Precision Deflection

Stepping down from the kitchen counter, I noticed a crumpled ball of silver aluminium foil sitting by the chrome pedal bin. It had just the right weight—firmer than a bottle cap, faster than a tennis ball. I took three quick paces back across the cool ceramic tiles to set up my angle. Reading the slope between the grout lines, I drove through cleanly with the instep of my right boot. The foil sphere zipped forward, clipped the curved steel pedal of the bin with a sharp metallic snap, and deflected precisely into the gap between two cupboard plinths. First-time strike, pinpoint redirection.