Chaos At Christmas – Episode 13
Chaos At Christmas by Ewan Smith
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- 1. Chaos At Christmas – Episode 13
“You may remember that, when I arrived yesterday, I promised you all a special pre-Christmas present.”
Presents! came an excited child’s voice. There was laughter around the room.
Lyle grinned. “That’s why I asked you to gather here this morning. It’s wonderful that we can all be together this Christmas. And I don’t intend to talk business in what is very much a social occasion. But in little over a month, FastChat will be launching a very exciting new product which some of you may have heard of – the GroupChat phone.” There was a rush of excitement round the room.
Clearly, some of the guests had heard of it. “The development has generated a lot of interest in the industry and we suspect that it’s going to be a huge success. But no one outside the company has yet got their hands on one of the phones – until today. I am going to give each one of you a GroupChat phone to use while we’re staying at Fosbury Manor.”
A volley of excitement erupted from the teenagers who had gathered inside the French windows. They began dancing about hugging each other. A smile of amusement spread across Lyle’s face at the reaction.
What about us, Uncle Lyle? a young boy near to him cried out. Do we get one too?
“Absolutely, Jordan,” Lyle retorted. “These phones are designed for both children and adults. In fact…” He indicated to Franklyn Boscoby who handed him a box from one of the laundry trollies. He handed it on to the child. “You can be the very first to receive a GroupChat phone.”
There was a clamour as other young people rushed forward to collect their phones. Lyle held his hands up with a laugh. “Steady on, now; if you’ll just show a little patience. We brought plenty for everyone.”
The three members of staff started pushing the laundry trollies around the lounge and handing out the boxes. There was a mixture of responses; the youngsters tended to pull open their packages eagerly but many of the older folk reacted with little more with mild curiosity.
“While the phones are being distributed, perhaps I could tell you a little bit about them,” Lyle Cranford called out above the noise. “You can use them just like normal smart-phones, if you wish. However, with the GroupChat phones, there are a number of additional facilities. For instance, if you switch your phone to ‘group-mode’ then it becomes linked up with all the other phones in your particular group.
Thanks to the integral cameras and microphones, you can see what everyone else is seeing and hear what they are hearing.” Excited chatter rose around the room. “Families might want to set themselves up in groups; or friends. It’s your decision. For myself, I’m just curious to see what you make of the phones. This is a bit of a test-run for them. So make use them in whatever way you wish during your stay and let me know what you think.”
There were beeps, buzzes and all kinds of other sounds rising up around the room as the phones were switched on. “The instructions are designed to be simple to follow,” Lyle added. “If any adults find themselves confused about what to do then I suggest that you ask a nearby youngster, that usually works.” He was having to shout to make himself heard above the noise. “And one last thing. A few minor problems have arisen involving the phones’ batteries which our technicians are dealing with.
You should be able to charge your phone yourself as normal. But if you find that there are problems then we have a multiple charger which you can use. It’s capable of charging large numbers of phones at the same time.” Franklyn Boscoby was holding up a bizarre hemispherical object. It was the size of a large beach ball and looked vaguely like a robotic hedgehog. “I’ll arrange to have it situated where it can be accessed by everyone.” He held out his hands. “Anyway, good luck with the phones. Enjoy them!”
There was sporadic applause but most people were concentrating on trying to get to grips with their phones. Already, the teenagers were back out on the patio, huddled together in an excited group all talking at once. Though Ferelith’s eye had been caught by the mass of packaging which had been scattered around the lounge. That would need clearing up. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lyle’s voice. He was holding out one of the boxed-up phones to her.
What about you, Ferelith? Would you like to join our testing team?
Ferelith shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, Mr Cranford, but I think I’ll pass on that. This is a busy enough time for us as it is without having to get to grips with new technology.”
He smiled. “No problem. But let me know if you change your mind.”
Ferelith began to help the other members of staff collect up the debris. She was amused by the different ways in which the guests were reacting to the GroupChat phones. Some had done little more than glance at the phones and then put them to one side; they clearly weren’t particularly interested in them. Others had opened up the boxes eagerly enough but were struggling to get to grips with the instructions.
She cleared up around one man who was pressing button after button on his phone and muttering in annoyance that it was all too complicated and something must be wrong with the machine. However, there were guests for whom the phones were already working all too well.
“For heaven’s sake, Dahlia,” Ferelith heard one woman saying urgently into her phone. “Why did you take it to the toilet? We can see and hear everything!” There was a shriek of horror from the phone which was suddenly cut off and Ferelith had to struggle not to burst out laughing.
She did wonder, as she went round the room with a black bag, whether she should have taken up Lyle Cranford’s offer. Perhaps having one of the phones would have helped her with her work; it would have allowed the guests to contact her immediately with problems or queries. Her eyes narrowed. Though that might have been more of a nightmare than a benefit.
Virtually all of the young people seemed to have disappeared. She wondered if that had to do with the GroupChat phones; perhaps they were already exploring the possibilities that the phones had to offer. It wouldn’t have surprised her if they were getting up to mischief of some sort; the teenagers especially gave the impression of being a lively lot. Her lips pursed. Possibly, the less she knew about what they were up to the better.
