23. Levicorpus
Age 11, July
“Jake, I don’t think this was a good idea!” Tiberius squealed, his ankles crossed over his broom as he gripped the handle, hanging upside-down like a sloth. His eyes were squeezed shut.
“You’re o-only s-s-s-six inches off the g-g-ground, Tibi,” Jake said, laughing as he flew above the younger boy and looked down.
“Oh.” Tiberius barely cracked open one eye and, spying grass, let go of the broom and thumped softly on the ground, laughing lightly.
----
Six hours later, Tiberius had progressed from hanging upside down to sitting upright to flying in large circles, several feet off the ground.
Laughing as Jake lapped him once again, Tibi shouted ahead to him. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”
Jake looked over his shoulder and nodded, absentmindedly tossing a wrapped candy over his shoulder. “C-catch.”
Tiberius blinked stupidly for a minute before sharply adjusting his flight in order to pluck the candy deftly from the air. He stared at it for a moment, before silently looking up at his friend in disbelief.
“Whoa.” Jake sat up straight on his broom and stared for a moment. “I’m g-gonna t-teach you to s-seek.”