"What's that?" Harriet asked as she sauntered into the kitchen of the home she shared with her friends Annabelle and Chloe.
          "I have no idea," Annabelle replied as she kept her eyes focussed on the small brown package on the table in front of her.
          "You're not going to open it?" Harriet queried.
          "What if it's a bomb?" Annabelle declared.
          "A bomb? Who on earth is going to send you a bomb?" Harriet chided as she switched the kettle on.
          "You never know. I could have upset someone in the past."
          "Belle, you're an accountant not some outspoken politician."
          "Fine, it might contain anthrax though."
          "Well, if you open it and suddenly keel over, I'll remember to point it out to the morgue staff," Harriet scorned as she hunted through the cupboards for her favorite mug.
          "Maybe some sicko is sending me human remains," Annabelle suggested wrinkling her nose at the thought.
          "Nah, you'd smell rotting flesh a mile away," Harriet sighed as she turned her attention to the teabags. "You could, and I'm going out on a limb here, just open it."
          "I can't, what if someone got the addresses muddled up and I receive some perverts collection of marital aids?"
          "It's hardly big enough to contain anything of that nature."
          "Still, I'd hate to open it and be confronted by anything inflatable," Annabelle grimaced.
          Annabelle and Harriet's conversation was interrupted by a key in the front door and the appearance, several seconds later of Chloe who looked at them both strangely before noticing the parcel on the table.
          "What's in the box?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
          "We don't know, Belle is convinced its something unsavory," Harriet sighed as she stood next to Annabelle with her steaming cup of tea.
          "She's right you know, it could be illegal drugs," Chloe nodded and headed toward the fridge.
          "See, I'm not totally insane," Annabelle huffed and crossed her arms.
          "No, not totally," Harriet smirked. "Maybe it's a free sample of something, shampoo or leg wax."
          "The box is far to big for leg wax," Chloe laughed "Besides, I prefer the idea of it being something insidious."
          "Maybe you have a secret admirer" Harriet continued. The three friends looked at each other and broke into laughter. "No, that was going to far."
          "Perhaps it's one of those awful companies that tries to suck you in by sending you free merchandise that you have to pay for after eight days?" Chloe shrugged.
          "She's got a point," Harriet nodded.
          Annabelle looked at the expectant faces of her friends "Fine, I'll open it but if its something nasty and I'm traumatised for life I blame you both." She picked up the box from the table and tore back the brown tape that held the flaps closed. "Oh my god," Annabelle gasped when she looked inside.
          "What is it?" Harriet and Chloe gasped stepping forward.
          "Bloody Reader's Digest" Annabelle huffed "And I thought I'd lost them after we moved," She added dropping a copy of Jane Eyre onto the table.
          "I would have preferred the anthrax" Harriet chided and was glared at by Annabelle.
          "Well, that was a disappointing anti-climax" Chloe sighed as she sipped a can of cola. "I was hoping for free merchandise."
          "I'll use it as a doorstop" Annabelle remarked as the doorbell rang. She hurried to the front door and returned seconds later another parcel.>br/> "Another one?" Harriet gasped.
          "It's for you," Annabelle smiled and shoved the box into her friend's hands. "It's probably just another book."
          "How do you know?" Harriet gasped. "It might be a bomb." Annabelle started to giggle and Chloe dropped her head into her hands.