulders.

  “Alright, man. You’re coming with us tonight,” Brandon said, grinning wide.

  Kai blinked, caught off guard.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Arcade night, bro! You’re one of us now, remember? You can’t ditch us,” Brandon said, nudging him playfully.

  “It’s a tradition,” Sam added with a smile, her voice soft but warm. “After a good class, we go hang out.”

  “Come on,” Brandon urged. “You’ll love it. And we need someone to destroy Leo at racing games.”

  Leo, standing nearby, scoffed.

  “In your dreams, Brandon.”

  “He’s been undefeated for two months,” Sam whispered like it was a dark secret.

  Kai hesitated, feeling a strange warmth in his chest.

  “They actually want me to come?”

  “Yeah… okay,” Kai said before he could overthink it. “I’m in.”

  “YES!” Brandon fist-pumped. “Let’s go!”

  The arcade was loud, buzzing with music, flashing lights, and the sounds of games and people laughing.

  Kai felt a little out of place at first, but the energy of the group pulled him in.

  “Alright, who’s first?” Brandon asked, heading straight for a racing game.

  “Me,” Leo said confidently, sliding into the seat.

  “Oh, please, Leo. Let someone else win for once,” Sam teased, sticking out her tongue.

  Naomi rolled her eyes but smirked.

  “Let’s see if he can back up all that talk.”

  “Hey, Kai, you in?” Brandon called over, waving him to the next machine.

  Kai hesitated only a moment before nodding and sliding into the seat.

  As the race started, Kai found himself grinning — really grinning — as he swerved through turns, barely keeping up with Leo.

  “Ohhh! Look at you, newbie!” Brandon shouted, laughing.

  “Beginner’s luck,” Leo muttered, but even he was smiling.

  Sam cheered for them both, clapping every time someone made a sharp turn.

  Naomi sat back watching, arms crossed, but a small smile tugged at her lips.

  When the race ended — Leo just barely winning — Brandon groaned.

  “Man, you were this close to beating him, Kai!”

  Kai chuckled, adrenaline still pumping.

  “Guess I need a rematch.”

  “Now that’s the spirit,” Brandon said, slapping his back.

  They moved from game to game — air hockey, rhythm games, shooting games — and Kai felt more and more like part of the group.

  At one point, Lila, who had been quieter than the others, joined him at a claw machine.

  “You’re pretty good at this,” she said quietly, watching him focus.

  Kai glanced at her, surprised she was talking to him one-on-one.

  “Thanks,” he said, then smirked. “I mean, I’ve had a lot of practice failing, so…”

  Lila laughed softly, and for the first time, Kai saw a spark in her eyes.

  “You know,” she said, looking at him carefully, “you’re different from what I expected.”

  Kai raised a brow.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most people who are quiet like you… they don’t stick around. But you stayed. You fought for a place here,” she said, her voice thoughtful. “I think that says a lot about you.”

  Kai blinked, caught off guard.

  “No one’s ever said that to me.”

  “Thanks,” he said softly, genuinely.

  She smiled, and they both turned back to the claw machine, a comfortable silence settling between them.

  By the end of the night, they were sitting around a table, sharing snacks, laughing and teasing each other.

  Brandon was telling some wild story about a failed scene from a previous class, making everyone crack up.

  “And then I tripped over the prop chair and landed right in Naomi’s lap. Swear to God!”

  “You’re never living that down,” Naomi said, but she was laughing too.

  Kai leaned back, watching them — really seeing them.

  For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t on the outside looking in.

  He was part of something.

  The night at the arcade had been one of the best Kai could remember.

  For the first time in what felt like forever, he laughed, joked, and felt like he belonged.

  No worries, no weirdness — just friends.

  But as they stepped outside, the world felt different.

  The street outside was crowded, filled with people standing on sidewalks, craning their necks to see what was happening.

  Red and blue lights from police cars and ambulances flashed across buildings, casting an eerie glow over everything.

  “Whoa… what happened?” Brandon asked, frowning as he looked at the flashing lights.

  “Looks serious,” Sam whispered, her eyes wide.

  “Let’s check it out,” Leo said, already walking toward the crowd.

  “Are you sure?” Naomi asked sharply. “We shouldn’t get in the way.”

  But curiosity pulled them all forward.

  As they got closer, the sound of sirens and radios crackled through the night.

  Then Kai saw it.

  A mangled motorcycle lay twisted on the ground, metal torn and bent.

  A truck sat stopped in the middle of the street, front bumper crushed, windshield shattered.

  And near the wreck —

  The rider.

  Blood stained the pavement around him, and even from a distance, Kai could see how badly injured he was.

  Paramedics were bent over him, working frantically, but their faces looked grim.

  Kai’s stomach twisted.

  Sam turned away sharply, covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling.

  “I-I can’t… I can’t look at that,” she whispered.

  Lila gently touched her arm, guiding her a few steps back.

  “Let’s go,” Naomi said quietly, her voice unusually soft. “We shouldn’t stay here.”

  The group turned away from the scene, their excited, happy mood from earlier completely shattered

  As Kai walked home, his mind was heavy, and the echoes of sirens seemed to follow him through the night air.

  “It was such a good night… why did it have to end like that?”

  No matter how hard he tried to shake it, the image of the rider lying in a pool of blood stayed burned into his mind.

  “What if he dies? What if there’s no way to save him?”

  Kai’s chest felt tight, like a hand was gripping his heart.

  When he got home, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor, lost in thought.

  The lamp he had imagined into existence glowed quietly on his desk.

  The console sat beside it, a reminder of what he could do.

  And then—the thought struck him, sharp and undeniable:

  “What if I could save him?”

  Kai’s eyes widened as the idea took root.

  “What if I went back… just a little… before the accident? What if I could stop it from happening?”

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