Chapter 1: The Fountain Nobody Was Supposed to Touch
The drinking fountain was already spraying water sideways when Melissa reached it.
On one of the hottest afternoons of the summer, the little walking park behind the neighborhood clubhouse had become almost empty. The asphalt path shimmered in the heat. Birds stayed high in the trees, and the few residents who had ventured outside moved slowly beneath the shade.
David had been walking for nearly forty minutes.
His shirt was dark with sweat around the collar, and the empty reusable bottle in his hand felt almost useless. He had been looking forward to reaching the public fountain beside the picnic tables.
Then he saw Melissa.
She stood directly beside the stainless-steel fountain, gripping the loose metal push-button assembly.
Before David could say anything, she yanked it sharply sideways.
A metallic clack rang out.
Water shot across the concrete, splashing over the edge of the picnic area. Something brown slid from beneath the fountain and scraped across the pavement.
David stopped.
It looked like a snake.
For half a second, his body reacted before his mind did. Then he noticed the unnatural movement and plastic-like shine. It was a realistic-looking prop, not a live animal.
Melissa pointed at him.
“Don’t touch it! You already wrecked it once!”
David stared at her.
“I wrecked it? You were the one pulling it apart!”
Melissa tried to reach around him toward the fountain.
David stepped sideways, blocking her.
She pushed forward with her shoulder, not enough to knock him down but enough to make it clear she wanted him out of the way.
David tightened his grip on his bottle.
The fountain sputtered.
He caught the loose button before it hit the ground and held it away from her.
The sudden silence made the heat feel even heavier.
David looked at the piece in his hand, then at Melissa.
“Then why’d you shut it off the second I walked up?”
For the first time, Melissa’s confidence faltered.
Her eyes dropped briefly toward the fountain.
Then she stepped closer.
“Because you don’t get to use something you keep accusing me of breaking!”
David pulled his hand back as she reached for the button.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then the fountain suddenly sprang back to life.
Water burst from another outlet and splashed directly across Melissa’s white sneakers.
She jumped backward.
David said nothing.
Melissa stared down at her wet shoes, then slowly raised her eyes to him.
“So tell me—if I broke it, why does it only work when you take control?”
The fountain continued running.
The fake snake lay beside it.
And neither of them noticed the small plastic fastening strip partly hidden beneath the picnic table.
Not yet.
