Consumers Book One: The Big Launch - First Three Chapters

Chapter 3: Operation Big Mess-Up

Gina got off the bus first, but as Bonnie and Margot lived only a few streets apart they travelled on together and got off two stops later. They walked the rest of the way home, chatting.

"Are you really sure it was Henry Hulg's face you saw?" Bonnie asked for what must have been the hundredth time. She was having a hard time believing that a genius like Henry Hulg would come to Scarley, of all places. It was a bit like the queen opening a Chicken Cottage in Croydon, or the Pope blessing the local duck pond. It just wasn't done.

"I know what I saw," said Margot. She was starting to find her friend's doubts a little exasperating. Why wouldn't she believe her? "If it wasn't him then it must have been his clone, or his doppelganger, or something."

"But why would he want to come here? There's nothing here. He'd do a product launch in London, or Paris or New York, but not Scarley."

"I guess we'll find that out tomorrow evening," Margot said with a shrug. "But honestly, I don't expect it to be anything really big, like a new phone or anything. They'll probably just give away a ten-percent off voucher for the Hulg 7, or something like that." She hoped they were giving out vouchers because that would certainly come in handy. But in truth she was just as intrigued as her friend was. Something strange was going on here, and she was desperate to know what it was.

When they arrived at Bonnie's house, Mrs Green invited Margot in for supper, but she said she was expected home and so she and Bobbie said their goodbyes, knowing they would see each other soon enough. Margot cut down a side street to Parson's Drive. Walking up the narrow street of maisonettes, she was surprised to see one of Mrs Una Cuthbertson's cats – Pumice from the looks of it — slink across the top of no. 37's fence and jump down into the garden. This was odd as she had never seen one of Mrs Cuthbertson's cats outside before. Honestly, Mrs Cuthbertson's cats were the biggest homebodies around. All they did was sleep all day, and when they weren't sleeping they were eating, and goodness each one of them could put away as much food as a hungry Rottweiler. She would ask Mrs Cuthbertson if Pumice had sneaked out while her back was turned when she went around to her house after dinner. Maybe she had accidentally left a door open, or the cat had slipped through an open window. Cats could be sneaky.

Reaching No. 54, she turned the key in the lock and let herself in. She was greeted by the smell of cooking and the wails of her baby brother in the living room.

"Is that you, Margot?" her mother called from the kitchen and when Margot replied that it wasn't, that she was in fact the friendly local burglar come round to steal the silverware, was told her to stop messing around and to be a dear and change Kelly's nappy.

Margot sighed deeply She hated changing her little brother's nappy because it was always contained a lovely smelly chocolate mousse that didn't smell anything like chocolate mousse, and more often than not it oozed out the sides. It didn't matter what little Kelly ate, the result was always a chocolate mousse. In the living room she found the tot crying because the chocolate mousse had grown cold and uncomfortable. Even Fireman Sam on the TV couldn't quell the tears.

"Oh, you've done a good 'un, haven't you" Margot groaned as she picked her brother up. His nappy felt as if it had got a bowling ball in it. Laying him down on a towel she quickly got to work with the wipes and lotion, and all the while little Kelly grinned and gurgled and kicked his little feet in the air. He liked having a fresh botty. At first Margot had complained about having to change her brother, but her mother had reminded her that one day she might be a mother herself so she'd better get used to it, and when she grumbled at having to powder Kelly's bits and pieces her mother had just laughed and told her it was all part of life so she had better get used to that too.