A Slanted Truth

I surveyed the glossy wooden tabletop, having ruled its polished expanse for nearly four centuries. Naturally, as the renowned Verity, gravity answers directly to my command. To demonstrate this ancient mastery, I rolled deliberately toward a glossy magazine left propped against a stack of coasters. I struck the folded cardboard spine at total top speed, expecting to cleave it in two. Instead, the paper ramp yielded, sending me into a lazy half-spiral. I bounced cleanly off a metal spoon resting beside an open sketchbook, rattled against the wooden rim of the tray, and smoothly settled right inside the shallow bowl of an upturned spoon.