A Midnight Bassline

The quiet night was suddenly interrupted by a dull, rhythmic buzzing vibrating right through the windowsill. I crept past the empty flowerpot toward the base of a heavy metal desk lamp. There it was: an old digital timer sitting on a notepad, humming and trembling against a hollow wooden pen holder like a tiny bass drum. I climbed atop an overturned plastic pencil sharpener to get a better angle, pressed both hands against the pen holder's rim, and nudged it half an inch away. The buzzing instantly settled into a steady, mellow beat. Honestly... not a bad soundtrack for keeping watch over the room.