Nick’s eyes widened as words began gushing from his mouth. “I can’t hold you up! It’d… It’d put my back out again. You know how much trouble I’ve been having with my back this past mon-- year. In fact, just yester-- last week—”
Having not heard about any bit of Nick’s supposed heath troubles, Julianne figured he had another reason for declining so vigorously. “I’ll hit the floor first. What’ve you got to lose?” She stuck a lower lip out from her pouting face.
Looking about as pitiful as he could, he scowled back at her. She blinked. Sighing heavily, Nick bent forward, allowing the mechanic to climb over his back onto his shoulders. As he stood up, he grunted. “You always looked paper thin…”
Julianne shook her head. “I am. You’re just a lot weaker than you thought.” While trying to remain balanced, she reached one shaky arm out in front of her, but she couldn’t quite reach. “Move forward about twenty centimeters. And stand up straight, please.”
She heard him mumble something about tyrannical mechanics as he shifted his weight beneath her. Then he said, his voice louder but clearly strained, “That’s as good as it gets, missy.”
“All right. Good enough.” She reached one skinny, grease-stained hand to the black panel, and with one last stretch of her arm, her finger contacted the tiny, oval button she’d been seeking since she awoke that morning.
At first nothing seemed to happen. Then she realized she wasn’t pushing as hard on the shoulders beneath her. But gravity returned. Fortunately, Nick hadn’t moved much during the limbo period, so his feet were firmly planted when he caught the mechanic falling back to the ceiling.