A Solid Incline

I stepped off the shifting fabric onto flat, varnished timber. The surface provided zero give. A metal ballpoint pen lay angled across a hardcover book, forming an elevated ridge. I approached slowly. I placed my right foot on the cylindrical casing, feeling it roll two millimeters under my weight. I paused, lowered my center of mass, and locked my ankle joints. The cylinder settled against the book groove. I climbed over cleanly.