Page 17 of Paradox
His response is to raise his foot again.
“You’re only hurting yourself.” He lowers his foot. “You’ll be the one getting back down there to pick it up.”
“Fuck you,” he mumbles, then kicks—not slides—kicks, the wood towards me.
“Get over here and hold the other end.”
“And where would you like me to put these, Master?” His voice is sickly sweet, and I just know he’s fantasizing about pushing me off the roof. I’m certain he’d do it too, if he didn’t already know I’d pull him down with me.
“Shove 'em up your ass, for all I care. Just get over here and hold the other end of the fucking plank.”
The boards crash against the roof, and when I glance over my shoulder, Jin is standing—glaring down at me with clenched fists.
“You’re still tiny from up here, so calm the fuck down.”
“Is the word please, something you’ve ever said in your entire life?”
“When you look like me, you don’t need to say please.”
“My god, I…”
“Want to punch you? You’re welcome to try. I'll even let you get a free hit in before I break your face.”
“I don’t know how Tek can stand to be around you.”
“Birds of a feather, little man.”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Stop standing there like child, and help me fix the fucking roof before the storm comes.”
“So without my help it’ll take you four days to hammer six boards back into place?”
Holding the new board in one hand, I reach for Jin with the other and pull him down by the arm until his eyes are level with mine. “You’ve got a lot of shit to learn. Now get the fuck over here.” Yanking his arm, he stumbles over the pile of planks and falls to his knees beside me. Grabbing him by the back of the neck, I hold him out over the edge of the roof. His arms flail, desperately searching for anything to grab on to, and when both hands land on my wrist, I hold him out further until the whole top half of his body is suspended in mid air. “I can play this game all day.”
“But what about the storm that might come in the next five minutes?”
“But what about your back if I decide I don’t feel like holding onto you anymore?”
“Can I have a match?”
“A what?”
“I’m not asking for much.”
“What in the fuck are you—“
With a swipe of his leg, my arm is forced upward as Jin pushes up from the edge of the roof. Arching his body in a way I’ve never seen a spine bend, he shifts his center of gravity backwards to safety, but in the process, he pulls me down with him.
On his back with his head near the apex of the roof, he stares up at me and asks, "So. Can I have a match?” and then smugly glances to his right, at which point I realize I’m still holding on to him.
I tear my hand from beneath him and push him away.
“Did I strike a nerve?” he smirks, sitting up. “Are you upset you don’t have as much control over me as you thought you did?”
“I don’t know what you’re so cocky about. I could still send you off this roof in less than a second.”
“I might not be strong, but I'm pretty quick.”
