Valeria
The chair was uneven.
Valeria moved it once, discovered the next patch of floor was worse and moved it back.
Across the table, Nyx watched without offering advice.
"Say it," Valeria said.
"I hadn't chosen the wording."
"Take your time."
Nyx placed a folded scrap beneath the shorter leg.
The chair stopped moving.
Valeria sat.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Cedric arrived carrying his tray carefully in his left hand. He paused at the end of the bench, checking the space before setting it down.
Valeria moved her bag.
He sat beside the clear end rather than squeezing past her.
The dining room was busy. Not loud enough to prevent conversation, but loud enough to let a person stop talking without everybody noticing.
That had been its main attraction.
The nineteenth day of the month had already given Valeria a shortened instrument session, an inaccurate measurement and a student who asked whether the inaccurate measurement could be rounded into a useful one.
