Sam slumps on the sofa and stares at the ceiling.
"Dangerously high cholesterol levels- lose five stone or you won't see forty. Cut out the beer and the junk food and get some exercise, and by the way, while you're about it, stop smoking." That's what the doctor had told him.
Sam selects Sky on the remote.
"... and now viewers a brand new product- The Weight Shedder programme from Ronk Laboratories. You can lose at least two pounds a day- every day- with this simple programme. No special equipment is needed and it's only £20 a session for the first 5 days; that's just £10 for each pound you lose..."
Sam thinks,
"Two pounds a day- that means I could lose five stone in 35 days; no way. That's bollocks!"
He is just about to switch channels but has second thoughts.
"Just a minute- why not give it a try? £100 won't exactly break the bank and, anyway, if it doesn't work I can just get a refund- what's to lose?"
So Sam phones Ronk and books a week's course. They tell him to be dressed in shorts, sweatshirt, and trainers by 10am on Monday when a rep would call for the first session.
At 10am there is a knock on the door. Sam answers to find a slim Swedish stunner, also wearing sports kit. She says not a word, but with a teasing smile points to a sign around her neck:
'IF YOU CAN CATCH ME, YOU CAN HAVE ME'
She then runs off down the street. In a flash Sam darts after her.
After two miles they reach the town park where she slows slightly. Huffing and puffing Sam catches her up and leads her into the bushes. There he has his way with her. Afterwards she phones for a company car. When it arrives she says to Sam,
"Now you will have to walk home too. Bye!"
Sam feels so good that he runs most of the way home where he weighs himself- not 2lbs loss but 3lbs. He is delighted. He was going to the pub that night but instead fell asleep on the sofa in front of the TV.
On Tuesday morning, in spite of being stiff, Sam is raring to go. Sure enough at 10am there is a knock on the door. This time it's an athletic Norwegian beauty with the same sign around her neck:
'IF YOU CAN CATCH ME, YOU CAN HAVE ME'
Even though she runs faster, Sam still manages to catch her in the park.
When Sam gets home he isn't quite so exhausted. And so it goes on for the rest of the week: each day a different girl and each day the pace increases. Sam is feeling fitter and fitter.
By Saturday he is overjoyed to have lost eleven pounds so he phones Ronk to book another week of sessions. The customer service rep explains that the next phase is much more advanced and would be at the company's standard rate of £80 a session. Sam chokes at the cost but, after a slight hesitation agrees. The rest of Saturday drags and he is so restless on Sunday that he even takes a run to the park and back.
Sam is up and dressed in his sports kit by 8am on Monday. He can hardly wait, but at last it is 10am and there is a knock. Sam opens the door. Standing on the doorstep with his foot in the doorway is a six-foot Turk. He is grinning and pointing to a sign around his neck:
'IF I CATCH YOU, I WILL HAVE YOU'
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