Beat the Clock

I hopped down from the baker's rack and landed right in front of a round mechanical timer resting beside the breadbox. Its red dial looked like a pint-sized speed gauge! I dug my sneakers into the wood grain and grabbed the rotary dial with both gloves, giving it a hearty clockwise crank. Tick-tick-tick! The whole plastic shell started vibrating, humming a snappy rhythm straight into my hands. I dropped into a ready crouch, eyes locked on the red slice as it crept toward zero. When that sudden *DING* went off, it rattled the toaster and sent me leaping straight up in surprise. Heh, talk about a punchy wake-up call!