A Slanted Pencil

A smooth cedar pencil lay wedged at an angle between two ivory keys on the piano. The black ebony sharp next to it held the round wood tilted high, trembling slightly whenever a distant truck passed outside. I climbed up along the wooden music stand and rested my paws on the polished mahogany edge. After watching the tiny lead tip cast a long slant across the keys, I leaned in. With a slow, firm nudge of my nose, the pencil rolled cleanly down the ridge, dropping into the felt-lined music trough below.