The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman Page B

to make him light enough to land gently and then used friction to stop. He turned and saw Owen going over headfirst. Simon increased Owen’s friction just in time, so the tips of his sneakers gripped the edge.
    Simon burst into laughter. The no-gravity zone over the chasm kept Alysha’s legs and Owen’s body floating above it. Owen was flapping like a towel on a clothesline.
    Alysha whooped. “That was…wow! I mean, wow.”
    Owen struggled to keep his voice steady as his body billowed. “Simon. Bloom. Let. Me. Down.” This only made Alysha and Simon laugh harder.
    Alysha clapped and cheered. “Okay, okay, you win. Magic, science, whatever you want to call it—I’ve never seen anything like it!”
    Owen twisted his head around to glare at her, speaking remarkably slowly. “Yeah? No kidding.”
    â€œI’ll be right there,” Simon called out. He wasn’t eager to take another low-gravity jump right then, so instead he changed his friction so his hands and feet would stick and unstick to the chasm wall. He climbed down and then up the other side, like Spider-Man.
    Once he was back on the path, Simon dragged Alysha and Owen back from the edge of the gap and returned all gravity and friction to normal.
    Owen scrunched his face up into a furious snarl.
    â€œSorry, Owen,” Simon said, “but you’ve got to admit it was a little fun, right?”
    Owen glared at him and smacked away the bits of dirt that had stuck to him while floating over the gap. “I want to go home.”
    â€œCome on,” Simon said, “when you were sliding…I saw you smile.”
    Owen grumbled. “That was the wind pushing my lips back.”
    â€œOwen, please!” Alysha said. “That was amazing! It was ten times better than any roller coaster!”
    Owen frowned. “Don’t like roller coasters.”
    â€œYou honestly hated it?” Simon asked.
    Owen tried to hold a glare, but a bit of a smile peeked out. “I guess it was kind of cool.” He paused. “But did you have to make me slide on my stomach like that? She got to sit down!”
    Alysha chuckled. “Oh, what’s the difference?”
    Owen glanced down at her backside and laughed. “You’re right: at least I still have something covering my underwear!”
    Alysha felt the back of her pants and gasped. The abrupt increase of friction had ripped the seat of her jeans to shreds.
    â€œI can’t believe this. I love these jeans!” Alysha screamed. “They’re my do-nothing-relaxing jeans!”
    â€œNow they have built-in air-conditioning,” Owen said with a smirk.
    â€œThat’s so not funny,” Alysha said.
    Simon stopped short and put a hand to his head. The weariness was back, worse than before. He stumbled, almost falling over. Owen and Alysha both grabbed him.
    â€œSimon!” Alysha shouted.
    â€œAre you okay?” Owen asked.
    â€œYeah, I guess. I just need to get some rest.”
    â€œControlling the laws of the universe must take a lot out of you,” Owen said.
    â€œCome on,” Alysha said, “we’ll walk you home. Maybe we can all meet up tomorrow and try some more formulas?” She looked from Simon to Owen hopefully.
    Simon gave a tired smile, and Owen nodded. “You’re on,” Simon said.

THIS CHRONICLE KEEPS GETTING BETTER
    This was the strangest Chronicle I’d ever narrated. I mean, Outsider children performing stunts in Dunkerhook Woods? I wasn’t used to this type of work.
    To be honest, my job had many drawbacks. For one thing, I had to remain cooped up in my apartment, focused on the unfolding history, for hours on end. And let’s face it, observing the Order of Physics could get rather boring.
    A colleague of mine assigned to the Math League told me they’re an exciting lot. Granted, they all wear funny hats and thick-framed glasses and either speak in garbled