Page 149 of I Can't Even Think Straight

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There’s nothing to keep me

suspended in the air,

no hands at my waist,

like I did for Olivia

on the monkey bars.

This descent has been

a lifetime in the making.

I hear Granny’s voice say:

“You’re supposed to be

the good one, Malachi,”

and I feel myself flail

and twist

into an improbable position.

My right foot and elbow

are the first parts of my body

to make impact.

I’m flat on my back on the crash mat.

For a moment I can’t feel anything

and then a tingle builds in my body,

like a surge of electricity,

like the most extreme version

of pins and needles you can imagine.

I want my mum.

Through the cloud of chalk

thrown up by my impact

with the crash mat,

I see Matt and Vass are to one side of

me,

and Jenny and Obi are to the other.

“Don’t move!” Superhero Jenny tells me.

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