Amazing Stories: Good Neighbors

Dad went inside and sat down. He watched TV for a while, waiting for a response from next door.

But nobody came round, or shouted, or did anything.

But something did happen. The volume knob next door was turned up! Now we could hardly hear Joan Sutherland, except for the high notes, which sounded like she was being sawn in half, and our house seemed to be shifting on its foundation as a screaming rock singer pounded us with sheer noise! So Dad got out of his chair, walked to the stereo, and turned the knob right round to maximum. Up till then he had been merciful, but now he was going to let the neighbors have the full benefit of his superior output!

Mum went through the room with her hands on her ears, and the dog started to howl, but Dad wouldn't turn his stereo down. He sat in his chair with his arms folded, and a really determined look on his face. No way was he going to back down!

The next thing we heard was the neighbor's radio on as loud as it could go, and then their TV, and then all the windows in the neighbor's house were flung open, so we could catch the full benefit of their musical tastes.

"Two can play at that game!" said Dad, doing the same back.

The dog crawled under the couch and moaned.

Mum came in to see Dad and shouted something at him, but all we could see was her mouth moving. She gave up and left the room. I saw the door slam.

And then, suddenly, the noise next door stopped. I knew this by the way Joan Sutherland's voice rose to a crescendo with a full orchestra tracking behind and it seemed like this was the only sound left in the whole universe, and Dad went "Ahaah!" and jumped out of his chair. He stood in the vibrating doorway, with his hands on his hips, like an athlete who has just beaten everyone on the field. Then he turned everything off.

There was a deathly quiet. Not a leaf stirred on the trees, not a bird sang. It was quite possible they were all dead, or migrating to another country. The dog came out from under the couch and watched us. His tail was down, and he looked terribly sorry about something he might have done under the couch.

"That's the way to treat thoughtless neighbors!" laughed Dad in an evil sort of way.