Call Screening (standard:drama, 2521 words)
Author: meg malpas	Added: Sep 16 2009	Views/Reads: 3128/2171	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Home alone a housewife decides to not answer the phone for one morning to get her work done. This story has 3 different endings.

Screening Calls 

It was a very busy week-end with family visits and birthdays.  When
Monday finally arrived Jenny just wanted some time to herself.  She 
decided to leave the phone if it rang. 

With modern technology there where so many other ways people could get
it touch.  There where 4 e-mails waiting to be read.  Her mobile had 
text messages waiting to be answered.  The door-bell would ring also. 

After all there had to be a day to catch up on house-work. So the
washing machine was loaded.  The clothes that had been left out on the 
line all night were pushed into the tumble-dryer and the dish-washer 
was emptied of last night's dinner pots then loaded with the breakfast 
pots.  A good start. 

The phone rang for the first time.  The temptation to answer was great
so Jenny went upstairs and made the beds.  Windows where thrown open to 
the early summer air and curtains pulled back as the bedroom phone 
extension sat temptingly silent now, yet knowing who the last caller 
was. 

What if it was the school saying her grand-daughter was ill and they
couldn't get hold of her daughter?  What if her husband was not well at 
work and wanted her to pick him up.  Jenny gave in and, picking up the 
phone, listened for that change of tone which meant there was a 
message.  No she had to try 1471.  It was an 0800 number.  Just someone 
selling something. Back to the housework. 

There where 2 bills to pay so Jenny took her debit card out of her
wallet and opened her lap-top as the phone rang for the second time.  
She found the web-site she needed as on the 7th ring the phone went 
silent. When both bills were paid the phone seemed to be almost asking 
to be checked so Jenny went out into the garden.  She started by 
tidying away the toys that her daughters dog had been playing with over 
the week-end then went on to water the tomato plants in the greenhouse. 
 As she began to dead-head the roses the phone rang for the third time 
and Jenny realized she may never know who the second call was from. 

It was too much.  She went back into the dinning room and picked up the
phone just as it stopped and the dial tone came on.  She put it down 
and waited a few minutes.  As she picked it up again the dial tone had 
not changed.  Well if it wasn't important enough to leave a message I 
can get on. 

The vacuum cleaner came out and the high-dusting mop handle was extended
ready for action as the phone rang for the 4th time. “No I won't be 
disturbed.” Jenny decided.  If it was her friend Carol they could 
natter for an hour about nothing and she would get nothing done.  So 
the cleaner was switched on and the floors got a thorough clean. Then 
the mop and bucket came out and the kitchen floor got a wash.  This is 
great Jenny thought.  No interruptions. She was getting very brave now 
as the phone rang twice in close succession.  Jenny stopped for a 
coffee and remembered she needed milk and a few other bits from the 
local shop.  She pulled on a fleece and grabbed her handbag.  As she 
checked her hair in the dinning room mirror she didn't even look at the 
phone. 

Leaving the car in the drive for a change Jenny decided to walk the half
mile to the shops as the sun was shinning.  It was working out to be a 
very productive day and she decided to get some extra bits to bake a 
cake when she got back. The phone rang eight more times and several 
messages were left as Jenny, completely oblivious to this, walked 
slowly home in the sunshine. The only disturbance was the sound of 
sirens.  As they lived close to the main road into the local hospital 
Jenny became immune to that sound.  The overhead distant noise or a 
helicopter was a more regular occurrence now so Jenny did not even look 
up. 

On arriving back home she quickly heated some milk and took her coffee
and a biscuit into the garden with the morning paper. 

There are now 3 different endings to this story. 

ENDING No. 1........ Romantic ENDING No. 2........ Suspense ENDING No.


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