Re: Bethel, New York, August 17, 1969
Fountain of Paradise Square, Paradise Towers
Lots of ticktocks later...
'What is it, a portaloo?' Door Knob wondered, creeping closer.
'Nah-uh! It's a Rezzie's wardrobe – outlook, its all woody.' No Smoking declared confidently.
'How'd it get out here then?'
'Verge collection.'
Meanwhile, Smoke Alarm traced the letters with a finger, sounding out the words she knew. 'Pol-ice telly-phone... It's a talkiphone box!' she exclaimed in surprise and awe, more for what she felt than what she read. The box vibrated, hummed, like a refrigerator, but somehow she knew this was something more, like something alive. She realised the sign was on a little door within the door, and she prised it open. Sure enough, there was a telephone inside. Smoke Alarm pulled it out. 'All oldster-looking. But it's icehot somehow. I like it.'
'Po-lice, office-rs – it's a Caretaker thing, I don't like it.'
Curious as a cat, Smoke Alarm fed in a Kroagnon coin, put the handpiece to her ear, and turned the rotary dial. 'How-you-do?' She heard voices, she whispered back...
Suddenly No Smoking slapped the handpiece from Smoke's hands. The handpiece fell to the end of its cord, dangling and clattered against the door. 'No ball-games, no fly-posts, no ringing!' she hissed. She thrust a finger at the words on the sign, below "Advice & assistance obtainable immediately." 'Outlook! "Officers and cars respond to all calls."'
'It also says "Pull to Open". We should show-and-tell it to her!'
'It's Caretaker mechinery, it's trouble. We smash it!'
'No—!' Smoke Alarm tried to protest, but she could never shout back against No Smoking, especially not at the look she got. But she couldn't say why she thought vandalising the telephone box would be a bad idea. Fortunately, Door Knob came to her aid, taunting No Smoking 'You're just a cowardly cutlet!'
'Am not!'
'Are too! 'Sides, if we smash it, the Caretakers will comeout outlooking for us for sure. Take us to the cleaners. Take you to the cleaners.'
'Gotta catch me if they can. But they'll catch slowpoke Smoke Alarm first!' Smoke Alarm stayed quiet. 'We smash it.' No Smoking cast about through the rubbish strewn about, finding an old chair leg.
She was about to stove it through the telephone when Door Knob spoke up, a mischievous smile directed at Smoke Alarm 'Could be splosive, mayhaps.'
No Smoking hesitated, her face sour at being outwitted. Then in sudden defiance, she thrust the chair leg into the dial. But it deflected off, caught in the back of the cavity and jerked out of the girl's hands. 'Ow, splinters!' She was about to attack it again when Door Knob intervened.
'It's tough, it'll take too long. Caretakers and Red Kangs are out and lurking. Eyespies tell there's visitors.'
'No ball-games, no fly-posts, no visitors... Fine, we'll wallscrawl it. Can we wallscrawl it, Miss Door Knobby-knees?' Door Knob shrugged, waved No Smoking toward the door. Smoke Alarm mouthed a thank you to her friend, Door Knob smiled back.
The Blue Kangs got out their spraypaints and marker pens, and began industriously graffitiing the police public call box. Blue Kang territory markers, taunts against the Caretakers. The awe went away; it seemed just a box now, covered in paint, just more rubbish in Fountain of Happiness Square. But Smoke Alarm hung back, feeling strangely saddened. Then No Smoking pushed her up to the box. 'Go on, wallscrawl it! Oh, Smoke Alarm likes the Caretaker box! Slowpoke Alarm likes the Caretakers! Smopoke loves Caretakers!'
'Do not!' She tried to get involved, making her own wallscrawl calling for help, to make up for her earlier lack of boldness, but No Smoking kept shouldering her out of the way, painting right over hers. Finally she was bumped out altogether, back to watching No Smoking and Door Knob at work, vandalising the poor old telephone box.
Smoke Alarm felt hot inside, angry and frustrated, at No Smoking and her own failings and losses. She just wanted to mess up this stupid box, for getting her in trouble with the big girl, to take out her frustrations on it, to prove herself to the gang, to be known. She didn't even think about it, when she ran at the wall, jumped and skipped it off, hurling herself right over No Smoking's fat head, and landing on top of the roof. 'Hey!' She ignored No Smoking, and perched on the shallow pyramidal roof. Knife in hand, she started scratching at the blue paint and wood. At first, the blade couldn't even dent the paint, let alone the wood. Then it melted right in, unnoticed by the angry girl, like the box wanted to bear these words. Furiously, she scratched the letters, small and crude: SMOKE ALARM WAS HEAR.
*
Suddenly Smoke Alarm pulled her arms out of Traveller's and slipped away, footing back to the Doctor. 'Doctor! I wallscrawled your talkiphone box! It's scratched on the roof, so they didn't wipe it off. I'm sorry! I didn't know! I'm sorry!'
This message was last edited by the player at 11:29, Sat 07 Nov 2015.