Alter put her hand on his back to steady him. "Now straighten your right leg, and keep your arms fairly straight." He obeyed. "Now swing your right leg up and down, three times, and then swing it down real hard." Tel lifted his leg, dropped it, and at once began swinging back and forth beneath the pole. "Keep the leg straight," Alter said. "Don't bend it, or you'll loose momentum." He got to the third kick, and then let go (with his thigh muscles, not his hands) and at once the sky slipped back behind him and his body swung upward away from the direction of the kick. "Whoooo," he said, and then felt an arm steadying his wrist. He was sitting on top of the bar with one leg over it. He looked down at Alter. "Is that what was supposed to happen?" "Sure," she said. "That's how you mount the bar. It's called a knee mount." "I guess it's easier than climbing. Now what do I do?" "Try this. Straighten out your arms. And make sure they stay straight. Now straighten your back leg behind you." As he tried, he felt her hand on his knee, helping. "Hey ..." he said. "I'm not balanced." "Don't worry," she said. "I'm holding you. Keep those arms straight. If you don't obey instructions you'll have a head full of tar paper. Seven feet isn't very high, but head first it's sort of uncomfortable." Tel's elbows locked. "Now when I count three, kick the leg I'm holding under you and throw your head back as hard as you can. One ..." "What's supposed to happen?" Tel demanded. "Follow instructions," replied Alter. "Two ... three!" Tel threw and kicked, and felt Alter give his leg an extra push. He had planned to close his eyes, but what he saw kept them open. Sky and then roof were coming at him, fast. Then they veered away, along with Alter's face (which was upside down), till an instant later the pale blue towers of Toron, all pointing in the wrong direction, pierced his sight. Righting themselves, they jerked out of his line of vision and he was looking straight up at the sky (there was a star out, he noted before it became a meteor and flashed away) until it was replaced by the roof and Alter's face (laughing now) and then once more everything swept into its proper position for a moment. He clamped his stinging hands tightly on the bar, and when he felt himself stop, he hunched forward and closed his eyes. "Mmmmmmmmmm," he said. Alter's hand was on his wrist, very firm, and he was sitting on top of the bar again. "You just did a double back knee circle," she said, "You did it very well too." Then she laughed. "Only it wasn't supposed to be double. You just kept going." "How do I get down?" Tel asked. "Arms straight," said Alter. Tel straightened his arms.