A quick tale 169

In a cafe next to your office

She finds herself sitting in a table full of strangers who are discussing the relative merits of PJ Harvey's songs. Winsome, awesome, terrific, soporific are some of the adjectives bandied about. She, on the other hand, has developed a sudden interest in her shoes and nails. During a lull in the conversation, she is suddenly gripped with an urge to say something. She could have said "exceptionally pulsating with energy". But instead says, "I tried listening to her CD once. And it was horrible. Painful, actually". Her utterance is greeted with stunned silence and then one or two heads nod in tentative agreement. How she wishes she had done this earlier.