"SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER"
by
Stephen King
ACT 1
FADE IN ON:
KATIE WEIDERMAN'S MOUTH, ECU
She's speaking into the telephone. Pretty mouth; in a few seconds we'll see that the rest of her is just as pretty.
KATIE
Bill? Oh, he says he doesn't feel
very well, but he's always like that
between books... can't sleep, thinks
every headache is the first symptom
of a brain tumor... once he gets going
on something new, he'll be fine.
SOUND, B.G.: THE TELEVISION.
THE CAMERA DRAWS BACK. KATIE is sitting in the kitchen phone nook, having a good gab with her sister while she idles through some catalogues. We should notice one not-quite-ordinary thing about the phone she's on: it's the sort with two lines. There are LIGHTED BUTTONS to show which ones are engaged. Right now only one- KATIE'S- is. As KATIE CONTINUES HER CONVERSATION, THE CAMERA SWINGS AWAY FROM HER, TRACKS ACROSS THE KITCHEN, and through the arched doorway that leads into the family room.
KATIE (voice, fading)
Oh, I saw Janie Charlton today... yes!
Big as a house!
She fades. The TV gets louder. There are three kids: JEFF, eight, CONNIE, ten, and DENNIS, thirteen. "Wheel Of Fortune" is on, but they're not watching. Instead, they're engaged in that great pastime, Fighting About What Comes On Later.
JEFF
Come onnn! It was his first book!
CONNIE
His first gross book.
DENNIS
We're gonna watch "Cheers" and "Wings,"
just like we do every week, Jeff.
DENNIS speaks with the utter finality only a big brother can manage. "Wanna talk about it some more and see how much pain I can inflict on your scrawny body, Jeff?" his face says.
JEFF
Could we at least tape it?
CONNIE
We're taping CNN for Mom. She said she
might be on the phone with Aunt Lois
for quite awhile.
JEFF
How can you tape CNN, for God's sake?
It never stops!
DENNIS
That's what she likes about it.
CONNIE
And don't say God's sake, Jeffie- you're
not old enough to talk about God except
in church.
JEFF
Then don't call me Jeffie.
CONNIE
Jeffie, Jeffie, Jeffie.
JEFF gets up, walks to the window, and looks out into the dark. He's really upset. DENNIS and CONNIE, in the grand tradition of older brothers and sisters, are delighted to see it.
DENNIS
Poor Jeffie.
CONNIE
I think he's gonna commit suicide.
JEFF (turns to them)
It was his first book! Don't you guys
even care?
CONNIE
Rent it down at the Video Stop tomorrow,
if you want to see it so bad.
JEFF
They don't rent R-rated pictures to
little kids and you know it!
CONNIE (dreamily)
Shut up, it's Vanna! I love Vanna!
JEFF
Dennis-
DENNIS
Go ask Dad to tape it on the VCR in his
office and quit being such a totally
annoying little booger.
JEFF crosses the room, poking his tongue out at Vanna White as he goes. THE CAMERA FOLLOWS as he goes into the kitchen.
KATIE
...so when he asked me if Polly had
tested positive, I had to remind him
she's away at prep school... and God,
Lois, I miss her.
JEFF is just passing through, on his way to the stairs.
KATIE
Will you kids please be quiet?
JEFF (glum)
They'll be quiet. Now.
He goes up the stairs, a little dejected. KATIE looks after him, loving and worried.
KATIE
They're squabbling again. Polly used
to keep them in line, but now that
she's away at school... I don't know...
maybe sending her to Bolton wasn't
such a hot idea. Sometimes when she
calls home she sounds so unhappy.
INT. BELA LUGOSI AS DRACULA, CU
Drac's standing at the door of his Transylvanian castle. Someone has pasted a comic-balloon coming out of his mouth which reads: "Listen! My children of the night! What music they make!" The poster is on a door but we only see this as JEFF opens it and goes into his father's study.
INT. A PHOTOGRAPH OF KATIE, CU
THE CAMERA HOLDS, THEN PANS SLOWLY RIGHT. We pass another photo, this one of POLLY, the daughter away at school. She's a lovely girl of sixteen or so. Past POLLY is DENNIS... then CONNIE... then JEFF.
THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO PAN AND ALSO WIDENS OUT so we can see BILL WEIDERMAN, a man of about forty-four. He looks tired. He's peering into the word-processor on his desk, but his mental crystal ball must be taking the night off, because the screen is blank. On the walls we see framed book-covers. All of them are spooky. One of the titles is "Ghost Kiss."
JEFF comes up quietly behind his dad. The carpet muffles his feet. BILL sighs and shuts off the word-cruncher. A moment later JEFF claps his hands on his father's shoulders.
JEFF
BOOGA-BOOGA!
BILL
Hi, Jeffie.
He turns in his chair to look at his son, who is disappointed.
JEFF
How come you didn't get scared?
BILL
Scaring is my business. I'm case-hardened.
Something wrong?
JEFF
Daddy, can I watch the first hour of
"Ghost Kiss" and you tape the rest?
Dennis and Connie are hogging everything.
BILL swivels to look at the book-jacket, bemused.
BILL
You sure you want to watch that, champ?
It's pretty-
JEFF
Yes!
INT. KATIE, IN THE PHONE NOOK
In this shot, we clearly see the stairs leading to her husband's study behind her.
KATIE
I really think Jeff needs the
orthodontic work but you know Bill-
The other line rings. The other light stutters.
KATIE
That's just the other line. Bill will-
But now we see BILL and JEFF coming downstairs behind her.
BILL
Honey, where're the blank videotapes?
I can't find any in the study and-
KATIE (to BILL)
Wait!
(to LOIS)
Gonna put you on hold a sec, Lo.
She does. Now both lines are blinking. She pushes the top one, where the new call has just come in.
KATIE
Hello, Weiderman residence.
SOUND: DESPERATE SOBBING.
SOBBING VOICE (filter)
Take... please take... t-t-
KATIE
Polly? Is that you? What's wrong?
SOUND: SOBBING. It's awful, heartbreaking.
SOBBING VOICE (filter)
Please-quick-
SOUND: SOBBING... Then, CLICK! A broken connection.
KATIE
Polly, calm down! Whatever it is can't
be that b-
HUM OF AN OPEN LINE.
JEFF has wandered toward the TV room, hoping to find a blank tape.
BILL
Who was that?
Without looking at her husband or answering him, KATIE slams the lower button in again.
KATIE
Lois? Listen, I'll call you back.
That was Polly, and she sounded very
upset. No... she hung up. Yes. I will.
Thanks.
She hangs up.
BILL (concerned)
It was Polly?
KATIE
Crying her head off. It sounded like
she was trying to say "Please take me
home"... I knew that damn school was
bumming her out... Why I ever let you
talk me into it...
She's rummaging frantically on her little phone desk. Catalogues go slithering to the floor around her stool.
KATIE
Connie did you take my address book?
CONNIE (voice)
No, Mom.
BILL pulls a battered book out of his back pocket and pages through it.
BILL
I got it. Except-
KATIE
I know, damn dorm phone is always busy.
Give it to me.
BILL
Honey, calm down.
KATIE
I'll calm down after I talk to her. She
is sixteen, Bill. Sixteen-year-old girls
are prone to depressive interludes.
Sometimes they even k... just give me the
damn number!
BILL
617-555-8641.
As she punches the numbers, THE CAMERA SLIDES IN TO CU.
KATIE
Come on, come on... don't be busy...
just this once...
SOUND: CLICKS. A pause. Then... the phone starts ringing.
KATIE (eyes closed)
Thank You, God.
VOICE (filter)
Hartshorn Hall, this is Frieda. If you
want Christine the Sex Queen, she's
still in the shower, Arnie.
KATIE
Could you call Polly to the phone? Polly
Weiderman? This is Katie Weiderman. Her
mother.
VOICE (filter)
Oh, Jeez! Sorry. I thought- hang on,
please, Mrs. Weiderman.
SOUND: THE PHONE CLUNKS DOWN.
VOICE (filter, and very faint)
Polly? Pol?... Phone call!... It's
your mother!
INT. A WIDER ANGLE ON THE PHONE NOOK, WITH BILL
BILL
Well?
KATIE
Somebody's getting her, I hope.
JEFF comes back in with a tape.
JEFF
I found one, Dad. Dennis hid em. As
usual.
BILL
In a minute, Jeff. Go watch the tube.
JEFF
But-
BILL
I won't forget. Now go on.
JEFF goes.
KATIE
Come on, come on, come on...
BILL
Calm down, Katie.
KATIE (snaps)
If you'd heard her, you wouldn't tell
me to calm down! She sounded-
POLLY (filter, cheery voice)
Hi, mom!
KATIE
Pol? Honey? Are you all right?
POLLY (happy, bubbling voice)
Am I all right? I aced my bio exam,
got a B on my French Conversational Essay,
and Ronnie Hansen asked me to the Harvest
Ball. I'm so all right that if one more
good thing happens to me today, I'll
probably blow up like the Hindenburg.
KATIE
You didn't just call me up, crying your
head off?
We see by KATIE's face that she already knows the answer to this question.
POLLY (filter)
Heck no!
KATIE
I'm glad about your test and your date,
honey. I guess it was someone else. I'll
call you back, okay?
POLLY (filter)
'Kay. Say hi to Dad!
KATIE
I will.
INT. THE PHONE NOOK, WIDER
BILL
She okay?
KATIE
Fine. I could have sworn it was Polly,
but... she's walking on air.
BILL
So it was a prank. Or someone who was
crying so hard she dialed a wrong
number... "through a shimmering film of
tears," as we veteran hacks like to say.
KATIE
It was not a prank and it was not a
wrong number! It was someone in my family!
BILL
Honey, you can't know that.
KATIE
No? If Jeffie called up, just crying,
would you know it was him?
BILL (struck by this)
Yeah, maybe. I guess I might.
She's not listening. She's punching numbers.
BILL
Who you calling?
She doesn't answer him. SOUND: PHONE RINGS TWICE. Then:
OLDER FEMALE VOICE (filter)
Hello?
KATIE
Mom? Are you... (She pauses) Did you
call just a few seconds ago?
VOICE (filter)
No, dear... why?
KATIE
Oh... you know these phones. I was
talking to Lois and I lost the other
call.
VOICE (filter)
Well, it wasn't me. Kate, I saw the
prettiest dress in La Boutique today,
and-
KATIE
We'll talk about it later, Mom, okay?
VOICE (filter)
Kate, are you all right?
KATIE
I have... Mom, I think maybe I've got
diarrhea. I have to go. 'Bye.
She hangs up. BILL hangs on until she does, then he bursts into wild donkey-brays of LAUGHTER.
BILL
Oh boy... diarrhea... I gotta remember
that the next time my agent calls... oh
Katie, that was so cool-
KATIE (almost screaming)
This is not funny!
BILL stops laughing.
INT. THE TV ROOM
JEFF and DENNIS have been tussling. They stop. All three kids look toward the kitchen.
INT. THE PHONE NOOK, WITH BILL AND KATIE
KATIE
I tell you it was someone in my family
and she sounded- oh, you don't understand.
I knew that voice.
BILL
But if Polly's okay and your mom's okay...
KATIE (positive)
It's Dawn.
BILL
Come on, hon, a minute ago you were sure
it was Polly.
KATIE
It had to be Dawn. I was on the phone with
Lois and Mom's okay so Dawn's the only other
one it could have been. She's the youngest...
I could have mistaken her for Polly... and
she's out there in that farmhouse alone with
the baby!
BILL (startled)
What do you mean, alone?
KATIE
Jerry's in Burlington! It's Dawn!
Something's happened to Dawn!
CONNIE comes into the kitchen, worried.
CONNIE
Mom? Is Aunt Dawn okay?
BILL
So far as we know, she's fine. Take
it easy, doll. Bad to buy trouble
before you know it's on sale.
KATIE punches numbers and listens. SOUND: The DAH-DAH-DAH of a busy signal. KATIE hangs up. BILL looks a question at her with raised eyebrows.
KATIE
Busy.
BILL
Katie, are you sure-
KATIE
She's the only one left- it had to be
her. Bill, I'm scared. Will you drive
me out there?
BILL takes the phone from her.
BILL
What's her number?
KATIE
555-6169.
BILL dials. Gets a busy. Hangs up and punches 0.
OPERATOR (filter)
Operator.
BILL
I'm trying to reach my sister-in-law,
operator. The line is busy. I suspect
there may be a problem. Can you break
into the call, please?
INT. THE DOOR TO THE TV ROOM
All three kids standing there, silent and worried.
INT. THE PHONE NOOK, WITH BILL AND KATIE
OPERATOR (filter)
What is your name, sir?
BILL
William Weiderman. My number is-
OPERATOR (filter)
Not the William Weiderman that wrote
"Spider Doom?!"
BILL
Yes, that was mine. If-
OPERATOR (filter)
Oh my God, I just loved that book! I love
all your books! I-
BILL
I'm delighted you do. But right now my wife
is very worried about her sister. If it's
possible for you to-
OPERATOR (filter)
Yes, I can do that. Please give me your
number, Mr. Weiderman, for the records.
(She GIGGLES) I promise not to give it out.
BILL
It's 555-4408.
OPERATOR (filter)
And the call number?
BILL (looks at KATIE)
Uh...
KATIE
555-6169.
BILL
555-6169.
OPERATOR (filter)
Just a moment, Mr. Weiderman... "Night
of the Beast" was also great, by the way.
Hold on.
SOUND: TELEPHONIC CLICKS AND CLACKS.
KATIE
Is she-
BILL
Yes. Just...
There's one final CLICK.
OPERATOR (filter)
I'm sorry, Mr. Weiderman, but that line
is not busy. It's off the hook. I wonder
if I sent you my copy of "Spider Doom-"
BILL hangs up the phone.
KATIE
Why did you hang up?
BILL
She can't break in. Phone's not busy. It's
off the hook.
They stare at each other blankly.
EXT. A LOW SLUNG SPORTS CAR PASSES THE CAMERA NIGHT
INT. THE CAR, WITH KATIE AND BILL
KATIE's scared. BILL, at the wheel, doesn't look exactly calm.
KATIE
Hey, Bill-tell me she's all right.
BILL
She's all right.
KATIE
Now tell me what you really think.
BILL
Jeff snuck up behind me tonight and
put the old booga-booga on me. He was
disappointed as hell when I didn't
jump. I told him I was case-hardened.
(Pause) I lied.
KATIE
Why did Jerry have to move out there
when he's gone half the time? Just her
and that little tiny baby? Why?
BILL
Shhh, Kate. We're almost there.
KATIE
Go faster.
EXT. THE CAR
He does. That car is smoking.
INT. THE WEIDERMAN TV ROOM
The tube's still on and the kids are still there, but the horsing around has stopped.
CONNIE
Dennis, do you think Aunt Dawn's okay?
DENNIS (thinks she's dead, decapitated
by a maniac)
Yeah. Sure she is.
INT. THE PHONE, POV FROM THE TV ROOM
Just sitting there on the wall in the phone nook, lights dark, looking like a snake ready to strike.
FADE OUT.
ACT II
EXT. AN ISOLATED FARMHOUSE
A long driveway leads up to it. There's one light on in the living room. Car lights sweep up the driveway. The WEIDERMAN car pulls up close to the garage and stops.
INT. THE CAR, WITH BILL AND KATIE
KATIE
I'm scared.
BILL bends down, reaches under his seat, and brings out a pistol.
BILL (solemnly)
Booga-booga.
KATIE (total surprise)
How long have you had that?
BILL
Since last year. I didn't want to
scare you or the kids. I've got a
license to carry. Come on.
EXT. BILL AND KATIE
They get out. KATIE stands by the front of the car while BILL goes to the garage and peers in.
BILL
Her car's here.
THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH THEM to the front door. Now we can hear the TV, PLAYING LOUD. BILL pushes the doorbell. We hear it inside. They wait. KATIE pushes it. Still no answer. She pushes it again and doesn't take her finger off. BILL looks down at:
EXT. THE LOCK, BILL'S POV
Big scratches on it.
EXT. BILL AND KATIE
BILL (low)
The lock's been tampered with.
KATIE looks, and whimpers. BILL tries the door. It opens. The TV is louder.
BILL
Stay behind me. Be ready to run if
something happens. God, I wish I'd
left you home, Kate.
He starts in. KATIE comes after him, terrified, near tears.
INT. DAWN AND JERRY'S LIVING ROOM
From this angle we see only a small section of the room. The TV is much louder. BILL enters the room, gun up. He looks to the right... and suddenly all the tension goes out of him. He lowers the gun.
KATIE (draws up beside him)
Bill... what...
He points.
INT. THE LIVING ROOM, WIDE, BILL AND KATIE'S POV
The place looks like a cyclone hit it... but it wasn't robbery or murder that caused this mess; only a healthy eighteen-month-old baby. After a strenuous day of trashing the living room, Baby got tired and Mommy got tired and they fell asleep on the couch together. The baby is in DAWN's lap. There is a pair of Walkman earphones on her head. There are toys- tough plastic Sesame Street and PlaySkool stuff, for the most part- scattered hell to breakfast. The baby has also pulled most of the books out of the bookcase. Had a good munch on one of them, too, by the look. BILL goes over and picks it up. It is "Ghost Kiss."
BILL
I've had people say they just eat my
books up, but this is ridiculous.
He's amused. KATIE isn't. She walks over to her sister, ready to be mad... but she sees how really exhausted DAWN looks and softens.
INT. DAWN AND THE BABY, KATIE'S POV
Fast asleep and breathing easily, like a Raphael painting of Madonna and Child. THE CAMERA PANS DOWN TO: the Walkman. We can hear the faint strains of Huey Lewis and the News. THE CAMERA PANS A BIT FURTHER TO a Princess telephone on the table by the chair. It's off the cradle. Not much; just enough to break the connection and scare people to death.
INT. KATIE
She sighs, bends down, and replaces the phone. Then she pushes the STOP button on the Walkman.
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