Storm of the Century by Stephen King Read Free Book Online

and the beanie propeller on “ROBBIE BEALS’S” head slowly BEGINS TO TURN.

    30 INTERIOR: THE STAIRWELL OF THE ANDERSON HOUSE.

    PIPPA is still stuck with her head through the posts, but MOLLY is sitting beside her on the stairs and has her calmed down quite a bit. The CHILDREN still cluster around, watching her. MOLLY strokes PIPPA’S hair with one hand. In her other, MOLLY is holding PIPPA’S bread and jam.

PIPPA
    How can he?

MOLLY
    I don’t know. He’s just magic that way.

PIPPA
    I’m hungry.

    MOLLY gets her arm through the bars and maneuvers the bread to PIPPA’S mouth. PIPPA eats. The other KIDS watch this with fascination. One, a boy of five, is JILL ROBICHAUX’S son.

HARRY ROBICHAUX
    Can I feed her, Missus Anderson? I fed a monkey once, at the Bangor Fair.

    The other kids laugh. PIPPA is not amused.

PIPPA
    I’m not a monkey, Harry! I’m a child, not a monkey!

DON BEALS
    Look, you guys, I’m a monkey!

    He starts leaping around at the foot of the stairs, scratching under his armpits and being foolish as only a four-year-old can be. At once, the others start imitating him. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

PIPPA
    I am not a monkey!

    And begins to cry. MOLLY strokes her hair, but can’t talk her out of this one. Getting your head stuck between the bars is bad; being called a monkey is even worse.

MOLLY
    You kids, stop that! Stop it right now! It’s not nice, and it’s making Pippa sad!

    Most of them stop, but DON BEALS, a little booger of the purest ray serene, goes on prancing and scratching.

MOLLY
    Don, you stop. It’s mean.

RALPHIE
    Momma says it’s mean.

    He tries to grab hold of DON. DON shakes him off.

DON BEALS
    I’m bein’ a monkey!

    DON does the monkey thing twice as hard, just to spite RALPHIE . . . and RALPHIE’S mother, of course. The hall door opens. MIKE and HATCH come in. HATCH sees the problem at once and reacts with a mixture of fright and relief.

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PIPPA
    Daddee!

    She starts yanking backward again, trying to free herself.

HATCH
    Pippa! Hold still! You want to yank your ears right off your head?

RALPHIE
    (runs to MIKE)
    Daddy! Pippa got her head stuck and Don won’t stop being a monkey!

    RALPHIE leaps into his father’s arms. HATCH climbs to where his daughter has been caught by the incredible girl-eating stairs and kneels by her. MOLLY looks over her back at her husband and sends a message with her eyes: “Please fix this!”

    A CUTE LITTLE BLONDE GIRL with pigtails pulls at the pocket of MIKE’S white butcher’s pants. She is wearing most of her own strawberry jam treat on the front of her shirt.

SALLY GODSOE
    Mr. Anderson? I stopped being a monkey. As soon as she said.

    SALLY points to MOLLY. MIKE gently disengages her. SALLY, another four-year-old, promptly pops her thumb into her mouth.

MIKE
    That’s good, Sally. Ralphie, got to put you down now.
    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

    He puts RALPHIE down. DON BEALS promptly pushes him.

RALPHIE
    Ow, hey! Why’d you do that?

DON BEALS
    For acting smart!

    It comes out “sma’aat.” MIKE picks DON BEALS up and raises him to eye level. DON isn’t afraid a bit, the little craphead.

DON BEALS
    I ain’t afraid of you! My dad’s town manager! He pays your salary!

    He sticks out his tongue and BLOWS A RASPBERRY right in MIKE’S face. MIKE isn’t the slightest put out of countenance.

MIKE
    Pushers get pushed, Donnie Beals. You want to remember that, because it’s a true fact of this sad life. Pushers get pushed.

    DON doesn’t understand, but reacts to the tone. He’ll get up to more dickens eventually, but he’s been put in his place for the time being. MIKE puts DON down and goes to the side of the stairs. Behind him we see a half-open door marked WEE FOLKS. In the room beyond the door are little tables and chairs. Happy,