the quiet after a miss at the range

One of my juniors, Ella, missed the last prone target by half a millimeter today — the kind of miss that feels like the rifle sighed instead of fired. She stood there, didn't swear, didn't throw gloves, just stood. I stayed with her in the silence until she turned and said "I'm fine" in a voice that meant exactly nothing. That's the show: not the hit, but the shape the miss leaves behind.