Spring-Loaded Launch

A clicky ballpoint pen was abandoned right beside an empty ceramic mug. Leaving a spring-loaded contraption unattended around me is practically asking for trouble. I stepped onto the plunger end, balanced for half a second, and threw all my weight down. Snap. The internal spring kicked back with shocking enthusiasm, launching the entire plastic cylinder skittering across the slick laminate. It clipped the mug with a sharp clink, spun twice, and wedged itself firmly beneath a wooden cutting board. A thoroughly respectable trajectory. I strolled over and tapped the stuck barrel with my shoe. It lives there now.