The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.

It rolled through the gate of Brightfield School on an ordinary Tuesday. Nothing big happened that day. Only one small thing, at the end of morning break.

The school gate had one new bar, brighter than the others. A tiny hammer was scratched at the bottom of it.

This is how Lan told it.

"I had the long rope. I asked Inkling to skip with me. She said 'not now' and didn't even look up. So that's that. She likes Beto better."

Lan said it to the library helper after school, with her arms folded. The helper was called Manywhy, and had curly dark hair and a green sweater with the sleeves pushed up.

"That's one thread," said Manywhy. "Are there more?"

"No," said Lan. "That's the reason."

"Never stop at one reason," said Manywhy. "Who else was there? Let's hear it from everyone."

How much did it hurt, really? Lan put the dial at: the most.

This is how Inkling told it.

"We had to copy the spelling list before break ended, or stay in. I had three words left. I was on necessary, which has too many s's. If I looked up I'd lose my place. Somebody asked me something. I think it was Lan. I said 'not now'. I meant 'in one minute'."

Inkling looked at the floor. "I didn't know she minded."

How much did it matter to Inkling? Inkling put the dial at: hardly at all. Then, hearing Lan, a bit more.

This is how Beto told it.

"Inkling was copying. Lan was standing there holding the rope. I could see Inkling was nearly done. I was going to say, 'She's nearly done, wait.' But then the bell went, and everyone ran in."

"Why didn't you say it after?" asked Manywhy.

Beto shrugged. "I forgot. We had maths."

Kindling was in Beto's class. She had a short black bob and a mustard-yellow hoodie, and she noticed when things started.

"Find the moment it started," said Kindling. "Right before, what happened?"

She counted on her fingers. "Lan asked. Inkling said 'not now'. And the bell went, right then. That's the trigger. If the bell had gone one minute later, Inkling would have finished and skipped."

"The bell went right then," said Lan slowly. "I didn't think about the bell."

Hap had spiky black hair and an orange t-shirt. He had been trying to untangle the short rope from the hedge all break.

"Sometimes things just happen," said Hap. "The other rope was tangled in the hedge. So the long rope was the only free one. And it was only free for the last minute."

"So Lan only had one minute," said Manywhy.

"Bad timing, that's all," said Hap. "Nobody planned that."

A boy who ran the lights for the school play had been sitting in the corner, listening. His name was Rheo.

He took out a paper circle with an arrow on it. One end said a little. The other said a lot.

"Not a switch. A dial," said Rheo. "How much was it, really?"

Lan held the dial. A minute ago it had been at she likes Beto better. All the way up.

She thought about the spelling list. The bell. The tangled rope. Beto nearly saying something.

She turned the arrow down. Past a lot. Past the middle. To a little.

"She was busy," said Lan. "And the bell went. And I only had one minute."

"Somewhere in the middle," said Rheo, "or lower. That's your call."

Lan went to find Inkling by the coat pegs. Their teacher was there, buttoning someone's coat.

"Were you busy?" asked Lan.

"Yes," said Inkling. "Sorry. I meant one minute. Tomorrow I'll turn the rope first."

"I'll go first," said Lan. "Then you."

Back on the Green

The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.

On Wednesday the long rope was free all break. Lan turned one end. Inkling turned the other. Beto jumped in and tripped, and everyone laughed, Beto most of all.