Cecil and Sally Episode 171 - Cecil is sick from the tobacco Date: circa 1930s <p>Characters:</p> <p>CECIL - Sweet teenage boy<br /> SALLY - Sweet teenage girl, thpeakth with a lithp<br /> UNCLE THOMAS - Sally's uncle, who's raising her</p> <p>(Note: Ben Hur is Cecil's car.)</p>(SALLY & CECIL ARE SITTING ON THE PORCH. A FEW MINUTES EARLIER, HE CHEWED TOBACCO FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND IS NOW "DYING".) SALLY: What's the matter, Cecil? Why should you suddenly get sleepy? CECIL: (SHAKILY) I-I don't know. You wanna leave me alone for a while? SALLY: No. (GIGGLE) I wanna stay out here on the porch with you. CECIL: Well-- well, don't talk to me then, huh? Lemme rest a minute. SALLY: All right. (GIGGLE) Why don't you want me to talk to you, Cecil? (NO RESPONSE) I said, why don't you want me to talk to you, Cecil? CECIL: Yes. SALLY: That isn't answering me. CECIL: I know it. SALLY: Cecil, what are you so sleepy for? I don't understand. CECIL: That's good. SALLY: All of a sudden, your eyes sort of closed, and you laid down on the top step. CECIL: I'll be rested in just a minute. (NERVOUS LITTLE LAUGH) I'm funny this way. SALLY: You're getting all dirty. CECIL: There are such things as laundries. SALLY: Cecil... Do you want another glass of water? Are you thirsty? CECIL: (WEAKLY) Thanks. Not right now. SALLY: Cecil, you're not sick, are you? CECIL: (LAUGHS WEAKLY) Well, of course not. SALLY: Well, I didn't know. I thought maybe you might be. (GIGGLE) CECIL: (LAUGHS WEAKLY) Oh, w-w-why should I be sick? SALLY: Well, you were chewing-- trying to chew that old tobacco, a little while ago. That wouldn't make a person sick, would it? CECIL: (WEAK CHUCKLE) Oh, of course not. Not me, anyhow. (WEAKLY) I'm just a little sleepy, that's all. SALLY: Why don't you open your eyes? CECIL: Leave me alone, Sally. SALLY: Cecil, why are you breathing so hard? Goodness! CECIL: W-will you stop asking me questions...please? Whew! SALLY: Cecil, please get up. You look funny lying out here on the front porch. CECIL: Don't pull me, Sally! Don't! Let me alone, willya? SALLY: Cecil. Are you all right? Are you? You look so white. CECIL: (NERVOUS LAUGH) Oh, it's this white sweater I have on. That's all. SALLY: Cecil, your lips are even white. No, they're blue. Cecil... (SHAKING HIM) Cecil! CECIL: (BEING SHAKEN) Please don't shake me, Sally! (IN PAIN) Do anything but shake me. Don't! SALLY: Will you open your eyes? I wanna see what you look like with them open. CECIL: Oh... (OPENS HIS EYES, WITH EFFORT. WEAKLY) There, now. Satisfied? SALLY: Cecil, your eyes look funny. Goodness! CECIL: W-w-whatta you mean? SALLY: Oh, Cecil, I don't know. There's a sort of a wild look in your eyes. CECIL: (SHAKILY) No... SALLY: Cecil, something has happened, I just know it. CECIL: Sally? Sally, what's the matter with YOU??? Sally! SALLY: What's the matter with ME? What do you mean? CECIL: What have you done to your face??? SALLY: My face? What's wrong with it, Cecil? Is something wrong? CECIL: Holy mackerel! Sally, your face is green! SALLY: It's green??? CECIL: Yes! Oh, you look awful! Your face is green! SALLY: Oh, Cecil, it is not! Is it? CECIL: I guess I can see it. And hold still, willya? SALLY: I AM still, Cecil. I'm not moving. CECIL: You are too. (QUEASILY) You're swaying back and forth. Stop! You're makin' me dizzy. SALLY: Cecil, I tell you, I'm NOT moving. And my face isn't green. CECIL: Do ya think I'M crazy? SALLY: You must be. CECIL: Sally, please stop going around in a circle. What's the matter with you? (WEAKLY) Can't-- can't you hold your head still? SALLY: Well, I'm being perfectly still. CECIL: You're sick or somethin', Sally. That's what's the matter with you. If it-- Whew! (QUIETLY) Let go o' me, Sally. Lemme lie back on the floor again. SALLY: Cecil, there are circles under your eyes. CECIL: I didn't get any sleep last night. SALLY: Cecil, you're sick! CECIL: (DESPERATELY) I am NOT. SALLY: You're dizzy. CECIL: I know it. SALLY: Cecil, you're ill! You're very ill, that's what's the matter! You're not sleepy; you're sick. CECIL: (TEARFULLY) I know it. SALLY: It was that horrid old tobacco! It's going to poison you. CECIL: (TEARFUL & QUEASY) It already has. Oh... S-Sally... SALLY: (TENDERLY) Oh, how do you feel, Cecil? CECIL: R-rotten, thank you. SALLY: What shall I do? CECIL: (A FEW SHALLOW BREATHS) Nothing. J-just say I died game. SALLY: Oh, Cecil, you're not going to die. CECIL: (TEARFUL) Aw, that's all YOU know. SALLY: Aw, you COULDN'T die. You look as white as a ghost, though. CECIL: (TEARFUL) I guess I know how a person feels when they're gonna die... SALLY: Oh, don't be silly! You're just sick at the stomach. CECIL: (WEAKLY) Sally... b-b-before I die, I want you to?kn-now I'm sorry for all the times I've been mean to ya. SALLY: Oh, Cecil, you're all right. Yes, you are. CECIL: Don't tell me I'm all right. I'm practically drawing my last breath. SALLY: Now, don't get excited, Cecil. Just stay still. You'll be all right in a minute. CECIL: Tell Aunt Bess I'm sorry I ran out and left my room in such an uproar... when she asked me to hang up my things, this morning... SALLY: Oh, you can tell her yourself, when you get home. CECIL: I'll never get home... (TEARFUL) I just have a few minutes. SALLY: Oh, Cecil, don't talk like this. You make me nervous. CECIL: I guess you think I'm comfortable. SALLY: Cecil... your forehead is awfully warm. Don't you wanna go in the house? CECIL: Aw, what difference does it make where I die? Oh, whew! SALLY: Poor Cecil. I'm so sorry for you. Honest, I am. CECIL: (WEAKLY) Thanks. I'm sorry too, Sally. Ohhhh, my head... SALLY: Don't you want anything? CECIL: Don't leave me. SALLY: Can't I do something for you, Cecil? CECIL: Yes. SALLY: What? CECIL: W-would you mind taking my shoes off? SALLY: Why? Do they hurt or something? CECIL: N-no. But I don't wanna die with my shoes on. I've read about it. SALLY: Cecil... After this dizziness goes away, you'll be all right. CECIL: (WEAKLY) With a lily. I know what it was. SALLY: So do I. CECIL: It was something I ate before I came over here. It's poisoned me. SALLY: It was that nasty old plug of tobacco; that's what it was. CECIL: I had some ice cream, just before I came over. SALLY: That wouldn't hurt you. CECIL: And a dill pickle. SALLY: It was nothing you ate. It was that old tobacco that you had to chew to prove that you were a real he-man. CECIL: (MOANING) Ohhh... my head! Oooh! Whew! SALLY: Hmm. You don't look much like a real he-man now. CECIL: Oh, go away. SALLY: Oh, don't be a baby, Cecil! CECIL: (TEARFUL) That's right. On my deathbed, you call me names... SALLY: Don't be silly. You're not dying, even if you DO feel like this. CECIL: I tell you, I guess I know! SALLY: Well, I guess you DON'T. Besides, this is no bed. CECIL: You'll be sorry... when it's too late. SALLY: For what? CECIL: Sally... Did-- D-d-d-- Whew! SALLY: What were you going to say, Cecil? CECIL: Nothin'. (MOANING) Ohhhh, if you only knew how I felt! SALLY: Well, if you feel as bad as you look, you must be pretty sick. CECIL: Oh, I'd give a million dollars, if this darn porch would stop swinging up and down! SALLY: Don't you wanna sit up, Cecil? You might feel better. CECIL: No. This time, I'm down to stay. I'll never get up again. SALLY: You'll have to get up in a few minutes. CECIL: (BEAT. WEAKLY) W-who'll carry me? SALLY: Uncle Thomas will be home. He's liable to walk in, any minute. CECIL: Do me a favour? SALLY: Sure. Oh, Cecil, you're so pale. (STROKES HIS FOREHEAD) CECIL: Please stop slapping me. SALLY: I'm not slapping you. I'm just rubbing your forehead. CECIL: (WEAKLY) Will you do me a favour? SALLY: Sure. What? CECIL: When your uncle comes... if I'm still alive, don't say anything to him. SALLY: But I have to say hello. CECIL: But don't tell him about that plug of... (MOANING) Ohhhh... ohhhh... SALLY: (URGENT WHISPER) Cecil, quick! Quick! Sit up! Get up. Don't lie down. Straighten up. CECIL: (IN AGONY) Let me alone, I tell you. Let me alone. SALLY: Cecil, here comes Uncle Thomas. He's coming in the front gate. CECIL: I can't help it. Ohhhh, Sally... SALLY: Oh, Cecil, you mustn't let him see you lying down here. Sit up! Here. (HELPING HIM TO SIT UP) Now. CECIL: Ohhhh... I hope he goes on in the house. SALLY: And when he does, you better get in Ben Hur, and go on home, and get in bed! CECIL: I don't think I can drive. SALLY: Oh, that's right, be a BABY. Why don't you act like a brave person would? CECIL: (DESPERATELY) If you were as sick as I am, I wouldn't call you all the old-- SALLY: (URGENT WHISPER) Cecil, keep still! Here's Uncle Thomas! THOMAS: (APPROACHING) Well, well, well! Hello, kids! How are you? CECIL: (WEAK AND WOBBLY-VOICED) H-h-hello, Mr. Smith. SALLY: Hello, Uncle Thomas. THOMAS: Sitting out here, enjoying the sunshine? SALLY: Yes. Isn't it a lovely day today, Uncle Thomas? THOMAS: (CONCERNED) Cecil. Why... what in the world's the matter with you? Are you ill, m' boy? CECIL: (TOO AIRILY) No, sir. SALLY: Oh, uh (NERVOUS LAUGH). Why, uh... um... why-- THOMAS: Sally, what's the matter with him? Why, he's as white as a sheet. CECIL: (WEAK LAUGH) Ohhhh, I'm all right. I'm just a little dizzy. SALLY: Well, you see, Uncle Thomas, he ate something. Uh, it didn't agree with him. THOMAS: What did you eat, Cecil? SALLY: Why, uh... Why, um... Uh, he ate some ice cream and a dill pickle. And now, he thinks he's going to die. THOMAS: (CHUCKLING) Oh, is THAT all? Why, Cecil, I'm surprised at you. Why, I thought you were more of a man. CECIL: (WEAKLY) Yes, sir. THOMAS: Ice cream and dill pickles. So, it made the little boy sick, did it? (CHUCKLING) Well, well. CECIL: Y-yes, sir. I-I-- (VOICE CRACKS WITH MISERY) thought maybe it would kill me. SALLY: Oh, he's been so ill. Goodness! THOMAS: I'm surprised, Cecil. To think you'd let a little thing like that get you down. Be a man. Stand up. Don't give in when you feel bad. As old as I am, I wouldn't let a little ice cream get the best of me. SALLY: Now, Uncle Thomas, you don't know what it is. THOMAS: Maybe you'd better go home, Cecil. Come on now, shake your head. Stand up, and say, "I'm all right." CECIL: (TRIES, BUT SLUMPS BACK) Ohhhh... I can't do it, sir. Honest, I can't. THOMAS: Why, you're acting like a baby! Why, that's the way a sissy would talk! You don't wanna be that, do you? SALLY: Now, Uncle Thomas, you just go on in the house, and leave Cecil alone! He's no baby or sissy! He's a real man! And he can chew tobacco, and that's more'n YOU can do!