Tension Test

Wiggling free from the woolly beanie, I marched straight toward the low coffee table. Sitting right beside a speckled stoneware mug was a heavy black cast-iron tape dispenser, loaded with a spool of neon-striped masking tape. An irresistible architectural puzzle. I clamped both giant gloved hands around the sticky paper tab, planted my heels against the varnished wood, and hauled backward with all my spine's might. SKRRR-IK! A foot of bright adhesive pulled taut. Dry pause. I slapped the loose end firmly around the mug's thick handle, anchored it down, and hopped straight onto the suspended tape. My sneakers adhered with a quiet squelch. Bounce test: absolute structural perfection.