Morning After (Continued)
When the doors close, he picks up one of the blastboards and begins to speak. �The main difference between the competition blastboard and a non-competition model is the maximum speed you can achieve. Other than that, they all work basically the same. There�s your basic antigrav unit on the bottom. And the two pads, one of the front and one on the back. The front pad controls speed.� He pushes down on the pad with the side of his hand. Then he pushes again on the back of the pad and goes down the opposite way. �Shift your front foot forwards and the board goes faster. Shift it back towards you and you�ll slow down. It�s the same thing with the back pad. Leaning the foot towards the front of the board makes you go higher. Towards the back makes you go lower. Then if you want to turn, you just lean your body in that direction. The more you lean, the sharper the turn.�

I�m nodding like my head is on a string, trying to take all of this in. I have a new respect for blastboarders. It�s not as easy as it looks. And it didn�t even look that easy. The elevator doors open and Maxis steps out quickly. I don�t think he likes elevators that much. It�s petty, but I�m kind of relieved. Maxis seems to have so much together, and here I am, constantly running to catch up. This also explains why I�ve never seen him in spite of the fact I�ve lived here almost a year.

When we get outside, there aren�t many people out. Too late in the morning for the working people, too early for the late risers. Maxis flips a switch and drops the blastboard. It floats six inches off the ground. �Go ahead. This should be a snap for you.� He adds.

�A snap?� I know I have good balance but I am not expecting this to be easy. The only other time I rode on one of these, I remember clinging to Maxis for dear life.

�Yeah. I expected to have to slow down to compensate for the extra person, but you matched my body movement exactly. You�re a natural.� He says with a smile. �Go ahead, jump on.�

All I�m thinking is, he could have slowed down? I carefully step onto the board. It lurches and my stomach leaps into my throat.

�Good. Now fly straight ahead.�

I lean on the front panel like he said, and the board jumps forward. I�m bending my knees, trying not to fall off as the wall across the street closes in. I twist my body, leaning to the left as far as I can, at the same time angling my front foot back. The board dips down and up as my weight shifts. Then it stops completely and I�m thrown, rolling across the pavement.

�Not bad.� Maxis is right behind me, offering a hand to help me up. �Are you okay?�

�Yeah, I�m fine.� My teeth are grit as I take his hand. I�m not thrilled about this whole blastboard thing, but a hunk of metal with an anti-grav unit slapped to the bottom isn�t going to beat me. Besides, I think I�m getting a feeling for how it works. So I walk back over to it and hop on again.

I only fall off once before we get to campus.
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