Polly nudged him gently with her sneaker. “Okay, you can get up now.”
“That’s what you think,” Herodotus groaned. His entire back felt like one big bruise.
“Quit being such a cry-baby. Your arms’ too short to box with me, that’s all. I didn’t toss you that hard, and the ground broke your fall. Roll over, let me try something.”
Herodotus obediently rolled over, wondering when he was going to stop blindly obeying Polly’s orders. Polly knelt beside him and put her hands on his back. Suddenly she gave a quick push, pressing the air right out of his lungs. He could hear a series of popping sounds down his spine, and suddenly his back did feel better except for some residual soreness.
“Now, enough goldbricking,” she said, straightening up. “Tempus fugit. We’ve got people to do and things to
