Obsidian Pebble by Rhys Jones Page B

viewfinder, which helped locate whatever you wanted to look at. It was centred now on Penwurt where Tim, magnified enough to see the pimples on his nose, was up the ladder. But Sydney was right; he did have a steel measuring tape out along the length of the guttering and was scribbling something down in a book. Oz could even see the writing on the pen he was using,
    â€œMaybe he wants to know how many yards of guttering he’s cleaned. Or he’s thinking of replacing some damaged bit. He’s very, uh…helpful like that,” he said as Tim put the tape away and got out a scoop, ready to do some more de-crudding. Oz sat back, impressed. “This is awesomely powerful.”
    â€œWe see all sorts of things from up here,” Savannah said, grinning. “But we don’t watch you all the time.”
    â€œNo, we watch other people, too,” added Sydney. “Last weekend we watched you and your friend Rufus and that girl Ellie playing games.”
    â€œOh, yeah?” Oz said airily, not knowing what else to say but making a mental note to make sure his curtains were completely closed every day. He turned again to the telescope and Sydney showed him how to change the magnification and how to use the laser sight to pan, while Oz joked about being glad this wasn’t a rifle, which triggered a burst of giggling from the girls.
    â€œWe like it when you come to visit. We think you’re funny,” the twins sang together. But Oz only half-heard them. He’d picked up two other people on the grounds of Penwurt. One of them was Caleb, and he seemed to be trying to reason with a very animated Lucy Bishop, who was pacing up and down and waving her arms about with a very fierce look on her face.
    Savannah was saying, “There’s an attachment for a camera, too, if you wanted—”
    â€œâ€”to take pictures,” Sydney finished off the sentence.
    â€œReally?” Oz said, and pulled back as the twins leaned in close to show him. When he looked again through the eyepiece, Caleb and Lucy Bishop were gone.
    They spent another half-hour with the telescope. The girls took it to the other side of the loft, where another window looked down over Seabourne itself. It was even possible to see the names of the tankers as they pulled in and out of the docks, kids playing in the street a mile away, dogs in the park where Ellie and Ruff had played football that morning. But Oz was relieved when Sydney eventually said, “Are you hungry? I’m starving.”
    Downstairs, the sandwiches were mainly pink, too—prawn mayonnaise, salmon, honey roast ham and tuna spread. But they were delicious, and especially so with the pink lemonade. He couldn’t believe how neat everything was. After he’d eaten a plateful under the girls’ watchful eyes, Oz was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. Long stretches of silence were a feature of spending time with S and S. They didn’t seem to need to speak, and sometimes Oz wondered if they could communicate telepathically. Desperate for something to say, Oz ventured, “Did your mum and dad make you tidy up because of the party?”
    â€œWe didn’t tidy up. This is how it always is,” Savannah said.
    In his head, Oz could hear Ruff saying “buzzard.”
    â€œSo, what about this video game you were going to show me?”
    Sydney got up and walked over to a shelf and came back with what looked like a pair of very chunky sunglasses. “It’s not really a video game, because there isn’t a video or a DVD.”
    Oz frowned.
    â€œIt’s called a Spectrum Experience Unit. SPEXIT for short. It’s not on sale yet. My dad knows the owner of the company that makes it and they gave us one to try out. Go on, it’s amazing.”
    Oz took the glasses. They were heavier, and the arms slightly thicker, than ordinary sunglasses. They fitted snugly over his ears and once on, the room descended into