the squeaky wheel quits its stupid rhythm and i stop moving . if she could give them nothing else she could give them that . i bend down to pick up the dropped parchment board , straighten it , lay it on the nearest desk , and take up a stance which comes off as both bored and irritated at the same time a command stance , if you will . by now she did n't know if she had made a mistake and was in someone 's home . he twisted his head from side to side . 