THE NANODOT PLOT
In the Beginning . . .
Viv Doyle
Copyright©Viv Doyle 2012
Cover Image courtesy of 123RF
SMASHWORDS EDITION
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
CHAPTER ONE
'But I don't want to stay with Gran and Gramps for a whole month!' Tina whined.
'Well you're going, and that's that!' Dad snapped.
'Shut up, you two!' Chris yelled from the back seat, where he was playing Decimate! his favourite game. 'You're ruining my concentration!'
The car was hurtling along the M6, with the speedo creeping up. Not the time for a family row. Chris couldn't blame his sister, though, because he was fed up too. Mum was in hospital expecting a baby, and Chris and Tina were being packed off to their grandparents in Manchester for the summer holidays.
Gran and Gramps were so ancient they were practically fossilised. Gramps wasn't too bad, but Gran was a living nightmare. Chris could see her now, with her stainless steel curls and a face like she was sucking lemons, screeching, 'Shoes off at the door, young man!'
And they'd have to put up with Gran's silly rules and bad temper for a whole month.
Eventually they arrived at the big old smelly house in Manchester. When the car drew up, Gramps came dancing down the front steps with a big grin. He looked funny when he smiled because he only had five top teeth. Chris smiled back. Gramps was okay, really.
'Welcome!' the old man said, as they scrambled out of the car. He hugged them at once with his scrawny arms. Although he was nearly eighty his eyes were baby blue, shining like patches of clear sky beneath his wispy white brows.
Gramps whispered in Chris's ear, his breath smelling of super-strong mints. 'Good news, Christopher, I'm on the Internet! But don't breathe a word to your Gran. She wouldn't approve.'
Chris cheered up at once. He'd hated the idea of not being able to use the Internet while he was in Manchester. Now he could e-mail his friend Phil, and surf the Web. He could also play Decimate! on-line, which was heaps better than the pathetic hand held version of the game.
As they entered the house, Gran appeared with her usual battle cry: 'Shoes off at the door, children!'
I'd like to shoo you off at the door! Chris thought, as he dumped his bag.
Gran gave him a peck on the cheek. He ducked to unlace his trainers, trying to avoid the smell of boiled cabbage and stinky fish that hung around her.
Then she made him stand beside Tina. 'I thought so!' she said, accusingly. 'You're two inches taller than Tina now, Christopher.'
Gran made it sound like his fault he was outgrowing his sister! But what did she expect; he was her older brother. They looked less like brother and sister now, too. As well as the height difference, Chris's eyes were more hazel than blue, and his hair was starting to darken, while Tina was still very fair.
More importantly they had different likes and dislikes, especially when it came to food. Not that it would make any difference at Gran's, Chris reflected miserably. She always made them clear their plate whatever disgusting muck she served up.
They went into the kitchen, which was as clinically clean as an operating theatre. This was Gran's torture chamber, where fish was grilled mercilessly, meat got a real roasting and vegetables found themselves in hot water before being mashed to a pulp. Soon Chris and Tina would be force-fed her rotten food until they felt sick.
They sat on the uncomfortable stools and Dad gulped down a cup of weak tea, while the children drank watery orangeade. Tina spilled a tiny drop on the plastic table top, and Gran dived in with the anti-bacterial wet wipes before you could say 'Streptococcus aureus!'
At last Dad got up, and Chris knew he was about to abandon them. 'Well, I must be off, but I'll phone every night with news of Mum.'
'Why did Mum have to go into hospital so soon?' Tina wailed.
Dad hugged her. 'You know why. They don't want her to lose the baby. But don't worry, she's in safe hands now, Teeny-Weeny.'
Chris saw her frown. He knew she hated it when Dad used her baby name. 'I want to go home with you!' she moaned. 'I hate it here!'
Gran snapped, 'That's quite enough, Christina! We'll have no hysterics in this house. If you carry on like that you'll have to go to your room.'
'I don't care!' Tina muttered. 'I don't want to be here anyway!'
'Come on, Tina,' Gramps said, taking her hand. 'We'll do something nice after tea.'
Chris hated the way they called the evening meal 'tea'. It was always 'dinner' at home. It only reminded him how different everything was going to be from now on.
As soon as Dad had driven off Chris took out his new Decimate! moby, to call his mate Phil. That was a big mistake. Gran swooped down on him like a velociraptor, and snatched the phone out of his hand.
'Hey!' he protested.
Gran grimaced, wrinkling her nose at the mobile as if it was giving off a nasty smell. 'These contraptions ruin your brain cells. They're turning a whole generation of children into mindless zombies.'
'Rubbish!' Chris said. 'Scientists have tested them, and there's no proof they harm your brain.'
'That's not what I've heard,' Gran insisted. 'Tina, do you have one of these things too?'
Chris held his breath, hoping she would say no so they could both use her phone in secret. His hopes fell when he saw Gran giving her 'the look.' No one could resist the look in those spine-chilling grey eyes, that threatened dire punishment if you did not tell the truth.
Miserably, Tina removed her pink Barbie phone from her pocket and handed it over. Gran gave a satisfied smirk. 'While you are in this house you will ask permission before you use the phone. And you must use the kitchen timer, so your calls don't go on too long. Now go upstairs and unpack, and mind you put away your clothes neatly. I'll be up to inspect your room.'
Gramps offered to help carry their bags up the three flights of stairs to the attic room. They were quite heavy, with enough stuff in them for a month. Chris's feet dragged as if he was wearing lead boots by the time they got to the top, because he was so fed up being there.
'It's not fair!' he complained to Gramps. 'Why can't I use my own phone?'
'Look son, do us all a favour and don't make a fuss,' Gramps told him as he dumped their bags on the bedroom rug. 'There's no reasoning with your Gran, she doesn't understand technology. Use our phone or send e-mails, okay?' He winked. 'She doesn't know anything about those!'
They sat down to supper at six o'clock sharp. Gran was a stickler for punctuality so meals were at set times: breakfast at eight, lunch at one and tea at six. Tonight it was plain boiled fish, with broccoli and lumpy mash.
Tina said, 'I hate broccoli – it tastes like grass!'
Gran gave her a look that could curdle milk. 'How do you know what grass tastes like? You're not a cow! Eat it all up, at once. Vitamins are good for your immune system.'
Chris wanted to tell her if you cooked vegetables until they were soggy all the vitamins vanished, but he didn't dare. He took one look at the mush on his plate and felt like throwing up. There were bones in the fish, too. It would serve Gran right if he got one stuck in his throat and ended up in hospital, like Mum!
After supper, Gran went through the jobs she wanted them to do. The twins only had a few set chores at home, but Gran's long list would fill up their mornings completely.
'You'll get up at seven tomorrow and make your beds. After breakfast Tina will wash up while you dry, Christopher. If the weather is fine, you will help your grandfather in the garden, Christopher, while you help me indoors, Tina.'
'Couldn't we take turns? I'd like to help Gramps too.'
'Gardening is men's work. There's heavy digging involved.'
Tina pouted. 'Saying it's men's work is sexy.'
Chris heard Gran's sharp intake of breath.
'Sexist!' he hissed. 'She means sexist!'
'You'll be free in the afternoons,' Gran continued, quickly. 'But only until five, when I'll need you to help with the supper and lay the table. There will be an hour of free time before you go to bed at eight.' Gran glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. 'It's ten past seven now, so you have forty minutes before you start getting ready for bed.'
'Gosh! Forty whole minutes!' Tina said sarcastically, under her breath.
Gramps took them up to the spare room. It was a bit cramped in there, with boxes piled in one corner and his work station in another. Chris and Tina sat on folding stools either side of Gramps while he switched on the computer.
'It's your Gran's birthday the day after tomorrow.'
'We know,' Tina said. 'We've got her a card.'
'I wanted to get her a present, so I've been searching the Internet.'
'Surfing, Gramps!' Tina told him, loftily. 'The word is "surfing".'
'Whatever you call it, I've been doing it. Have a pep'mint.'
Gramps held out a roll of extra strong mints, but both Chris and Tina declined. Those mints were so strong they practically took the roof of your mouth off. He popped one into his own mouth and his breath soon smelt like he'd swallowed a whole tube of toothpaste.
The computer stopped whirring and the web browser page appeared. Gramps clicked on his search history. Top of the list of websites he had visited was girlygirlzgalore.com.
'Er . . .we won't bother with that one,' Gramps said hastily. 'And you mustn't tell Gran I'm on the Internet, either of you. Promise?'
Chris asked, 'Why not?'
'She wouldn't approve, that's why.'
'How have you kept it a secret?'
'She doesn't come in here. And I'm on Broadband, so it doesn't interfere with the phone. Like I said, modern technology has passed her by. She might as well be living in the Victorian age.'
Gramps pointed the cursor at another address: gifts4grannies.com. He clicked on it and the browser leapt into life. 'I thought this website looked interesting.'
He cleared his throat, sending a peppermint explosion through the air. When the home page appeared it had the usual boring selection of flowers, chocolates, books, CDs and stuff. Tina looked interested, but Chris's mind began to wander. He didn't want to look for a present for Gran; he'd rather go to the Decimate! website.
Decimate! was an exciting game of strategic warfare, set in Roman times. His avatar was the centurion, Marcus Bombastus, whose band of a hundred men had to build a giant catapult and attack the besieged Celtic fortress. Your aim was to decimate the enemy: that meant you had to kill one in ten of their troops. The Celts' weapons were boiling oil, rocks, spells and deadly insults. Yours were skill, intelligence, discipline and superior technology. He had only played the online version once so far, but it was great.
Suddenly a pop-up appeared on screen, capturing Chris's attention. It read: 'Congratulations! You have won the chance to enter our special FREE GIFT page!'
Some flashing coloured dots were zooming around the screen. They had words on them but they vanished before you could read them properly. Chris was intrigued.
'Shall we go for it?' he asked Gramps.
He looked doubtful. 'I'm not sure, son. They're a bit dodgy, some of those special offers.'
'But we want something special for Gran, don't we?' Tina asked. Chris could see she was as curious as he was.
'Okay, I suppose it'll do no harm just to look,' Gramps said, and clicked on 'enter.'
At once the screen went blank, and the three of them held their breath. What if they'd made the computer crash? But then a greenish glow spread over the screen and a man's face gradually appeared: long and lean, with sharply angled cheekbones. It took a while to fully materialise, as if it was coming from somewhere light years away, on the edge of cyberspace.
Out of the speakers a deep voice rumbled. 'Welcome to my micro-site, handynano.com. Please enter your details to win some wonderful free gifts.'
'Let me put Chris and Tina!' Tina said, excitedly.
'All right.' Gramps let her type it in the box, along with their dates of birth.
At once the weird face returned, clearer and brighter than before. 'Hello, chill-der-en! Let me introduce myself. I am Doctor Mordant Witt, Uncle Mordy to my friends. Henceforth, I shall call you Christina!'
'Ugh! I don't I like him,' Tina said. 'He's creepy! How does he know what to say to us - is he real?'
'He's just a computer animation,' Chris explained. 'Like an avatar in a game.'
'Arthur!' The call came from down below. Gran sounded impatient.
Gramps made a face. 'Suppose I'd better go. Carry on if you like, I'll be back in a minute. Only don't let your Gran catch you, okay?' He stomped off downstairs.
'Come along, chill-der-en!' Uncle Mordy continued. 'Wouldn't you like to see what marvels are on offer here, at handynano.com? My dots truly are amazing, and they make wonderful gifts. Just click on the big red dot and you'll see what I mean.'
'Shall we do it?' Tina asked. She sounded unsure, and Chris felt the same.
'There's no parental control on this computer,' he said.
'What's that?'
'You know, like we've got at home. So Dad can see what websites we go to, and make sure they're okay.'
Tina shrugged. 'Let's do a bit more anyway, and see what happens.'
The new web page had lots of dots in different colours, and each one was supposed to do a different job, but as he read down the list Chris couldn't believe his eyes. Was this some kind of joke, or hoax?
Just then Gramps came back. Soon he was as baffled as they were by all the far-fetched claims that were being made for these strange dots.
There was an orange 'food finisher' dot, that promised to clear up leftover food on a plate.
'That's ridiculous!' Chris said. 'How could a little dot do that?'
'I wouldn't mind making Gran's broccoli disappear!' Tina muttered.
Gramps overheard. 'Now young lady, don't be rude about your Gran's food.' But he winked at Chris from behind his glasses.
'Dirt Destroyer!' Chris read out next.
'Your Gran would love that!' Gramps declared.
'Look, here's something she'd like even more!' Tina exclaimed, excitedly. 'Face Flatterer. It does away with all lines and wrinkles.'
Gramps grinned. 'Now where have I heard that before? You should see the stuff she's got in the bathroom, and none of it works.'
But Chris had started reading the instructions in a sidebar box. 'We can't get any dots yet. It says we've got to send off for an adapter-thingy to make the dots work. It plugs into the computer.'
Gramps peered to read it himself, then frowned. 'Well that's that, I'm not plugging any strange devices into my computer!'
Tina looked very disappointed. 'Why not?'
'We don't know anything about this stuff. Might be a hacker's trick to get into the computer and steal information.'
Chris was disappointed too. He wanted to know if the dots really worked, but he could see Gramps had a point. This wasn't like buying something online. The fact that it was all supposed to be free was making his grandpa suspicious.
'Why don't you ask that weirdo what it's about,' Tina suggested. 'Look, it says at the top of the page.'
Chris saw there was a box to click if you had any questions. Gramps moved the mouse into it and soon the face of Uncle Mordy appeared again, saying, 'How can I help you, Christina?'
'Why do we need this gizmo?' Gramps asked, straight away.
'I can assure you that the adapter is one hundred per cent safe, and will not harm your computer in any way,' replied the booming voice.
'Why should we trust you, when we don't know you from Adam?'
A low rumbling came out of the speakers. It took Chris a while to realise that Dr Mordant Witt seemed to be laughing at them!
'Let me explain,' the virtual webmaster said, when he had calmed down. 'We have been looking for a family like yours to test our wonderful new products.'
'Who's "we"?' Gramps wanted to know.
'We are a hi-tech company, developing state-of-the-art cleaning materials, foods, cosmetics, medicines, and . . . '
'Yes, yes, I'm sure! But what about health and safety?'
'I assure you all our products are perfectly safe. All we ask of you, in return for trying three of our nanodots absolutely free, is that you complete a consumer survey . . . '
Gramps broke in, impatiently. 'Let me get this straight: if we send off for this plug-in thing, then download three free dots, we can try 'em out in return for giving you some feedback. Is that right?'
The eerie face grinned, from ear to ear. 'Couldn't have put it better myself.'
'Oh go on!' pleaded Tina, who had been staring intently at the coloured dots whirling around the screen. 'We need to get Gran something for her birthday, and if this stuff works she'll be ever so pleased.'
'All right,' Gramps said. 'I suppose the worst that can happen is that they don't work.'
A form appeared, for them to fill in their address. When they had finished, Uncle Mordy said, 'Thank you for agreeing to road test our products. You may download three of them when your adapter arrives. Please remember the secret password, handynano, to enter this micro site next time.'
To Chris's amazement, a package arrived first thing next morning. Fortunately, he saw before Gran did and hid it in the spare room. There was a label saying Red Planet Parcels and it was covered with coloured dots, so he guessed where it had come from.
After they had pushed down Gran's horrible sick-making breakfast, Chris and Tina persuaded Gramps to come upstairs, and soon they were opening the parcel excitedly. The adapter looked a bit like a plug-in air freshener, and had a lead that fitted into the spare USB port at the back of the computer.
'There's no time to try the dots out now,' Gramps said. 'Gran's got all these jobs lined up for you. But we'll try it out this evening, after supper.'
'But that's ages!' moaned Tina. 'Can't we just download them now, and maybe try one of them out, just to see if it works?'
Gramps shook his head. 'It's more than my life's worth to go against your Gran's wishes. Be good kids, and behave yourselves today. Now you've got something to look forward to this evening, haven't you?'
It was hard to take their mind off the magic-sounding dots as they went about Gran's household chores. As well as making their beds and tidying their room, which they had to do at home, Gran wanted them to clean the kitchen and the two downstairs rooms, and then go to the shops for her with a long list. They were allowed to go to the park with Gramps in the afternoon, but then they had to help peel vegetables for supper. By the time their evening meal was over they felt quite exhausted.
But Gramps was right: having the dots to download at the end of the day did give them something to look forward to. Chris felt his heart thudding with excitement as Gramps plugged the small white box into the back of his computer, then switched it on. He went into the search history and clicked on gifts4grannies. But when the home page appeared they realised they had no idea what to do with the password.
'There's no pop-up this time,' Tina said, gloomily. 'And no box for a password, either.'
Then Chris had a brainwave. 'Why don't we just try typing it into the search box?'
Gramps did just that and the screen went blank for a few seconds, like last time. Then the all-too-familiar face of Dr Mordant Witt appeared, his yellow eyes glinting mischievously.
'Welcome back, Christina!' he grinned. 'Now you may pick your three free dots. Choose wisely!'
That was easier said than done, they all realised, as the full list of fantastic dots appeared. A blue dot claimed to make water wetter; a grey dot called itself a dark disperser; a red dot made cold food hot and a purple dot made hot food cold. A white dot would make any kind of printing disappear from a page, while a black dot would make old clothes look like new again. Which were they going to choose?
'There's three of us and three dots,' Gramps said. 'So that's one each. Chris, you go first.'
Chris had spent all morning toiling up and down stairs with the ancient vacuum cleaner, and so when he saw the yellow Dirt Destroyer dot he knew he had to have it. He clicked on the dot and there was a whirring sound from inside the computer.
Gramps looked alarmed. 'Blimey, I hope this isn't going to gum up the works!' he exclaimed.
The adapter had a small lid. As soon as Gramps opened it, a bright light flashed. Inside there was a tray with a plastic-looking yellow dot sitting on it.
Uncle Mordy's voice came from the computer. 'Your yellow Dirt Destroyer dot is now ready for use. It will last for twenty-four hours.'
'What shall we try it on?' asked Tina, looking around the small room.
The yellow dot was very bright and shiny. When Chris took it out of the adapter it felt funny, not like normal plastic. It was smooth and warm, as if the adapter had somehow brought it to life, and it tingled in his fingers.
He handed it to Tina and she agreed the dot felt strange. 'I wonder what it's made of. You could put it on the carpet, Chris. You're supposed to have cleaned it, but look at all that fluff!'
She was right, it didn't look all that clean even though he had been over it time and time again with Gran's clapped-out hoover. He bent down and placed the dot carefully on the floor. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then the dot seemed to shine more brightly and the yellow glow began to spread all over the carpet.
'It's working!' Tina whispered, excitedly. 'Look!'
The carpet had a pattern of green and red leaves on a brown background. As they watched, it looked as though the sun had come out from behind the clouds and was making all the colours bright again. After just a minute or so the carpet looked as new and clean as the day it had been laid.
'Well I never did!' Gramps exclaimed, loudly. Then he remembered that this was all supposed to be a secret from Gran, and lowered his voice. 'This'll make a fantastic present for your Gran. She's obsessed with cleanliness.'
'Don't we know it!' Chris groaned, giving his sister a grin. She smiled back.
Next it was Tina's turn to choose a dot, and it was no surprise when she picked out the orange Food Finisher. Even at home she hated eating food she didn't like, and Chris knew how much she detested Gran's cooking.
'My turn now,' Gramps said, while she was busy. 'I'm going for the Face Flatterer. I'd love to see your Gran looking young again.'
Chris read out the instructions. 'Place Face Flatterer in the middle of the forehead and leave for ten seconds. Then place on jawline for another ten seconds.'
'Sounds a bit too easy to me,' Gramps said.
There came a call from below. 'Children! Bedtime!'
'Oh, no!' Tina groaned. 'Just when it was getting interesting!'
Gramps started to log off. 'We'll try the other two out tomorrow. If they work, it'll be a blooming miracle!'
'That yellow dot was just some kind of super carpet cleaner,' Chris said. 'Like the foam one Mum uses. But I don't see how food can just vanish from a plate – or wrinkles from skin.'
Gramps said, 'You never know, miracles can happen! Now get off to bed, you two, before your Gran cancels tomorrow altogether!'
They went up to their attic bedroom. Tina put the dots in the small wooden box where she kept her watch, hair slides, necklace and charm bracelet. After making sure the dots sat nice and flat under her treasures, she closed the lid.
When they were both in bed, Gran came upstairs. She never kissed them or tucked them in, like Mum; she only wanted to check that the room was in order. Their clothes were lying crumpled on a chair, and Chris had carelessly kicked his slippers off beneath it, so they both had to get out of bed and tidy up.
'Now remember to look at the jobs rota in the morning, so you know exactly what you're doing,' she told them. 'The alarm is set for seven, and breakfast is at eight. Good night!'
When the light was switched off it was total darkness. No street lamps shone through the window because their room was at the back of the house. As Chris heard his grandmother's footsteps going down the stairs he pulled the sheets and blankets up over his head. It wasn't only Tina who was scared of the dark, although he would never admit it.
As he lay there waiting for sleep Chris saw coloured dots dancing before his eyes, and heard a rumbly voice saying, 'I'm the Dotty Doctor, and I'm coming to get you, chill-der-en!'
Suddenly their long stay in Manchester didn't look like it was going to be quite so boring after all.
CHAPTER TWO
When Tina woke next morning, for a few blissful seconds she thought she was in her bedroom at home. Then she remembered: she'd been sentenced to one month's hard labour, with rotten food and no privileges. Instead of her light, comfy duvet, she was bound up tight as an Egyptian mummy in starchy sheets and scratchy blankets. She struggled out of the bottom bunk (Chris had bagged the top one, as usual) and stood on the mat in her pyjamas. The room was dim and quiet, but the early birds were twittering madly outside the window.
It seemed far too dark to be up. Tina decided to look at her watch and tiptoed over to her treasure box. When she opened the lid the nanodots gleamed up at her. She took them out and placed them on the chest of drawers, then looked at her watch: ten past six! They weren't supposed to get up until seven, but she felt wide awake and didn't want to go back to bed.
Tina picked up the yellow Dirt Destroyer. Perhaps she could try it in the bathroom. A voice in Tina's head told her to wait until her brother woke, but she ignored it and crept downstairs to the floor below. A noise like a fog horn was coming from Gramps' bedroom, and Tina remembered that was why he and Gran no longer shared a room. At least his snoring would mask any sound she might make.
The bathroom door creaked when she opened it but no-one stirred, so she put on the light. The mirror had a few smudges on it; the bath mat had some dark brown spots that looked like blood (probably where Gramps had cut himself shaving) and there was a tide mark halfway up the bath. That must be where Gramps had taken his bath last night; Gran would never leave it in that state.
Tina didn't know whether one spot was enough for all that cleaning. Was it re-usable, or had they finished it up on the carpet last night? There was only one way to find out. She placed it on the bath, and it stuck to the side easily.
At first, nothing happened. Then she thought the tide mark was fading, but she still wasn't sure. Tina held her breath, and watched the line of grime gradually disappearing. After a minute or so the whole bath looked brand new – it was amazing!
'It still works!' she breathed, hopping around in her fluffy slippers. For a moment she felt guilty that Chris wasn't there to share her triumph. But the main thing was, the dots worked! She decided to try one more job, and stuck the dot on the mirror. Gradually it cleared, until there wasn't a speck or a smear anywhere – it was brilliant!
Tina couldn't wait to tell her brother. She peeled the spot off the mirror then crept back to their bedroom, where Chris was mumbling in his sleep. She stood on the ladder, her face level with the top bunk. 'Chris, wake up!'
'What?' He raised his head, rubbing his eyes. 'Is it time to get up?'
'Nearly. I used the Dirt Destroyer in the bathroom!'
That woke him up. 'What happened?'
She told him it had worked and, straight away, he wanted to see for himself. The pair of them tiptoed downstairs and Tina was relieved to see that the bath was still white and gleaming, the mirror clear and bright.
'Watch!' she told Chris, placing the dot on the mat.
They both stared as the brown stains faded away and the green material looked bright and new again. 'It's magic!' Chris exclaimed, imitating Gramps' voice. 'It's blooming magic!'
They spent the next ten minutes searching out every nook and cranny that might contain a speck of dirt. Soon the floor was spanking clean and the shower area was sparkling, the walls looked like they'd just been painted, and the toilet as though it had never been used.
'I'm going to have a shower now,' Chris said. 'Leave the dot, so I can clean up after me.'
'All right, but then you must leave the dot for me. What a surprise for Gran and Gramps!'
Tina was so excited: this was better than Christmas! She was looking forward to seeing Gran's face after the Face Flatterer had done its work.
Once they were washed and dressed they stayed in their room, reading. They heard the pad-pad of Gran's slippers going towards the bathroom and, a few minutes later, they heard her coming up the narrow stairs towards their bedroom.
'Good, you're both dressed,' Gran said, the faintest of smiles playing around her pinched lips. 'You've been busy in the bathroom already, haven't you Tina? It's looking quite spotless.'
'I don't think "spotless" is the word!' Chris said, under his breath.
Tina could hardly stop herself from laughing. 'I did my best, Gran.'
'Well I'm making a nice cooked breakfast for you. Come down in ten minutes.'
Suddenly Tina didn't feel hungry. At home they usually had crunchy oat cereal, although they sometimes had a full breakfast on Sunday as a special treat. But Gran insisted on inflicting her 'nice cooked breakfast' on them every morning. It consisted of bacon burnt to a crisp; sausages like cinders; scrambled egg in hard little pellets; tomatoes that were all watery and sloppy; slimy mushrooms and greasy fried bread. Sometimes she would add beans, baked to a mushy mess, or 'devilled kidneys' that even the Devil wouldn't touch with a toasting fork.
'Oh Tina – we completely forgot!' Chris said, suddenly, after Gran had gone downstairs. 'We should have wished her a happy birthday!'
'The card!'
'The dot!'
They dug out the birthday card from the bottom of Tina's bag, opened the envelope and slipped the pink Face Flatterer dot inside the card.
Downstairs, the table was neatly laid and there was a pot of tea under a knitted cosy. The smell of fried food pervaded the house, but it was most unappetising to the Tina. She knew Gran never had so much as a bottle of tomato sauce in the house to disguise the horrible taste of her cooking, so they'd have to endure a full-scale assault on their taste buds.
When they were seated at the table, Gran came bustling in with two plates of food. Tina crossed her fingers under the white table cloth, hoping that – by some miracle – Gran's cooking might have improved since they were last there. But when she saw the burnt offerings on her plate she knew that nothing had changed.
Putting off the dreaded moment when she'd have to eat it, Tina said brightly, 'Happy Birthday, Gran!'
'Oh!' Gran said in surprise, as if she'd completely forgotten. Then she looked annoyed. 'I don't hold with birthdays. Lot of silly fuss.'
'We brought you a card, anyway,' Tina said. 'From all of us.'
'And a special present,' Chris added. 'Inside the card.'
Gramps winked at them. Gran whisked the card out of its envelope, as if it were the electricity bill or something just as boring. She ignored the picture of roses and kittens on the front, and opened it up. The pink dot slid out onto the tablecloth.
'What's this?' she asked, frowning as she picked it up.
'It's a beauty spot,' Gramps said, giving the children another wink.
'What nonsense is this?'
'You slap it on your forehead, right here!' Gramps said, jumping up and placing it on the deep creases between Gran's eyes. She started to tear it off, but he took hold of both her hands. 'Leave it be, Lil. Just for a few minutes.'
'Why? Is this some kind of practical joke?'
As they all watched, things began to happen to Gran's face. The deep lines that were etched from her nose to the corners of her mouth began to fade, and the wrinkles over her upper lip smoothed out. The warts on her chin disappeared and her cheeks plumped up, fresh and gleaming with new skin. The crow's feet around her eyes vanished and her usual frown melted away. By the time Gramps peeled off the dot she'd had a complete face lift!
'What are you all staring at?' Gran asked, peevishly, but her croaky old voice didn't seem to fit with the way she looked now.
Tina giggled. 'Why don't you look in the mirror, Gran?'
Gran rose from the table abruptly. Now there was only the faintest shadow of a frown between her nicely arched brows. Even her hair looked softer, more golden, although the instructions had said nothing about turning grey hair fair again. Gran stared at herself in the gilt-framed mirror on the wall, and her eyes opened wide with astonishment.
'It's a trick!' she gasped. 'Some kind of optical illusion!'
Gramps put his arm around her shoulders. They stared at themselves, side by side in the mirror. 'You're as lovely as the day I married you, Lilian,' he said, kissing her smooth cheek. 'Just for a moment, imagine we're on our honeymoon again.'
Gran's face looked radiant in the mirror. Then, to everyone's astonishment, she gave a dazzling smile. Tina had never seen her show her teeth like that before. It was so different from Gran's normal thin-lipped, turned-down-at-the corners, grudging half-smile, that Tina nearly fell off her chair in astonishment.
'Arthur, I feel young again! How amazing!'
'Happy birthday, sweetheart!' He held up his arm and she took it. 'Shall we dance?'
The sight of youthful Gran and ancient Gramps dancing round the room was quite extraordinary. They even tried a bit of Rock 'n Roll. Tina and Chris shared disbelieving grins, but there was even better to come. Gran sank down into her chair again, panting and giggling like a teenager.
'Oh, children, what a birthday I'm having!' Gran laughed. 'What shall we do to celebrate? I know – where's my purse? You can pop down to the corner shop and buy the biggest box of chocs you can find. We'll have them all for breakfast, instead of those horrible burnt sausages.'
Tina could hardly believe her ears. Chocolates for breakfast? It looked like they wouldn't have to use the Food Finisher, after all. This really was better than Christmas!
Their new, improved Gran took a bit of getting used to. After their chocolate breakfast, Gran said they should leave the washing up and go out for the day. They went off into town on the bus and ended up in the cinema, watching Decimate! The Movie.
Chris was overjoyed, of course. The film was the smash hit of the summer, and all his friends would be going. Tina was surprised at how much she enjoyed it too. She especially liked the part where the Celtic Princess fell in love with the Roman Soldier. But, best of all, was the way Gran and Gramps were chuckling all the way through the film. Gran insisted on buying ice-cream and popcorn and they all had lots of goes on the arcade games in the foyer. Gran even had a go at pinball!
By the time they got home again, Tina felt quite worn out after the endless treats and non-stop fun. They all went into the kitchen for hot chocolate before they went to bed. There four plates languished on the table, each filled with a cold, congealing breakfast that looked absolutely disgusting.
Gran gave a peal of girlish laughter. 'Into the bin with it! I never was much of a cook.'
Chris and Tina took the plates to the waste bin and scraped off the stuck-on sausages, lumpy egg, squashed tomatoes and overdone bacon. The plates were still messy but when Gran said not to worry about the washing up, Tina remembered the Food Finisher dot. She ran upstairs to get it, then tried it on one of the plates. Within seconds, it was sparkling clean.
When all four plates were in the rack, looking as if they'd just come out of their dishwasher at home, Tina sat down for her mug of chocolate feeling thoroughly satisfied. The transformation of Gran had made all the difference; now she was looking forward to tomorrow, instead of dreading it. To make everything perfect, Dad rang to wish Gran a happy birthday. He sounded amazed when he heard what a lovely day they'd had. Then he gave them the good news that Mum was doing very well.
'There'll be another "birth day" soon,' he told Tina. 'I'll give Mum your love, and I'll phone again tomorrow. Goodnight, sweetheart. Be good.'
Even after they'd gone to bed, Tina and Chris could hear peals of laughter coming up the stairs as Gran and Gramps continued to enjoy themselves.
'Those nanodots really are amazing, aren't they?' Tina said to her brother, not bothering to whisper because she knew Gran wouldn't mind them talking now. 'I wonder how they work.'
'I've been wondering too. Maybe it's self-hypnosis.'
'What's that?'
'It's when something comes true because you tell yourself it's true.'
'So who's being hypnotised, us or Gran?'
'All of us, I suppose. Anyway, I'm going back into that website tomorrow, to see if we can get some more of those weird dots – they're brilliant! Maybe we should tell that Uncle Mordy how well they they've worked, too.'
The thought of another encounter with Dr Mordant Witt, AKA Uncle Mordy, was a bit scary. But Tina had to admit his nanodots were everything they were hyped up to be.
'Yes. Thanks, Uncle Mordy!' Tina giggled. 'Now we're going to have a fantastic time at Gran and Gramps'!'
'Fantastic's the word!' Chris agreed, as they both snuggled down to sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
Chris woke straight out of a dream where wolves were howling across a snowy plain, but the howling wasn't just in his dream. He sat bolt upright in his bunk bed; there was a horrendous noise, somewhere between a mournful wail and an angry bellow, coming from downstairs. Was it the battle cry of a Banshee, about to enter the fray? Was it the alarm call of a shrieking shrike, protecting its young? No, it was the primal scream of Gran, at her most terrifying.
The noise, and its chilling echo, ricocheted off the walls of the attic room. Chris pulled his legs out of the tight cocoon of bedclothes and let his feet dangle over his sister's bunk.
'Tina!' he yelled, between his knees. 'Wake up! Something's happening!'
She mumbled sleepily, but only hugged her Ballerina Barbie more tightly. Chris jumped down and shook her shoulder until she opened her eyes.
'Gerroff, Chris!'
'Get up! Gran's making an awful racket downstairs.'
The noise faded, then Gramps could be heard saying, 'Thought it was too good to last.'
Pulling on their dressing gowns, they crept to the door. Gran was talking now, and she sounded very upset. 'But what's been going on, Arthur? I don't understand!'
Chris realised something dreadful must have happened in the night. He cautioned Tina to keep quiet, then led the way downstairs. Gramps was soothing Gran in her bedroom, so they tiptoed along the landing to the bathroom. The door was wide open, so they could see what a state the place was in. The bath had its tide mark back; the mat was covered in brown spots and the mirror was smeared again. All the Dirt Destroyer's handiwork had been undone overnight.
'No wonder Gran's upset,' Chris whispered, as another angry wail came from her bedroom. 'I bet the Face Flatterer's worn off too!'
By the time they went down for breakfast it was obvious that the effect of the dots had been short-lived. Gran was her wrinkly, miserable self again, and Gramps was looking dejected. Tina was made to wash up the dirty breakfast plates, and told to clean the bathroom immediately after breakfast.
'I don't know what new-fangled cleaner you used yesterday, Christina,' Gran said. 'But it soon wore off, didn't it? There's nothing to beat good, old-fashioned elbow grease, my girl.'
Tina scowled. Chris was fed up too, nearly choking on his over-cooked breakfast. This was such a let-down after yesterday.
When Gramps suggested he could do with a hand in the garden, Chris couldn't get out of the house quick enough. It was soon clear that Gramps felt the same.
'Come into my pottering shed,' he said, leading the way to the dilapidated shed near the vegetable patch.
'Don't you mean potting shed?'
Gramps winked at him as he opened the door. 'Not much potting goes on in here, but plenty of pottering. Come on in – you'll see what I mean.'
Chris had never been inside Gramps' shed before, so he felt honoured. It was cosy in there, with an old pine table, rickety chair and a folding canvas fishing stool that Gramps set up for him. The walls had makeshift shelves bearing all kinds of ancient tins and boxes: Golden Virginia tobacco tins; Sharp's and Palm toffee tins and Romeo and Juliet cigar boxes. There was a Pear's soap box, with a boy in a green velvet coat and big frilly collar blowing bubbles; a Peek Frean's biscuit tin, with Punch and Judy on the lid, and a Mazawatee tea caddy showing Queen Victoria and Britannia. There were some toy racing cars too, so scratched and battered that Gramps must have played with them when he was a boy.
It was dark in the shed because the one cracked window pane had cobwebs all over it. There was also a strong smell: an earthy mixture of manure, paraffin and wood preserver. Under a beam in one corner a huge spider crouched in a web, her beady eyes watching everything that went on.
'That's Spinning Jenny,' Gramps told him. 'She's very friendly.' He touched a gossamer thread lightly and she scampered right onto his finger, pawing him with her front legs. 'I gave her a couple of flies yesterday. They were bothering your Gran in the kitchen, so I caught them in a jam jar and put them in her web. This is her way of saying thank you, I expect.'