Creative writing

I posted this on Facebook a few weeks back. Thought I would repost here, and expand on it.

Watching telly one night, I noticed a hum coming from the back wall (the dividing wall between me and my neighbour). I thought that he must be charging something electrical and thought nothing of it. But it persisted. For hours. I thought, enough is enough. I need to find out what this is.

The hum was now more of a buzz. Irritating, in fact. It was not from one particular place, but was there, present in the wall. We discovered that it was not present his side of the wall however, and appeared even louder when an ear was pressed to the floor.

I dreaded the thought of something electrical under the floorboards, going wrong. What could it be?

Opening one of the fitted wardrobes, I could still hear this buzz, although the noise was muffled by several bags of wool. Such a buzzing as made me feel sick. I carried on taking out carefully stored boxes and books, and eventually the buzzing was incredibly loud. Interesting, I thought, and possibly not under the floorboards as me and my neighbour had thought.

I moved my camping equipment box, and the buzzing changed pitch. Curiouser and curiouser, I thought. The box itself was vibrating, so I hurriedly began unpacking it. The buzzing sound was so intense. Out came camping gas canisters, stove, mosi net, the lot. The box was still vibrating. I moved the plates, and the buzzing hiccupped. I practically threw the plates out as I tried to eliminate pieces of equipment from the box. Have I had this box so long that somehow the plastic has picked up something which is now making it vibrate?

I picked up a couple of items, slightly alarmed now that the pack of wooden skewers I was holding appeared to be the source of the vibrations. When I realised that I was also holding a toothbrush. A battery powered toothbrush. I found the off button, and peace glorious peace briefly pervaded the house.

I thought that would be it. Find the ‘off’ button, and it would switch off. No. Nope! Sorry, mistaken. There was obviously a contact somewhere in it that had malfunctioned. It flittered. It fluttered. Still in it’s packet, wrapped up, it continued to dance about the kitchen worktop. Only one thing for it. Take the battery out. Nope, can’t do that. No way of getting inside. But having taken it out of it’s wrapping, it no longer flittered and fluttered to the same degree of irritation. Popped it in the bin, and let the double sides of the bin muffle the noise of the toothbrush. Peace glorious peace once again pervaded the house.