شبی با عروسک زنده فصل 03

Night of the Living Dummy - Chapter 3

“Who was that on the phone?” Mr. Powell asked, shoveling another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

Lindy slipped back into her place at the table. “It was Mrs. Marshall. Down the block.”

“Does she want you to baby-sit?” Mrs. Powell asked, reaching for the salad bowl. She turned to Kris. “Don’t you want any salad?” Kris wiped spaghetti sauce off her chin with her napkin. “Maybe later.”

“No,” Lindy answered. “She wants me to perform. At Amy’s birthday party. With Slappy.”

“Your first job,” Mr. Powell said, a smile crossing his slender face.

“Amy and Ben liked Slappy so much, they insisted on him,” Lindy said. “Mrs. Marshall is going to pay me twenty dollars.” “That’s great!” their mother exclaimed. She passed the salad bowl across the table to her husband.

It had been a week since Lindy rescued Slappy from the trash Dumpster. Every day after school, she had spent hours up in her room rehearsing with him, working on his voice, practicing not moving her lips, thinking up jokes to perform with him.

Kris kept insisting the whole thing was dumb. “I can’t believe you’re being such a nerd,” she told her sister. She refused to be an audience for Lindy’s routines.

But when Lindy brought Slappy into school on Friday, Kris’ attitude began to change. A group of kids had gathered around Lindy outside her locker.

As Lindy made Slappy talk for them, Kris watched from down the hall. She’s going to make a total fool of herself, Kris thought.

But to her surprise, the kids hooted and howled. They thought Slappy was a riot. Even Robby Martin, the guy Kris had had a crush on for two years, thought Lindy was terrific.

Watching Robby laugh along with the other kids made Kris think hard. Becoming a ventriloquist might be fun.

And profitable. Lindy was going to earn twenty dollars at the Marshalls’ birthday party. And when word got around, she’d probably perform at a lot of parties and earn even more money.

After dinner that evening, Lindy and Kris washed and dried the dishes. Then Lindy asked her parents if she could practice her new comedy routine on them. She hurried up to her room to get Slappy.

Mr. and Mrs. Powell took a seat on the living room couch. “Maybe Lindy will be a TV star,” Mrs. Powell said.

“Maybe,” Mr. Powell agreed, settling back on the couch, a pleased smile on his face. Barky yapped and climbed between Mr. and Mrs. Powell, his tiny stub of a tail wagging furiously.

“You know you’re not allowed on the couch,” Mrs. Powell said, sighing. But she made no move to push Barky off.

Kris sat down away from the others, on the floor by the steps, cradling her chin in her hands.

“You’re looking glum this evening,” her father remarked.

“Can I get a dummy, too?” Kris asked. She hadn’t really planned to say it. The question just popped out of her mouth.

Lindy came back into the room, carrying Slappy around the waist. “Ready?” she asked. She pulled a dining room chair into the center of the living room and sat down on it.

“Well, can I?” Kris repeated.

“You really want one, too?” Mrs. Powell asked, surprised.

“Want what?” Lindy asked, confused.

“Kris says she wants a dummy, too,” Mrs. Powell reported.

“No way,” Lindy said heatedly. “Why do you want to be such a copycat?”

“It looks like fun,” Kris replied, her cheeks turning bright pink. “If you can do it, I can do it, too,” she added shrilly.

“You always copy everything I do,” Lindy protested angrily. “Why don’t you find something of your own for once? Go upstairs and work on your junk jewelry collection. That’s your hobby. Let me be the ventriloquist.” “Girls”—Mr. Powell started, raising a hand for quiet—“please, don’t fight over a dummy.”

“I really think I’d be better at it,” Kris said. “I mean, Lindy isn’t very funny.”

“Everyone thinks I’m funny,” Lindy insisted.

“That’s not very nice, Kris,” Mrs. Powell scolded.

“Well, I just think if Lindy has one, I should be able to have one, too,” Kris said to her parents.

“Copycat,” Lindy repeated, shaking her head. “You’ve been putting me down all week. You said it was nerdy. But I know why you changed your mind. You’re upset because I’m going to earn some money and you’re not.” “I really wish you two wouldn’t argue about everything,” Mr. Powell said disgustedly.

“Well, can I have a dummy?” Kris asked him.

“They’re expensive,” Mr. Powell replied, glancing at his wife. “A good one will cost more than a hundred dollars. I really don’t think we can afford to buy one now.” “Why don’t you both share Slappy?” Mrs. Powell suggested.

“Huh?” Lindy’s mouth dropped open in protest.

“You two always share everything,” Mrs. Powell continued. “So why don’t you share Slappy?”

“But, Mom—” Lindy whined unhappily.

“Excellent idea,” Mr. Powell interrupted. He motioned to Kris. “Try it out. After you share him for a while, I’m sure one of you will lose interest in him. Maybe even both of you.” Kris climbed to her feet and walked over to Lindy. She reached out for the dummy. “I don’t mind sharing,” she said quietly, searching her sister’s eyes for approval of the idea. “Can I hold him for just a second?” Lindy held onto Slappy tightly.

Suddenly the dummy’s head tilted back and his mouth opened wide. “Beat it, Kris!” he snarled in a harsh raspy voice. “Get lost, you stupid moron!” Before Kris could back away, Slappy’s wooden hand shot up, and he slapped her hard across the face.