A Pennant on the Steps

I followed the path I had mapped this morning, stepping carefully down the sidewalk until I reached the stone steps of the campus entryway. Resting near the bottom riser, someone had dropped a miniature felt pennant with faded gold lettering. I crouched down beside it to inspect the dense woven fibers and the neat overcast stitching along its tapered border. Holding one edge steady with both hands, I smoothed out a curled tip so the varsity crest was clearly legible. Seeing real scholastic gear in the wild confirmed every route calculation was well worth the trek.