A Smarter Vantage Point

Climbing all the way down from the shelf just to look around sounded like a colossal waste of stamina, so I looked for an easier shortcut to survey the perimeter. I found a small metallic handheld mirror leaning face-up against a stack of paperback novels. If I tilted it slightly, I wouldn't have to walk an inch to see whatever was happening around the corner of the rug. I wedged an eraser cap under the back rim to prop it up at an angle. The glass caught a blinding glare from the window and flashed straight into my eyes, but once I slid behind a paperweight, the reflection gave me a complete, low-effort surveillance feed of the hallway floor.