Midnight in the Fountain [Open!]

[Micah Matthews]

The moonlight shown brilliantly on the empty Pallet High campus; everything gave off an eerie cast in contrast of dark and light. A soft rustle of the wind came up occasionally as well to set off the emptiness of the place, cooling the warmth from the day. While most of the campus slept quietly in their dorms, safe from the darkness outside, a solitary soul was out wandering the emptiness. His pale skin reflected the moonlight back at the moon; his choice of clothing was plain as it were a black t-shirt without any remarkable patterns on it and dark jeans that trailed down to his white purple-laced tennis shoes that failed to match anything above except the headphones that were securely on his head with the back piece extending over his head like horns. He seemed alone out here and perfectly fine with that fact.

Micah loved being out this time of night. He could think clearer, do “things” without notice and enjoy the solace away from the crowds and noise of the dorms. Fortunately, he lucky to have a first floor dorm, so while the time clock would give away that he was out way past curfew, Micah could simply crawl back in through the window and receive the few hours of sleep he actually needed without disciplinary action. Foremost, Micah could escape the thought that he might run into his step-sister. He needed to quell his violent side, not amplify it and she was one of the few things that could cause him to go over the edge quickly.

So as Mozart’s Symphony No. 1 died from his headphones, Micah had found himself aimlessly pacing the courtyard area of the school. He had completed what he had set out for the night; climbing up on top of the gym roof just to peer down at the school and draw himself a map from that angle, just to see if there were an exterior route on top of the Science building to visually see how vastly different his map actually was from that angle, only to have fallen a couple times because the lack of a fire escape to the roof. The motive was to ultimately observe the security patterns of the school, if it had any. What was an accomplished feeling, followed by a feeling of anger for his lack of foresight, now died to into boredom. Micah never had this problem in New York City. His mother would freak if she heard of all the things he did at night while they slept peacefully in their beds. The city was definitely alive at all times of the day. This town wasn’t big enough to have activities going all night long, however for the first time in his short life Micah could see the stars in all their brilliance up in the sky. The exchange had satisfied him initially. Now, he stared up at the sky with a frown upon his face, wondering what to do next.

Finally he did come up with something. It was either that or back to the dorm and tape odd messages to the windows. Start an urban legend or at least something for people to talk about other than idle gossip. Micah went to the first fountain (which had a three spraying tires, so it was rather large) in closest proximity to him and sat upon the ledge of it. He began removing his white shoes and socks, placing them on the fountain’s edge before working on rolling up his pants. The spray of the water hit his back and he frowned at himself for such a childish thought. However, it was something he never had the opportunity to do so why not now? Better to do it when no one knows than foolishly splash around in it while everyone was awake.

The tip of one foot slowly sank into the shallow water. When it touched the grainy bottom, his other leg swung around to insert his foot as well. Micah frowned, staring at the water for the first time in a different light. How many students have thrown their trash in here? How many boys have spat in it? Those were things he considered, but ultimately ignored. Surely the staff cleaned the fountains from time to time, right? Plus, it was summer. Not every student was here on campus, but back at home with their families. Micah slowly stood, waving his arms out as a Beethoven piece began to come up into his ears. The spray was transferred from his back to his face and his arms came down as he found his balance. Instead of frolicking around like a fool, he stood quite peacefully in the fountain, as if contemplating his next move.

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