The chairs are never where they started.
The table sits in the same place. The screen at the end. Cables still gathered near the wall.
The chairs sit just out.
A few centimetres. Enough that the line isn’t straight. One angled slightly. One further back. One pushed in too far so it touches underneath.
People come in and take the nearest one.
It moves again. Back a bit. Forward. Turned slightly.
Another chair gets pulled out harder and drags for a second before lifting. It doesn’t go back to where it was.
More people arrive. Chairs shift as they’re used. None of them line up.
Halfway through, someone stands and leaves. Their chair stays where it was. Not pushed back.
It sits off to one side.
A bag gets placed on another chair instead of the table. That one doesn’t move again for the rest of the meeting.
Someone turns their chair slightly away from the table to face the screen. It stays like that even after they turn back.
At the end, everyone gets up at once. Laptops shut. Bags lifted. Chairs move with legs.
Some go back too far and hit the wall. A short knock, then they settle. Others stop short and stay out.
One chair catches slightly on the floor and doesn’t go back at all.
A couple go in properly. Not the same ones.
The room empties.
The table looks the same.
The chairs stay where they were left.
A cleaner comes in later. Walks around the table. Moves one chair in with a hand, then leaves the rest.
Someone comes in after that. Pauses near the door. Walks to one and pulls it out.
The others don’t move.
