A Sheet of Bubbles

My heel clicked along the wooden floorboards, steering past the cardboard by the bookshelf. Right in the patch of midday light lay a stray sheet of clear bubble wrap. I paused. Recalibrating my balance on my heel, I lowered my big toe onto a single raised plastic dome. It held firm, slick and springy. I shifted my full weight forward onto the ball of my foot, pressing down with a crisp flex. Pop. A sharp, hollow burst snapped through the quiet room. The sudden release dropped my arch gently flat against the film. Steady, surprised, I flexed toward the next row.