TheMegaphone
WrittenBy L. D. Meyer
©2025L.D.Meyer
Publisher: BoD· BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 11442Stockholm,Sweden, bod@bod.se
Printer: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763Hamburg,Germany
ISBN:978-91-8080-922-1
Chapter1
Theapartment building at 24 BjörkgataninFalköping wasn't especially well insulated, afactthatdawnedon thetenants when ProfessorElaineMilton'sexperiment sent apowerfulvibration throughthe building.
Thetremorwas aconsequence of Elaine's initialtesting of hernew invention. Shehad just pluggeditintothe home's mainsand sure enough,the plugsheldasshe hadpredicted,but thelarge antenna-metalbox started shakingterribly. Thefloor vibrated to theextentthat Elaine lost herbalance.She stood on herheadinher well-keptflat,and it took aboutten secondsbefore she regained enough composuretocrawl to thepower outlet. With aswift motion,she pulledthe plug,and thetemporary earthquake in thebuildingstoppedassuddenlyasithad started.
It took no more than tenseconds.Inthatshort time, Elaine's inventionmanaged to causequite acommotion forthe neighbours in theapartment building.
Theminor earthquake certainlydidn’tgounnoticed.So far, Elaine hadmanaged to keep herinterestininventing a secret,meaning no oneinthe building hadthe faintest idea what wasgoing on.Outside oneofthe apartments on thewestsideofthe building,the sunset begantocast
itswarmlight over awell-preservedparquet floor. At this time,itwas always teatimefor theelderly couple wholived there. Thus,Mr. andMrs.Erikssonsat there sipping theirtea.
Just before thelocal earthquake began, Mrs. Eriksson got up to answer thephone.Inwhatcan only be describedas an unusualmanoeuvre,she decidedtoblow-dryher hair whilechatting.
"Yes,you wouldn’t believeit,"saidSiw,asthe hairdryerwhirredand roared."Bengtssoninsistedonremoving thejuniper bush.Heclaimed it hadgrown so largeby nowthatitcovered half theentrance. Yes, that's exactly what he said...What? No,no. Notexactly."
Herhusband,Claes-Åke,sighed.
Ulla,who loveda good gossip,could chat with hiswife forhours on end. Theirpeacefulteatimewas alreadyoff to a rockystart,but Elaine’s inventionchose that momentto make things even worse. As if that wasn’t enough,ClaesÅkemanaged to spillhis entire cupoftea onto theold Persiancarpet– inheritedfromhis mother-in-law. Thenext tenseconds seemed to stretchonforever,withClaesÅkegrippingthe armrestlikehis very survival depended on it,tryingtoavoid aratherundignified face-first meeting with thefloor.
At theexact moment Elaine unpluggedher invention, Mrs. Eriksson hung up thephone.
"Can Icallyou back later?"she askedher friend. "Something's come up that Ineedtodealwithfirst."
Theever-curiousUlla, neverone to miss ajuicy detail, reluctantlyagreed, butnot beforeadding:
"Yes,ofcourse, Siw. Butwhatexactly has happened?" ButSiw hadalready hung up.
Thebuttononthe hair dryerwas turned off, anda flush spread across Siw'scheeksasshe took afew shortsteps towardsClaes-Åke.Her husbandsat in hisarmchairlooking generallybewildered.
"Goodheavens!" he exclaimed."What wasthat?"
Siwtooka fewmoreshort stepstowards him. Short stepssignalled greatirritationinher case.
"I'lltellyou what it was" shesaid, hervoice cold."It wasyou whoruinedmom's Persian carpet."
"But dear,didn'tyou notice theearthquake?"ClaesÅkesaid, notholding back hisastonishment.
"Don't trytomakeexcuses.Oh, howdisappointedI am in you. Youknowhow much Ilovethiscarpet." Suddenly,itseemedtodawnonClaes-Åke.
"Itwas,ofcourse, thehairdryer andthe phonecall," he burstout."Youdidn'tnoticeanything. Butitwas an earthquake,Siw.I tell you, an earthquake..."
"You always have to exaggerate.I'm tiredofyou.So tired!"
Andthus, thefirst roundofthe argument began, but dear readers, we won'tlingertolistentosuchbickering. Instead, letuspay attentiontoa fewmoreeventsin theapartment building this evening.
On thefirst floor, whichwas at ground level, lived Amanda andAlbert. Notinthe same apartment, though. Amanda rented theflatonthe right-hand side of the entrance,while Albert took theroomonthe left-handside.
Amanda wasconnectingher newmicrowave when theshaking in thehouse began. It wasonlynatural for hertothink that thenew householdappliancewas the causeofall thecommotion.
"Thisone’s rather powerful"she said to herself, carefullyavoidingleaning againstthe countertop as the ground shookbeneath herfeet. Shehastily unplugged thecord. Unfortunately, it took afew secondsbeforethe particularly localearthquakeceased.
"There,there,calmdown..." shesaidtothe microwave,awkwardly patting it before it finallystopped vibratingacrossthe countertop.
"Ohmygoodness" Amanda thought. "WhathaveI done?"
In Albert's flat,something quiteinteresting washappening at thesametime. Thefivemembers of thebandEverrock were gathered there. Normally,the groupwas anoisy bunch, butnow,everyonewas completely silent.Albert hadbuilt atallhouse of cardsinfront of himonthe kitchentable.Witha steady hand,hewas convincedhe couldbreak aGuinness WorldRecord.
AndAlbertwas skilled, no doubtabout that.The houseofcards hadgrown tall.Albert'susually steady hand begantotremble.His mouthwas clenched shut,and he carefullyavoided lettingthe guitarist'sordrummer's mobilesdistracthim.Theywerebusydocumenting the record attemptwhile Albert'sfocus wasonpulling off thefeat. He hadalready climbed onto thetable to reach andwas slowly starting to worryifthe ceilingheight wouldbesufficient. Thefriends around thetable held theirbreath. Just afew more cards...
It's hardly necessary to recountwhatfollowed, butit will be mentionednonetheless.
Elaine’s inventionwas boundtocause chaosatthatvery moment.Nomodestorgentlesoulwould dare repeat the
In the quiettownofFalköping, lifeis predictable—until Professor Elaine switches on
In an instant, chaos erupts.
Why does Claes-Åke, the town’smost orderly retiree, suddenly spill tea all over his wife’s prized Persian carpet? HowdoesEverrock,a struggling garage band, become an overnight sensation? And whyare President Grumpy’s
Brimming with humour, unexpected twists, and unforgettable moments, TheMegaphone will keep youengaged her latest invention:The Megaphone.
speeches making even less sensethanusual? unexpected turn. every step of the way.
When the eccentric professor disappears without atrace, the huntfor answers takes an