Free Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon by Lindsay Cummings

choosing you, not the other way around.”
    Birdie took a good look at the length of the waterfall and the way it crashed into the pool.
    “Here goes nothing.”
    She dove in and disappeared beneath the waters.
    On the surface, Albert watched, waiting for Birdie to come up. At first, he wasn’t concerned. She was wearing a swim-team shirt, right? But then a full minute passed.
    “She’s been down there a long time,” Albert said to his dad. He kicked off his shoes. Leroy followed suit, both of them ready to dive in and save their new friend, but Professor Flynn held out a hand to stop them.
    “Patience,” he said. His face was as smooth as stone. “All part of the process.”
    “Dad, she could drown!” Albert felt like time was frozen. But his dad simply shook his head, and pointed at the pool beneath the waterfall.
    “Look.”
    Finally, there was a splash, and Birdie’s head surfaced. There was a huge smile on her face.
    “You have no idea how amazing that was!” she screamed as she swam back to the shore. “I felt like I didn’t even need to breathe under there! I could have stayed underwater there forever!”
    Birdie walked out of the waterfall pool and held her Tile out to Professor Flynn.
    The Tile was white with a black symbol on it, just like all the others Albert had seen, only this one had the shape of a water droplet.
    “What’s it mean?” Birdie asked. Her clothing and hair dripped into a wide puddle around her feet.
    “A water symbol,” Professor Flynn said, tilting the Tile every which way. He smiled, and patted Birdie on the back. “I started to wonder, when you didn’t come up for air. You’ve been given the ability to stay underwater for a long time, Birdie. Or rather, not breathe when you’re submerged. And you’ll have special skills underwater, too, though I can’t say for sure what they will be. How did it feel?”
    “It felt like I was a mermaid,” Birdie said, awestruck. “Like, I could totally beat a dolphin in an underwater race!”
    “Fascinating,” Professor Flynn replied. He seemed to be logging the information for future reference.
    “It’s probably the best Tile there is, if you ask me,” Birdie said, wringing out her ponytail.
    “But you don’t even know what the other Tiles are,” Leroy mentioned.
    Albert wondered if Birdie might sprout fins and jump back in the water, never to be seen or heard from again.
    “That is pretty sweet, though, I guess.” Leroy nudged Birdie, then handed his glasses and baseball cap to Albert. He didn’t look scared, for once. “All right. My turn. Let’s do this! Megapowers, here I come!”
    Albert watched as his new buddy walked in and disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Leroy didn’t take nearly as much time as Birdie had.
    In just twenty-seven seconds, he surfaced, a white Tile held in his hands.
    “Definitely not mermaid powers!” Leroy said, gasping for air as he got out of the water and held his Tile out to Professor Flynn. “Please tell me I just acquired mad ninja skills!”
    “Ah,” Professor Flynn said, when he inspected the symbol. Leroy’s had the shape of a thin tree with three twisting, curling branches. “This is a Synapse Tile.”
    “Come again?” Leroy said as all the excitement drained out of his face.
    “Very rare and powerful. It gives you a photographic memory and increased reasoning skills, among other mental abilities, Mr. Jones. A Tile I’ve seen before, but not often. Congratulations.”
    Leroy’s shoulders sank. “You gotta be kidding me right now.”
    He took his place next to Birdie, looking very much like he’d like to go back into the water for another try.
    It was Albert’s turn next. He felt as nervous as a dog about to take a visit to the vet. He didn’t want to get some stupid, useless power, like speed walking or eating really fast. Albert wanted to fly like Superman or shoot fire from his fingertips like the character Fuego in his favorite video game.
    “Go