Mira
The tester worked until someone touched the table.
Then its needle jumped, the reference light blinked, and the student beside Mira said, "That's not supposed to happen."
"Thank you. I was about to put it in the instructions."
She leaned over the casing. A thread of pain crossed the healing cut in her hand when she tried to hold the base still. She let go before it reopened.
The other student moved his elbow off the bench.
Without the pressure, the tester settled.
Mira stared at the wooden surface, then crouched to inspect the legs. Someone had wedged folded paper under the far corner. Half of it had worked loose.
She pushed it back with the toe of her boot.
The needle stayed steady when she tapped the table again.
"There," she said. "An advanced problem in furniture."
The student laughed and returned to his own work. Mira stayed crouched a moment longer, resting the sore hand against her knee.
