The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc., asking for a new fountain. Designer Flo Waters responds with delight, but advises that all fountains are custom-made. Soon the fountain project takes on a life of its own, one chronicled in letters, postcards, memos, transcripts, and official documents. The school board is up in arms. So is the water-supply company. A scandal is brewing, and the fifth-grade class is turning up a host of hilarious secrets buried deep beneath the fountain.