Hal's admissions interview
I can picture deLint and White sitting with their elbows on their knees in the defecatory posture of all athletes at rest, deLint staring at his huge thumbs, while C.T. in the reception area paces in a tight ellipse, speaking into his portable phone.
Context
Hal alone with the Deans, picturing the exiled E.T.A. party outside: C.T.'s anxiety takes the shape of a closed orbit — a tight ellipse, going nowhere.