The sound of ticking wakes me up. It's as loud as the neighbor’s dog, which is likely the only reason I woke up.

I pull the fluffy sheets and blankets off of me, spring up, and start to stretch. It’s only seven, but I guess I can go ahead and get this day started. Nothing particularly wrong with getting a head start, I guess.

I brush my hair and pull it into a ponytail, flicking it over my shoulder. Now the fun part: picking out what to wear today. After a few minutes, I decide on a dark blue t-shirt and black torn jeans. 

I go into the kitchen and start making coffee, before remembering why I was even awake in the first place. The ticking is seemingly louder in here compared to my room, and as the coffee brews, I look around, trying to find the source of it.

The coffee maker dings before I have the chance to think about it any longer, and I pour some into a cup, stir in some sweetener and creamer, and sit down. Today’s going to be a good day, a great day honestly. I can make it through the stupid ticking. It’s probably just something stupid that my neighbor left on while visiting yesterday.

After downing my coffee and using the restroom, I go back into my room, again finding myself looking for the source of the ticking. 

I groan as my phone alarm goes off. I was supposed to have already left for work by now. But my distracted self can’t apparently find the source of a simple noise. Go me, I guess.

As I search, I find a small sheet of paper on the ground. So that’s where my shopping list from two weeks ago went. I really need to clean this place more, or so it seems. It can go another week without me vacuuming it, right?

I clear the entire upstairs area within half an hour, and I go back downstairs, and I remember that it was louder down here. I should have started here to begin with.

I pass by the stairs, where the beeping gets really loud. Right under where my bed was. No wonder why I couldn’t find it.

I look around and finally find the source of the beeping. A small box that looks like an alarm clock, with the numbers lit up and everything. 

I pluck the small device down from under the staircase, tempted to just smash it and get it over with. I turn it around, trying to find a note saying something along the lines of "Haha I pranked you!” But as I look, I notice something.

The numbers are ticking down by the second. And the timer’s only got two minutes left.