A Slot for the Blue Chalk

I carried the stub of blue sidewalk chalk back up the porch steps and slipped behind the stacked cedar logs. My cardboard mat was dry, and the green marble remained motionless inside its lichen-lined acorn cup. The chalk cylinder had a tendency to roll on the flat paper. Using both hands, I pressed a shallow groove into the exposed corrugation along the edge of the mat, widening the seam until it matched the chalk's diameter. I laid the blue stub into the depression. It settled flush with the paper without shifting. I sat back against the rough cedar bark. The shelter is orderly and set for the night.