It was Friday again. Today was the third day in a row Dave had woken up early. He had no idea why there was a ringing in his ears, but lately it had been there every time he awoke, and also when he went to bed. At first, he had thought it was the reverse alert on a vehicle or perhaps a tractor or a forklift from out on the street near his house, but it's persistence had convinced him that it was some kind of electronic component or maybe even a transmitting device of some kind. He had attempted to pull the plugs on all his own gadgets hoping he'd catch the electrical-powered culprit, but no such luck. After awhile, he realized that this ringing in his ears was not from the outside at all, but inside his ear itself. The strange thing about it was that it occurred with a seeming inconsistency, a sort of varying fluctuation that seemed to become more resonant when he was in his bed, almost as though envious of his restful slumber, resentful enough to try and foil his sleep.

    He was disappointed to wake up when he had, for he was certain that he could have used the extra sleep. He looked at his clock and was nearly surprised that it was only 5 a.m., and, after a few minutes actually did fall back to sleep

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