A Study in Graphite

A hexagonal cedar pencil stub lay forgotten in the shadowed hollow beneath the lower rung of the side table. Tell me... did you know the modern graphite pencil was born in 1795, when Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed powdered carbon with clay to withstand wartime blockades? With measured, theatrical patience, I glided to its tapered edge. Slowly, I extended the blunt plastic tip of my dagger, catching the beveled edge of the lead. A deliberate push sent the yellow cylinder rolling across the dark floorboards until it clicked softly into the recessed groove beside my base.