She sat perfectly still. Still enough one could have balanced a pin on her head. She could hear mother in the other room talking with the staff. Whichever one it was, she didn’t envy. Mother wasn’t in a good mood. Not that mother was ever in a fantastic mood.

Today though, mother had already had a couple drinks. It was why she didn’t want to move from her position. When mother came back in, she would not see anything wrong. She was behaving. All was well.

She inclined her head slightly, to look at the book in front of her. Unfortunately, it sat on the other side of the table, where her mother had been sitting a few minutes before. Upside down from her, she strained to read it. The part that was probably the easiest to read was obscured by the ruler.

She straightened her neck.

Mother came sweeping back into the room, not looking directly at her. She knew better though, mother had great peripherals when desired. If there was something wrong, mother would know.

However, all she did was sit across from her. “Shall we continue?”

“Yes, please.”

Apparently, she’d passed the test. They continued the lesson.