The Patch That Pointed Start

Four paths sloped from above chalk courtyard,
but no group line formed below.
Lex picked one careful descent.
Haylee and Zylar chose their own.

At stump-school yard, the frame arrived,
patched in blue, gold, and green.
No captain wore the starting role;
the first open space began the scene.

Lex started round one:
Start—pass—flip—open.
Haylee started round two.
Zylar saved the third.

One square landed upside down.
It looked like a patch wearing boots on its head.
The friends laughed at the silly square,
not at the hands that set it.

Haylee traced the backward seam.
Zylar held the frame to the light.
The upside-down patch revealed a center opening
that the first arrangement had hidden.

The mistake became the opening cue:
Flip—open—start—pass.
Zylar began the third relay round,
and every role changed again.

At firefly switchback, the frame unfolded
into three linked panels.
Lex held T. Haylee held R.
Zylar held Y.

No panel carried the message alone.
Only three steady hands made TRY readable.
The funny patch had opened the beginning,
and the shared word held the end.