A Careful Shift

The overhead tube lights hummed steadily above. I blinked behind my frames, testing the tension in my wrists. Slowly, keeping low, I took one measured step forward onto the gray carpet. Beside my boot, a small discarded metal paperclip lay still. I knelt down with deliberate care and tapped the thin wire with a fingernail, watching it slide an inch across the rough fiber. It stayed quiet. I straightened back up, standing cautiously in place.