text: [Themes: Slice of life, female protagonist]
  
  > look in the bag
  In the fencing bag are a mask, an electric foil and a glove.
  
  > Wear glove
  (first taking the glove)
  You put on the glove.
  
  > get the foil
  Taken.
  
  > Glove
  mask: You already have that.
  glove: You already have that.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a mask (being worn)
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a body cord
  a jacket (being worn and open but empty)
  a lam?
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > remove all
  AC adapter: Just let it be.
  floor cord: David will plug in all of the floor cords. Just worry about your own stuff for now.
  floor reel: There's no need to move either of the reels; David will have them just where he wants them.
  David: This isn't really the time or the place, is it?
  strip: That's hardly portable.
  carpet: That's hardly portable.
  comfy chair: That's hardly portable.
  window area: That's hardly portable.
  table: That's hardly portable.
  
  > take off the mask
  You take off the mask.
  
  > take off the glove
  You take off the glove.
  
  > Doff lame
  Taking off the lam? is almost as much of a struggle as putting it on, but somehow you manage.
  
  You're not wearing that.
  
  > unzip the jacket then doff it
  That's already open.
  You pull your arms out of the slightly sweaty sleeves. It takes a bit of flapping, but you manage to get out of the jacket.
  
  > wear the jacket then zip it
  You pull the jacket on, trying to keep the dangling bits of the body cord out of the way. What a pain!
  You zip up the jacket, tugging the zipper up to make sure it's all the way up.
  
  > wear lame then zip it
  You struggle to get your jacketed arms through the small openings in the lam?. Finally, you get it on.
  You zip up the lam?, and adjust the Velcro at the collar to make sure you have a proper fit.
  
  > wear mask
  You put on the mask.
  
  > Salute
  First things first: you NEVER salute with a mask on. It's considered very rude.
  
  > remove the mask
  You take off the mask.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > look
  McIntire Meeting Room, Downtown Library
  A large, open room, with plenty of room for a few fencers to practice. Of course, tonight it's just you and David. A row of tall windows line the western wall, and stacks of chairs are at either end of the long north-south room. The door to the hallway is east. An industrial-type carpet in garish red covers the floor.
  
  On the table are a scoring box, a bag of scoring equipment (which is empty) and a fencing bag (which is empty).
  
  The open windows let in a welcome breeze.
  
  You can also see an AC adapter, a floor cord and a floor reel here.
  
  > look at the foil
  You've brought your best electric foil along for today's lesson. The blade is 36 inches long, and the whole thing weighs just under 500 grams. Your bell guard is still nice and shiny, thanks to a lack of use. The grip is a pistol grip of the Visconti style, painted blue so you can tell it apart from David's. There's also a two-prong receptacle for your body cord to plug into.
  
  > plug two-prong in the foil
  You attach the two-prong connector, which pokes out through your sleeve next to your glove, to the foil. It clicks into place.
  
  > plug three-prong
  What do you want to plug the three-prong connector in?
  
  > Scoring
  Which do you mean, the scoring box or the bag of scoring equipment?
  
  > Examine box
  A handy little device: this is the thing that makes it all work. The scoring box lights up whenever a fencer (properly plugged in, of course) scores a touch, and lets you know whether it was on-target (on the lam?) or off-target (anywhere else) by lighting up either the fencer's colored light (on) or white light (off). You're fencing on the right side, so the green light is yours, and the red light is David's.
  
  > Examine reel
  The floor reel is made to connect you to the floor cord. It's supposed to sit at the end of the strip, and the floor cord plugs into it. The hook that comes out the front attaches to the fencer's body cord, and when released it retracts like a self-retracting tape measure. Your floor reels are Uhlmann made, with dark blue plastic casing and rubber feet to keep them in place.
  
  > look at the strip
  The "strip" is the area that fencers actually fence on. In your tournament on Saturday, the strips will be drawn out on the floor in paint or tape: one meter wide by fourteen meters long, with warning lines and en guarde lines and everything. Here, you and David just make your best guess as to where the lines are. But today, you have a real strip set up in some respects: the table in the middle of the eastern wall holds the scoring box, which is connect via the floor cords to a floor reel, one at either end of the strip. That's all it takes for you and David to plug in and have a real electric bout.
  
  > plug three-prong into the reel
  You connect the three-prong end of the body cord with the hook out of the floor reel. Getting close to fencing time!
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > About yourself
  You look just as you always have.
  
  You are carrying:
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > show it to David
  David looks your foil over. "Looks like it's in working condition," he says. "Just hang on to it until we're ready to fence. You'll need it for the salute!" His eyes twinkle at you.
  
  > examine the glove
  White, with leather on the palm for a better grip.
  
  > show it to David
  "Not much I can do to help with that," David says. "You'll just have to put it on."
  
  > Wear glove
  You're already wearing that!
  
  > wear mask
  You put on the mask.
  
  > examine the jacket
  Your jacket covers your torso and arms while you fence. They are required to be white, and yours zips up the front (making it much easier to put on by yourself). Although the FIE requires 800 Newton resistance, you are merely fencing in the USFA, which has much more lax requirements than its European counterpart, so yours is only rated at 350 Newtons.
  
  > show jacket to David
  David takes the jacket from you and holds it so you can slip your arms in easier. "Here," he says.
  
  "Oh, wait a sec," David says. "Let me unzip it first." He tugs the zipper down and opens the jacket. "Okay, go ahead."
  
  The mask blocking your peripheral vision makes your task difficult. You seem to remember it's the very last piece of equipment to go on, just before you begin a bout.
  
  > show the jacket to David
  David takes the jacket from you and holds it so you can slip your arms in easier. "Here," he says.
  
  "Oh, wait a sec," David says. "Let me unzip it first." He tugs the zipper down and opens the jacket. "Okay, go ahead."
  
  You're already wearing that!
  
  > wear the body cord
  (first taking the body cord)
  You can't wear that!
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a body cord
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and open but empty)
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > put the body cord in the jacket
  That would be far too difficult for you to try while you're wearing the jacket. You're just not that coordinated yet.
  
  > examine two-prong
  The two-prong end attaches to your electric foil. The blue plastic casing is marked with a stylized "U" for "Uhlmann," the company in Germany that made it.
  
  > attach the alligator clip to the lame
  You attach the alligator clip directly to the metal vest, remembering to put it on the weapon arm side of your body as the rules require.
  
  > Doff glove then unzip lame then doff lame then unzip jacket then doff jacket
  You take off the glove.
  You unzip the lam?.
  Taking off the lam? is almost as much of a struggle as putting it on, but somehow you manage.
  
  You get the thing off, eventually.
  That's already open.
  You pull your arms out of the slightly sweaty sleeves. It takes a bit of flapping, but you manage to get out of the jacket.
  
  > show the jacket to David
  David takes the jacket from you and holds it so you can slip your arms in easier. "Here," he says.
  
  You pull the jacket on, trying to keep the dangling bits of the body cord out of the way. What a pain!
  
  > wear the jacket then zip jacket then wear lame then zip lame
  You're already wearing that!
  You zip up the jacket, tugging the zipper up to make sure it's all the way up.
  You struggle to get your jacketed arms through the small openings in the lam?. Finally, you get it on.
  You zip up the lam?, and adjust the Velcro at the collar to make sure you have a proper fit.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > hold the foil
  You already have that.
  
  > wear mask
  You put on the mask.
  
  > Salute
  First things first: you NEVER salute with a mask on. It's considered very rude.
  
  > ask David about the foil
  "I don't know, love," David says. "Can it wait until later?"
  
  > remove the glove then open the mask
  You take off the glove.
  That's not something you can open.
  
  > show lame to David
  "Oh, these things are a pain," David says. David unzips the lam? on the sly, so as not to draw your attention to the fact that he's doing it. He holds the lam? up for you to put one jacketed arm through, then helps guide your other arm into the small hole. He turns you around to face him, and straightens the lam? for you. "There you are," he says, and kisses your cheek.
  
  > Wear glove
  The mask blocking your peripheral vision makes your task difficult. You seem to remember it's the very last piece of equipment to go on, just before you begin a bout.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a mask (being worn)
  an electric foil
  a glove
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > Doff mask then wear glove then wear mask
  You take off the mask.
  You put on the glove.
  You put on the mask.
  
  > examine the cord
  (the floor cord)
  The floor cords are nothing more than long, insulated wires that carry electrical current between the floor reels and the scoring box.
  
  > show the protector to David
  David smiles at you. He holds the chest protector out for you, and you slip your arms under the straps. The mask blocking your peripheral vision makes your task difficult. You seem to remember it's the very last piece of equipment to go on, just before you begin a bout.
  
  > look at three
  This end is about two inches wide, with three metal prongs protruding from blue plastic casing. The plastic is marked with a stylized "U."
  
  > show the protector to David
  David smiles at you. He holds the chest protector out for you, and you slip your arms under the straps. You're already wearing that!
  
  > show the plastron to David
  David takes the plastron from you and holds it out. You work your arm in, and let David make the connections to keep it on.
  
  > About yourself
  You look just as you always have.
  
  You are carrying:
  a mask
  an electric foil
  a glove (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  
  > examine the d-the ring
  The D-ring is sewn onto the back of your lam?. Its purpose is solely to give the hook from the floor reel something to latch onto, to give the three-prong connection a bit of slack and make your life easier.
  
  > attach the d-the ring to the lame
  That's not supposed to attach directly to the lam?. You may wish to attach it to the D-ring, or it may not be necessary at all.
  
  > put the cord in the d-the ring
  (the floor cord in the D-ring)
  David will plug in all of the floor cords. Just worry about your own stuff for now.
  
  > Wear glove
  You're already wearing that!
  
  > attach the hook to the cord
  (the floor cord)
  You would achieve nothing by this.
  
  > examine hook
  The hook has a receptacle for the three-prong connector of the body cord, and it also attaches to the fencer's D-ring to prevent unnecessary pulling on the body cord.
  
  > examine david
  Your husband is a tall man in his mid-thirties, with clear gray eyes and a wonderfully misshapen nose. His smile lights up your day, and he doesn't smile much except at you: but he smiles a lot at you.
  
  > drop the bag
  You set the bag down, out of the way against a wall.
  
  David pushes the table against the eastern wall.
  
  > open it
  You open the fencing bag, revealing a mask, a jacket, a body cord, an electric foil, a lam?, a glove, a plastron and a chest protector.
  
  He sets the bag of scoring equipment on the table and opens it.
  
  > take the plastron
  Taken.
  
  David is rummaging in the bag.
  
  > wear it
  You put on the plastron.
  
  David takes a floor reel and floor cord from the bag.
  
  > take lame
  Taken.
  
  He walks to the north end of the room and sets down the floor reel.
  
  > take body cord
  Taken.
  
  David walks back to the center of the room and looks in the bag on the table.
  
  > take the jacket
  Taken.
  
  David pulls the scoring box out of the bag and sets it on the table.
  
  > unzip lame
  You unzip the lam?.
  
  He plugs the free end of the first floor cord into the scoring box.
  
  > unzip the jacket
  You unzip the jacket.
  
  David takes the other floor cord out of the bag and plugs one end into the box.
  
  > look at the jacket
  Your jacket covers your torso and arms while you fence. They are required to be white, and yours zips up the front (making it much easier to put on by yourself). Although the FIE requires 800 Newton resistance, you are merely fencing in the USFA, which has much more lax requirements than its European counterpart, so yours is only rated at 350 Newtons.
  
  David takes the other reel from the bag.
  
  > attach body cord to the jacket
  You would achieve nothing by this.
  
  He walks down to the south end of the room, and winks at you.
  
  > examine the sleeve
  Your jacket covers your torso and arms while you fence. They are required to be white, and yours zips up the front (making it much easier to put on by yourself). Although the FIE requires 800 Newton resistance, you are merely fencing in the USFA, which has much more lax requirements than its European counterpart, so yours is only rated at 350 Newtons.
  
  Setting the floor reel on the carpet, David plugs the free end of the floor cord into it.
  
  > look at the body cord
  Your body cord is used in electric fencing to connect several different circuits of electricity. On one end, the two-prong connector attaches to your electric foil. The other end has an alligator clip, to hook to your lam?, and a three-prong connector, to plug into the floor reel. In between is about five feet of insulated wiring, which is supposed to run up your sleeve and down your back.
  
  David turns to survey his work.
  
  > put the body cord in the sleeve
  You slide the two-prong end of the body cord into the jacket sleeve.
  
  "Oops," David says, "I forgot to plug in the box."
  
  > wear the jacket
  You start to pull the jacket on, but something feels funny. Your front seems very... unprotected. Maybe there's another piece you're supposed to wear first.
  
  He walks back to the table in the center of the east wall.
  
  > wear the chest protector
  (first taking the chest protector)
  You put on the chest protector.
  
  David peers in the bag and gets out the AC adapter for the scoring box.
  
  > wear the jacket
  You pull the jacket on, trying to keep the dangling bits of the body cord out of the way. What a pain!
  
  David plugs the adapter into the box.
  
  > Zip jacket
  You zip up the jacket, tugging the zipper up to make sure it's all the way up.
  
  He plugs the free end of the adapter into the electrical outlet in the wall.
  
  > wear lame
  You struggle to get your jacketed arms through the small openings in the lam?. Finally, you get it on.
  
  "There!" David says, looking over the electric strip in satisfaction. He turns to you. "Now, let's get suited up and then we can fence!"
  
  > Zip lame
  You zip up the lam?, and adjust the Velcro at the collar to make sure you have a proper fit.
  
  David looks you over. "Looks like you don't quite have all your stuff. Check in your bag--if you need help with something, show it to me."
  
  > attach the alligator clip to the lame
  You attach the alligator clip directly to the metal vest, remembering to put it on the weapon arm side of your body as the rules require.
  
  Meanwhile, David gets his gear on amazingly fast. He says, "We'll salute as soon as we're both ready."
  
  > attach two-prong to the foil
  You attach the two-prong connector, which pokes out through your sleeve next to your glove, to the foil. It clicks into place.
  
  David connects to the far floor reel. "I'm about ready," he says.
  
  > put the reel in the d-the ring
  There's no need to move either of the reels; David will have them just where he wants them.
  
  > attach three-prong to the reel
  You connect the three-prong end of the body cord with the hook out of the floor reel. Getting close to fencing time!
  
  > Wear glove
  (first taking the glove)
  You put on the glove.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a glove (being worn)
  an electric foil
  a chest protector (being worn)
  a jacket (being worn and closed)
  a body cord
  a lam? (being worn)
  a plastron (being worn)
  
  > ask David about the reel
  "I don't know, love," David says. "Can it wait until later?"
  
  > attach the reel to the d-the ring
  You attach the hook from the floor reel to the D-ring on your lam?. One step closer to fencing!
  
  > Salute
  You raise your foil in a traditional salute towards David. He smiles at you, and you sweep the blade downward to finish the salute. You are now (almost) ready to fence!
  
  > Fence
  You drop into your en guarde position, pleased to see David doing the same. You have fenced him often enough to know that you need to hang back, wait, and try to parry (or block) his attack, and riposte (or attack immediately after parrying). You take a few cautious steps forward (advances) and back (retreats), while waiting for him to make the first move. The floor cord tugs gently at you, through the hook-up on the D-ring, but after a few moments you don't notice it at all.
  
  David makes a few feints, which you ignore, and then suddenly he is attacking! You try to parry, but it comes too late, and a loud buzz emanates from the scoring box. You look at the box, and see David's red light glowing, indicating that he scored a valid touch. You knew that much; you can still feel the spot on your chest where he landed. But to see it on the box is so exciting!
  
  "One," you say to David, holding up a finger to indicate that he scored a touch. He nods, and backs up to his en guarde line. You both pause, and then begin fencing again. This time, you think, maybe it isn't such a good idea to try to defend, since he is so much faster than I am! With that in mind, you spring forward, tapping David's blade aside as you lunge (a "beat attack"). But David is fast, and he recovers from the beat in time to parry your attack. His riposte comes for you, and you do your best to parry it, but the buzzing of the score box can't be denied.
  
  This time, there are two lights: David's red on-target light, and your white off-target light. You must have hit him off-target somewhere in there. Since the two of you are pretty new to the sport, and you have no director or referee to oversee your bout, you both shrug. Right-of-way, or "priority," can be hard to call, so you decide to throw it out.
  
  .....
  
  You and David spend the next hour practicing with your electric equipment, preparing for Saturday's tournament in Glen Falls. You don't expect to win any bouts in the tournament, and maybe not even to score any touches, but you feel confident you will at least know how to hook up.