Trampolines. There were trampolines everywhere. The floor David and Zeb stood on was made of gray concrete, which was painted to look like gravel on a street with yellow road lines on it. The walls of the ginormous room were painted with a starry midnight-blue scenery with silhouettes of buildings that had yellow rectangular windows. The cleanliness was akin to the lobby, and the ceiling was covered with metal bars that held large bulky yellow theatre lights and small disco balls. On occasion, a small toy airplane on a conveyor belt would fly next to the lights.
The trampolines were massive and separated into their own individual courts and were surrounded by gated metal guard rails. The courts were around the size of miniature American football stadiums. and were held up by wide lime painted poles. The courts had a wide opening, with a small staircase and ramp. They were set up on a platform that stood six feet tall, consisting of a large staircase and ramp. The platform was constructed of a black painted brick wall that mimicked the same nighttime city scenery of the wall. It also had a plush gray carpet lying on top. In the back center of the platform, a dangling sign read “Free Jump Central” which consisted of large square shaped trampolines separated by rubber mats, creating a sort of grid like matrix pattern. The far right of the platform was another sign that read “Dodgeball Alley”. Dodgeball Alley was large and had square shaped trampolines like Free Jump Central, but it had a slim light blue rubber mat that divided the court in two. To the far left of the platform, another sign read “Slam Dunk Street”, and was a six net basketball court. These three courts were rectangle shaped and had dark blue slanted matted side walls consisting of yellow painted rectangles. Towards the front of the platform before the staircase and ramp, was a playground with a jungle gym, a seesaw, a swing set, a small slide, a row of three blue police car shaped spring riders, and yet another trampoline, only all the equipment looked like it was made for small children. The sign above it read “City Park” and was decorated with a giant rainbow with clouds. Next to the city park was a rectangle sign set up on a small black pole that read “For Ages 5 and Under”. The entire floor surrounding City Park consisted of a black square shaped chalkboard. At the front of the platform stood some arcade machines to the right of the staircase, and a carousel with small white and light blue police cars for seats. Finally, there was a staircase and ramp between Free Jump Central and Dodgeball Alley which had a sign above. Reading vertically, it said “Downtown”, “Wind Tunnel”, “Street Hockey “, “Bar”. The Wind Tunnel was an ominous structure, standing three quarters to the ceiling behind Free Jump Central and Slam Dunk Street, and the very far back corner of the vicinity. All the signs were painted in white letters on a black backdrop, making them look like chalk.
There were small rooms at the front where David and Zeb stood, almost unnoticeable at first. There were two doors on the wall far left of them. One had a sign above reading “CJPD” with a red octagon hat shaped sign, and next to it one read “CJRP” with a purple riot helmet. These electronic signs had hard metal doors beneath them, with a painted sign that matched the sign above. The wall to the left of the CJPD room had a small opening with a sign above that read “Restrooms”, containing a water fountain set up to the left. The wall where the restrooms stood cut off at a corner to the left of where David and Zeb were standing, which had a dangling sign that read “Cafe”. The Cafe was a small snack bar with a soft drink, slushy, and ice cream fountain behind the counter and a chalkboard menu. The chalkboard menu had casual food items such as burgers, hotdogs, pizza, nachos, tacos and chicken wings with a list of different toppings and flavors. The counter was surrounded by little wooden stools and was made of a glass window displaying different candy options, which were being wiped by girls wearing black and white striped shirts and black skirts. They were all busy wiping tables down and restocking the freezer behind the counter, chatting amongst themselves. However, one waitress, had wavy brown hair and a forced smile on here face, with dark red lipstick. She cleaned in solitude, and the other waitresses treated her like a gnat. At the front of the Cafe counter stood circular tables with chairs and bulky gray cylindrical trash cans. On the wall between the snack bar and restrooms was a sign above that read “Scrappy” in colorful letters, which seemed out of place in contrast to everything else since it was curtained off with rainbow curtains and a metal door behind. On the wall opposite of the CJRP room to the right of David and Zeb, was a swinging door with a sign above. The sign was a giant white circle with a red outline, which had a red first aid cross in the center of a giant red trampoline, and the initials CJEMS along the inside curvature in red letters. The entire trampoline park had tall globe streetlamps scattered throughout, with a tall clock tower standing in the center cutting through the carpet on the large platform. The clocktower was dark purple and shaped almost like a lollipop.
There were employees in each of the courts cleaning. A few red officers had backpack vacuums, jumping up and down as they vacuumed, and some were mopping the floors, vacuuming the gray carpet and rubber mats. On Slam Dunk Street there were a few officers standing on ladders wiping the clear backwalls of the nets, and the ladders wobbled awkwardly threatening to tumble at any moment. However, they did not seem to care as they wiped effortlessly. There were young men wearing turquoise police shirts wiping the equipment at the City Park with white rags, slacking with every step, with the odd exception of Sparky who cleaned diligently.
“Aight, ya ready to…” Zeb began to speak, but David was not listening, stuck in awe at his surroundings.
“I’m sorry, what?” David answered, interrupting Zeb.
“Ya ready to start?” Asked Zeb.
“Yes sir,” answered David.
“Good. You can set ya clothes in one of the lockers in the c-j-p-d room over there,” Zeb said pointing to the metal door next to the restrooms. “Once you do that, meet me over by the wind tunnel. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” said David, still overwhelmed by the large interior of the room.
“Bring a lock with ya?” Asked Zeb.
“No sir,” said David.
“Might wanna start carrying one, the p-d room is a blind spot,” said Zeb.
Subsequently, David walked over to the CJPD room and unlocked the metal door. Once he made it inside, he immediately noticed the stench, reeking of cannabis and alcohol. The lockers were the same blue color as the one’s in the lobby, with some refrigerators, microwaves, and tables and chairs. The bricks of the room were painted like the room outside, consisting of the same midnight blue color scheme. Next to the door he came from had an electronic box akin to the one near the manager’s office. David selected a random locker to set his belongings and proceeded out the door to the large platform.
As David walked past the other employees, they nodded to him and he waved back, with the gray carpet going squish and dust kicking up underneath his black boots. Along the way, he also noticed the yellow caution signs that were placed in front of the courts. He found it odd that none of the triangles had anything on it. Puzzled, he made it down the staircase under the downtown sign and trudged slowly toward the Wind Tunnel. Adjacent from David was an opening in the wall with the words “Downtown Bar” written above. There were men dressed in a brown vest with a white collared shirt, two black sleeve garters, a red western tie, and a white apron around black pants, and a pair of brown oxford boots. One had a handlebar mustache that twitched as he furiously scrubbed glasses with a white rag. The Street Hockey court stood to the right and was set up on a long trampoline with a goal at each end. Behind Street Hockey was a lone metal door that had “Employees Only”, printed in black faded letters. To the left of David was the looming Wind Tunnel, with a slanted exterior just like the other courts and a tall winding staircase, creating a large shadow over everything downtown. There was also a door behind the Wind Tunnel that read “Police Exit” above, identical to the one in the warehouse. David started toward the staircase, but he stopped as he heard something metallic beneath his boots. He stopped, and as he looked down, he saw a large circular metal grate. There was a sign directly in front of that read “The City of Jump Jail: Out of Commission” on a piece of flimsy cardboard lying on the grate. His curiosity subsided when Zeb yelled “Hey, ya comin’ up here or what?!” from the very top of the Wind Tunnel. David was too busy observing his surroundings to notice Zeb atop the structure, so he startled a little and lightly jogged over to the bottom of the metal staircase and began his journey up the large cylindrical structure.
He walked for what seemed like ten-minutes, with the objects below him becoming gradually minute with every step. David eventually made it to the top, struggling as his legs shook, where Zeb stood leaning against the metal blockade surrounding atop the pit. Zeb stood there with a spray bottle and rag in his hands, and as he leaned up, he asked “Ya ready for ya first task?” “Yes sir,” answered David. “Good. Now ya gonna scrub the Wind Tunnel, and it’s gonna be squeaky clean and shiny when ya done,” Zeb said tossing the spray bottle and rag to David. David then peered down the abyssal and wide pit, containing an assortment of gray and lime foam cubes reaching halfway up the pit and rope ladders spread throughout its interior. David let out a loud gulp from his examination.
“Ya also gonna need this,” said Zeb with a smirk upon his face tossing a large clear jug at David. The jug was a plastic contraption with a black plastic pipe extending from its backside and a diagonal backstrap.
“What’s this for?” Asked David, observing the contraption with a confused expression.
“It’s a chemical pump to spray the foam blocks” answered Zeb. “Ya push the button on the pipe and chemicals squirt out. What I want ya to do is jump in there and spray that stuff around on the blocks and use the bottle and rag to clean the side mats. Capiche?” Asked Zeb slightly enthused.
“Yes sir,” responded David.
“Good. Now get in there,” said Zeb nodding towards the opening of the pit. Without warning, Zeb shoved David. He didn’t even have time to gasp before he landed amongst the foam blocks. David picked himself up and dusted himself off, coughing a little.
“Oh, by the way!” Zeb’s outline yelled from atop. “I should’ve told ya to stay on the sides and wipe that first, makes ya job easier,” responded Zeb now starting to laugh.
“Sir?” asked David in mild frustration.
“He he, well I’ll leave ya to it. Openin’ at nine, Capiche?” asked Zeb.
“Yes sir,” David yelled back.
“Good, welp I’ll leave ya to it. Holla through the radio if ya need anything!” Zeb said. He was then out of sight from the large circular opening. However, he quickly ran back and yelled “And stop calling me sir, I ain’t some old fart!” In a playful tone. Then he quickly ran out of sight again. “Huh” David sighed, observing the area he had to cover. He thought about climbing back to the sides to start there first, but since he was already down the pit, he changed his mind.
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II
David cleansed the Wind Tunnel profusely and sluggish. He spent what seemed like half an hour cleaning blocks and another wiping the bottom half of the matted side walls. Reaching the top half, dangling for dear life, Zeb appeared at the opening again. He leaped down into the pit, stopping next to David by catching a rope next to him to stop his fall. “How ya doin’?” Zeb asked playful.
“I am doing alright thanks,” answered David.
“It’s almost nine, but you can just keep cleanin’ until the civilians show up,” said Zeb. Zeb was looking at the work David had accomplished and nodded impressed as the foam pit did look rather clean. However, he was not fond of how long it took David, so he said “It doesn’t have to look perfect, there can be some dust and fingerprints here and there. As long as it ain’t piss.” David stared at him in terror at this remark. “Oh, and one more thing. When ya hear that clock chime and that retarded cuckoo bird come up here and don’t leave. Capiche?” Zeb said.
“Yes,” said David. Then Zeb gave a thumbs up, climbed quickly back up the rope ladder and ran out of sight. His cleaning was rudely interrupted by the large clock tower, as it chimed nine times companioned by a cuckoo bird wearing a police hat. There was music starting to sound from above, and it sounded like a jazz or swing composition. Though somewhat dated, it had a bouncing quality to it that was still surprisingly fitting. As soon as the music sounded, David panicked and quickly started to climb hastily to the top, with the sloshing plastic jug on his back slowing him down. Abruptly, there was a loud thunderous noise of what sounded like stomping feet and cheering. David tried to hurry back to the top to take position, but before he could reach it, numerous small faces appeared at the opening. The small faces belonged to excited children, hypnotized and enticed by the pit to leap in, which they began to do and were about to topple on top of David still hanging from the side. “Stop!” David yelled. However, through the loud thunderous roars of the cheering and music, not a squeak of David could be heard as they all fell atop of him cheering and laughing. They smacked directly on top of David knocking him into the pit as well. They all swarmed around him like a disrupted fire ant hill, making it very difficult for him to find proper footing.
When he eventually made it to the ropes, he felt something tug at his pant leg. He turned around and saw a little girl with long red hair and hazel eyes pulling at his pant saying, “C’mon mister officer, stay here and play.” “Wish I could kid, but I have to get to my post,” said David. “Aw man, you no fun,” said the little girl. This encounter did not last long, as a boy ran up to her and said, “Hey Sylvia, would you like to go to dodgeball now?” “Sure!” The little girl giggled, as they both climbed up the ropes out of sight. David shook his head relieved and started up the ropes as well. When he made it to the top, he stood at the same spot Zeb stood earlier and watched the chaos unfold beneath him in the pit, where all the rambunctious children were jumping around and horse playing. He then looked up and observed the other courts around him, which were all busy with the same shenanigans. Looking back into the pit he let out a long groan and looked away to no longer be troubled by it.
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