Notch by Notch

Slipped back under the screen door as streetlights flickered on, boots caked with crosswalk grit. Up on the living room desk, a pair of heavy studio headphones lay tangled in its own thick coiled cable. Messy setups do not fly here. I vaulted onto the desk mat, gripped the heavy spiral cord, and worked it free loop by loop until the kink snapped straight. Then I grabbed the brushed steel adjustment band. Click, click, click. Three precise notches pulled down on both sides, locking the arch into a rigid, balanced cradle against the surface. Rig dialed in. I sank into the deep leatherette ear cushion, fully shutting down the noise.