“Aaah!” 

“Stop touching it, Richard!”  Said Cheryl to her brother.  “The more you touch it, the more it’s going to hurt.  The sooner you grasp this, the better.”

Richard sat slumped on his living room sofa by the t.v,, hoping that his favourite serial, ‘Crossroads’ would help to distract him from his toothache.  They were both in their thirties and their parents had gone to Florida for the week.  It was early Summer, a time when people are out and about, enjoying the warm weather, but poor Richard,  because of this toothache, was confined to remain indoors as his tooth had actually become so loose that even when he opened his mouth to speak, it moved back and forth.

    “There’s only one solution now, my dear brother.”  Said Cheryl.  “It’s got to come off.”

    There was an instant look of fear on Richard’s face and he sunk lower down on his sofa.

     “No!  That’s going to hurt a lot!”  “Now,you listen to me very carefully.  There’s absolutely no way that you’re going to pull it off!”  He turned his head to the left, sulking.

  Cheryl didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or thump him.  It was, after all, for his own benefit and so, she lifted the telephone receiver and rang the dentist.

     “Hello, I’d like to book an appointment for my brother, Richard Spencer.  Oh that’s great, 10.30 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Super. Bye!”  Cheryl placed the receiver down on the phone.  She went up to Richard and gave him a sisterly hug.

    “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Richard.  Remember, the pain will only last a few moments as the dentist pulls it out.”

“Oh thanks, Cheryl.  That really makes me feel a lot better!”  She went next door singing to the kitchen and opened the fridge door.  There was chocolate pudding in a glass bowl.  As she lifted it out and lifted the plate that rested on top of it, it didn’t take very long for the smell to reach Richard.