Chapter 17

"Oh, come on!!! You can't make it that easy!!!"

I'm still getting over my astonishment from what just happened.

"You're just gonna shoot the ball into the air as soon as I talk about gaining gravity powers?! That's so stupid!!!"

'Wait, I need to focus. Did I just break gravity?'

I mentally replay what just happened.

"Let's see. The ball was on the ground, then it shot a few feet up. Did it pop?"

"The ball wouldn't bounce after it popped."

"You're right. Not only did it pop, it rolled slightly too."

"Not only that. Did you actually see the ball shoot up?'

"I mean, it had to, right? One moment it was on the ground, the next, a foot or so above my head."

"Yeah, one moment. Unless it moved at super speed and then immediately decelerated, I don't know how you can consider that movement."

"So, what, you're saying the ball teleported or something?"

"I dunno. It all happened really fast, maybe I just missed something. Maybe, try it again."

I think back, going over the words I said right before it happened.

"It's not… like I'm gonna gain gravity powers out of nowhere."

Nothing.

"It's not like I'll just get gravity powers out of nowhere"

The ball doesn't move.

"This is so stupid. I mean, we know the ball moved, we saw it. Do we have to do it again? We've already broken the force or gravity."

"Gravity says what goes up must come back down. I feel like it won't really count unless you can stop the ball from falling."

"Won't count? What is someone keeping score?"

"You're the one always talking about the universe might be fictional. You say there are rules. I say that the rule is that the ball has to stay in the air. Not only does that affirm to the universe that we broke a rule, it also solidifies you having a power."

"You think I have a power?"

"It moved when you got all huffy about not having gravity powers. You said earlier you were due for a power.

"I said I could get a power because it sounded cool. But, if I really can do something like that. That's the real deal."

"Yeah, it is. Now keep trying."

So I keep trying. I throw the ball up over and over again, saying every combination of words I think might work and get nothing as a result. It's ridiculous. Sure, I say it because I like how it sounds; power gained from breaking the forces of the universe, but that can't really happen. And suddenly, that thought unlocks the very impossible right in front of my eyes. The ball stops. It isn't just stopped for a moment, it sits there, seven feet or so off the ground, almost like it really wants to make sure I have no doubts about what I saw. I walk around the ball, waving my hands around it to make sure some fantom magician isn't somehow getting one over on me. It's real.

"I should get a video of this."

I reach into my pocket, take out my phone, then as I look down to open the camera app, I sense something move, then hear the ball hit the ground.

"Well, so much for that."

'Wait a second. Do I have powers? No, seriously, do I have powers?'

I focus my attention on the ball, return to thoughts of gravity powers and the impossibility of me being able to use them, and try everything I can to get some result.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing nothing nothing nothing.

That was it. I was given the confirmation that I required. I can definitely say that I broke gravity at least.

"I really did it, didn't I? I already know that the impossible is possible, Terri's showed me that again and again. But, this? This is impossible impossible. This is like proof. I'm right. Fucking Jesus Christ, I'm right. I'm really doing it. Reality is losing its grip on what can and can't happen. The laws of fiction are taking over. And now, I'm starting to gain some power. What the hell it is, God what the hell."