Chapter three : Here is the news.
Tim was still laid out on the sofa when Daisy returned home.
"What you watching?" she asked Tim as she sat down in the armchair by the window.
"Just looking through the channels" answered Tim, flicking from one channel to the next without even seeing what was on each. He got halfway through a block of news channels when something caught his eye. Lifting his thumb off the button, he slowly backed up until he found what he was looking for.
On the screen was a young woman, mid-twenties, wearing a very expensive looking outfit. She was stood in a dark street in front of a large house. Tim sat up. The street on the screen was none other than Meteor Street, and the house was number 23! Jumping up, he ran to the window and stuck his head through the curtains. There in the street outside was a camera crew. Tim pulled his head back and looked at the TV. He was surprised to see his small head looking through the curtains of the ground floor flat window behind the woman. Puzzled, he slowly pulled the curtains, just to make sure there was no one else behind them, then looked back outside. Again, looking at the TV, he saw his face at the window, but he himself was away from the window. Puzzled, he slowly sat down on the sofa.
Holding a microphone up to her mouth the woman on screen took a deep breath.
"Hello, this is Twist Morgan. The theft of a dozen 40 inch plasma TV's last week has still got police baffled. The TV's, which are actually faulty, should not be used. If you have been offered one, or indeed have bought one of the Philony TV's, please contact the police immediately. They are prone to errors in the sound chips, emitting very loud noises which may damage hearing, the screen may flicker enough to trigger epileptic fits, and the units output more ultra violet light than the average sun bed. The police are offering a reward to anyone with information. This is Twist Morgan reporting for Camden Cable News"
"Wow" said Tim.
Daisy jumped out of her seat. "Did you hear that?" She shouted excitedly. "More UV than the average sun bed"
"Where are you going?" Tim asked her as she began walking away.
"To find my bikini! Can't let UV rays go to waste!" She disappeared into her bed room and returned a few moments later dressed in a white bikini that Tim was sure he'd seen in a James Bond movie. She settled back into her armchair and put on a pair of sunglasses.
Trying not to look at Daisy's semi-naked body, turned his eyes back to the TV. Moments later there was a knock at the door. Realizing Daisy wasn't really dressed to answer it, Tim stood slowly and tried to walk across the room to the door, falling over twice on the way.
"Hi Tim!" Smiled Twist from the doorstep. "Is Daisy at home? Got a present for her"
"In the living room." Tim said, not even looking at her. He walked carefully back to his place on the sofa, trying to watch the screen and the floor at the same time so he didn't fall over again.
"Hi Daisy!" Said Twist. "Did you see me on the television? I've got a new reporter's job"
"Yes, we did see you!" said Daisy, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"Here, I got you a present." Said Twist, handing her the sports bag she was carrying.
"Wow!" Said Tim. "Is it full of used five pound notes or something"
Daisy quickly unzipped the bag and peering inside. "No!" she said.
"Balls!" said Tim sighing.
"Yes! How did you guess?" Said Twist.
"What"
Daisy pulled put a handful of tennis balls from the bag.
"Err, thank you!" She said to Twist.
"You're welcome!" Smiled Twist. "I was doing this promotion the other day for the new sports centre in town, and they gave me the bag as a thank you gift. I thought you could take up tennis get rid of some of the weight you're showing off at the moment, so we could go shopping together"
"Wow, that's really nice!" Said Daisy.
"Yes," continued Twist. "I'm going to need lots of new outfits for my new job, and it would be good if we were the same size so you could buy my old clothes off me"
"Oh." Sighed Daisy, her little fantasy of having a real friend to shop with suddenly shattered.
Tim sniggered from the sofa.
"What's so funny?" Twist demanded.
"Err, something I just saw on our new TV." Tim said, thinking quickly.
"Hey Tim, your computer game thing is off! Is there anything worong"
"No, we're just watching the new TV"
Twist followed his gaze and then jumped back. "Oh my god!" She cried. "You've got one of those televisions I was reporting on! Turn it off Tim! They're dangerous"
"Ok, ok!" Said Tim, pressing the off button on the remote control. Nothing happened. "I can't turn it off"
"Use the button on the front of the television!" said Twist.
Tim slowly pushed himself off the sofa and moved towards the TV, but as he did so a loud electronic shriek came from the speakers, causing everyone to cover their ears in pain. Then the screen began a rapid flashing and blinking which hurt Tim's eyes.
Twist and Daisy screamed and ran out the door. They stopped running when they reached the front lawn, at which point Daisy remembered that she was only wearing a bikini and screamed again, running back inside to her bedroom, where the noise from the TV was almost bearable.
Tim, alone in the living room, thought his life was about to flash before his eyes. This is it! he thought. Suddenly he felt a hand grab his wrist and he was being dragged across the floor. Now his head was filled with clips from B-movies, where the innocent TV viewer was dragged kicking and screaming through the TV screen into an alternate reality, where he would be tormented forever.
The hand holding his arm pulled and his hand came away from his ear just long enough to hear his name being shouted. Tim opened his eyes slowly to see the back of Daisy's arm chair. Twisting his torso to see who had dragged him across the floor, he was met by Mike's grinning face.