Flipped《怦然心动》第二章 - Flipped 心动（Juli）

The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped.

第一天见到Bryce Loski的时候，我就心动了

 

Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It's his eyes. Something in his eyes. They're blue, and framed in the blackness of his lashes, they're dazzling. Absolutely breathtaking. It's been over six years now, and I learned long ago to hide my feelings, but oh, those first days. Those first years! I thought I would die for wanting to be with him.

说真的，只是看了他一眼，我就成了个疯子。是因为他的眼睛，或者眼里的什么东西。那双眼睛是蓝色的，在黑色睫毛的衬托下，显得夺人心魄，格外耀眼。六年过去了，我已经学会隐藏自己的感情。但最初的那些日子，最初的那几年！我为他在一起，甚至可以去死。

 

Two days before the second grade is when it started, although the anticipation began weeks before—ever since my mother had told me that there was a family with a boy my age moving into the new house right across the street. Soccer camp had ended, and I'd been so bored because there was nobody, absolutely nobody, in the neighborhood to play with. Oh, there were kids, but every one of them was older. That was dandy for my brothers, but what it left me was home alone.

一切始于二年级开学前两天。虽然在几周前，妈妈告诉我，街对面的新房子要搬进一个和我一样大的男孩后，我就已经开始期待了。足球夏令营结束后，我感到非常无聊。我家附近没有同龄人，社区没人跟我一起玩。虽然也有孩子，但他们都是大孩子了。这对我的哥哥们来说也许是件好事，但留给我的却是孤独。

 

My mother was there, but she had better things to do than kick a soccer ball around. So she said, anyway. At the time I didn't think there was anything better than kicking a soccer ball around, especially not the likes of laundry or dishes or vacuuming, but my mother didn't agree. And the danger of being home alone with her was that she'd recruit me to help her wash or dust or vacuum, and she wouldn't tolerate the dribbling of a soccer ball around the house as I moved from chore to chore.

我妈妈虽然也在家，但她有比踢球更重要的事情要做。反正她是这么说的。与我妈不同，当时我觉得没有比踢球更好的事了，尤其是好过洗衣服、洗碗或吸尘。和她单独在家的危险在于，她会找我去帮她洗衣服、除尘或吸尘，而她不会容忍我在做家务时踢球。

 

To play it safe, I waited outside for weeks, just in case the new neighbors moved in early. Literally, it was weeks. I entertained myself by playing soccer with our dog, Champ. Mostly he'd just block because a dog can't exactly kick and score, but once in a while he'd dribble with his nose. The scent of a ball must overwhelm a dog, though, because Champ would eventually try to chomp it, then lose the ball to me.

为了安全起见，以防新邻居提前搬进来，我在门口等了好几个星期。真的，等了好几个星期。我和我家的狗Champ会在院子里一起踢足球自娱自乐。大多数情况下，它只是阻挡，因为狗并不能踢球得分，但偶尔它也会用鼻子运球。不过，球的气味对它来说应该是太过刺鼻。最后Champ总是会试图啃球，然后我取得胜利。

 

When the Loskis' moving van finally arrived, everyone in my family was happy. “Little Julianna” was finally going to have a playmate. My mother, being the truly sensible adult that she is, made me wait more than an hour before going over to meet him.

当Loskis家的搬家车终于到了的时候，我们全家都很高兴。"小Juli "终于要有玩伴了。作为一个真正懂事的大人，我妈妈让我等了一个多小时，才终于同意让我去见他。

 

“Give them a chance to stretch their legs, Julianna,” she said.

“They'll want some time to adjust.”

She wouldn't even let me watch from the yard.

“I know you, sweetheart. Somehow that ball will wind up in their yard and you'll just have to go retrieve it.”

"让他们先安定下来，Julianna，"她说。

"他们需要时间适应"

妈妈甚至不让我去外面在院子里看

"我了解你，亲爱的。"不知怎么的，球就会跑到他们的院子里" "而你就得去把球捡回来"

 

So I watched from the window, and every few minutes I'd ask, “Now?” and she'd say, “Give them a little while longer, would you?”

所以我一直在窗边观望。每隔几分钟我就会问 "现在行吗？" 她就会说 "再给他们一点时间，好吗？"

 

Then the phone rang. And the minute I was sure she was good and preoccupied, I tugged on her sleeve and asked, “Now?” She nodded and whispered, “Okay, but take it easy! I'll be over there in a minute.”

这时，电话铃响了。我发现她有别的事要做，不能盯着我了。我拉着她的袖子问："现在可以了吗？" 她点点头，小声说："好的，不过别玩太过火！我马上就过去"

 

I was too excited not to charge across the street, but I did try very hard to be civilized once I got to the moving van. I stood outside looking in for a record-breaking length of time, which was hard because there he was! About halfway back! My new sure-to-be best friend, Bryce Loski.

过于激动的我飞奔到街对面，但到了搬家车旁后，我还是很努力地保持了礼貌。我站在外面，等了难以置信之久。这并不容易，因为那个男孩就在那里！就只差一点点！我的新朋友，Bryce Loski。

 

Bryce wasn't really doing much of anything. He was more hanging back, watching his father move boxes onto the lift-gate. I remember feeling sorry for Mr. Loski because he looked worn out, moving boxes all by himself. I also remember that he and Bryce were wearing matching turquoise polo shirts, which I thought was really cute. Really nice.

布莱斯其实也没在做什么。他更多的是站在后面，看着他爸爸把箱子搬到升降门上。我记得我当时很同情Loski先生，因为他只能一个人搬箱子，看着挺累的。我还记得他和Bryce穿着配套的绿松石Polo衫。我觉得挺好看的。真不错。

 

When I couldn't stand it any longer, I called, “Hi!” into the van, which made Bryce jump, and then quick as a cricket, he started pushing a box like he'd been working all along. 

最终我忍无可忍，对着面包车喊了一声 "你好啊！"。布莱斯吓了一跳，然后像蟋蟀一样敏捷地开始推箱子，就像他一直在工作一样。

 

I could tell from the way Bryce was acting so guilty that he was supposed to be moving boxes, but he was sick of it. He'd probably been moving things for days! It was easy to see that he needed a rest. He needed some juice! Something. It was also easy to see that Mr. Loski wasn't about to let him quit. He was going to keep on moving boxes around until he collapsed, and by then Bryce might be dead. Dead before he'd had the chance to move in!

我从Bryce心虚的表现中看出，搬箱子本来也是他的活，但他已经搬烦了。他可能这几天都在一直搬东西！不难看出，他需要休息。他需要一些果汁之类的。但Loski先生并不打算让他休息。爷俩得继续搬箱子，直到倒下为止。到那时布莱斯可能会累死，甚至搬来之前就得累死。

 

The tragedy of it catapulted me into the moving van. I had to help! I had to save him!When I got to his side to help him shove a box forward, the poor boy was so exhausted that he just moved aside and let me take over. Mr. Loski didn't want me to help, but at least I saved Bryce. I'd been in the moving van all of three minutes when his dad sent him off to help his mother unpack things inside the house.

这一悲剧性的场面把我推上了搬家车。我必须帮忙！我必须救他！当我走到他身边帮他把一个箱子往前推时，这个可怜的孩子已经筋疲力尽了，他只是往旁边挪了挪，让我接手。Loski先生不想让我帮忙，但至少我救了Bryce。我在搬家车上才呆了三分钟，他爸爸就把他叫去帮他妈妈收拾屋里的东西了。

 

I chased Bryce up the walkway, and that's when everything changed. You see, I caught up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him so maybe we could play a little before he got trapped inside, and the next thing I know he's holding my hand, looking right into my eyes.

朝着屋子，我追向布莱斯。刹那间，一切都变了。我追上他，抓住他的胳膊，想着他在整理东西之前我们能一起玩会，然后不知怎么的，他握着我的手，看着我的眼睛。

 

My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person's eyes.They're connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.

我的心停止了跳动。就这么停了。这是我有生以来第一次有这种感觉。你知道，就像那种世界在你周围移动，在你脚下，在你体内，而你在漂浮，漂浮在半空中。唯一让你不至于飘走的是对方的眼睛。它们通过某种无形的物理力量与你的眼睛连接在一起，当世界的其他部分旋转着、扭动着、完全消失时，它们紧紧地抓住了你。

 

I almost got my first kiss that day. I'm sure of it. But then his mother came out the front door and he was so embarrassed that his cheeks turned completely red, and the next thing you know he's hiding in the bathroom. 

那天我很确定，我马上将要得到我的初吻。但后来他妈妈从前门走出来。他尴尬得脸颊通红，接着他就躲进了洗手间。 

 

I was waiting for him to come out when his sister, Lynetta, saw me in the hallway. She seemed big and mature to me, and since she wanted to know what was going on, I told her a little bit about it. I shouldn't have, though, because she wiggled the bathroom doorknob and started teasing Bryce something fierce.

我在等他出来的时候，他的姐姐Lynetta在走廊里看到了我。在我看来，她挺成熟稳重的。既然她想知道发生了什么事，我就告诉了她一些。不过我不应该告诉她，因为她扭动浴室的门把手，开始猛烈地挑逗布莱斯。

 

“Hey, baby brother!” she called through the door.

“There's a hot chick out here waiting for you! Whatsa matter? Afraid she's got cooties?”

"嘿，小弟弟！"她隔着门叫道。

"有个辣妹在外面等你 怎么了？怕她有虱子？"

 

It was so embarrassing! I yanked on her arm and told her to stop it, but she wouldn't, so finally I just left.

太尴尬了！我拽着她的胳膊，让她别闹了，可她就是不肯。没办法，最后我只好离开了。

 

I found my mother outside talking to Mrs. Loski. Mom had given her the beautiful lemon Bundt cake that was supposed to be our dessert that night. The powdered sugar looked soft and white, and the cake was still warm, sending sweet lemon smells into the air. My mouth was watering just looking at it! But it was in Mrs. Loski's hands, and I knew there was no getting it back.

我发现妈妈在外面和Loski夫人说话。妈妈送了她一个漂亮的柠檬蛋糕。它本该是我们今天晚餐的甜点的。糖粉看起来又白又软。蛋糕还是热的，空气中弥漫着甜甜的柠檬香味。光是看着它，我就口水直流了！但蛋糕在Loski夫人手里，我知道想拿回来也迟了。

 

All I could do was try to eat up the smells while I listened to the two of them discuss grocery stores and the weather forecast. After that Mom and I went home. It was very strange. I hadn't gotten to play with Bryce at all. All I knew was that his eyes were a dizzying blue, that he had a sister who was not to be trusted, and that he'd almost kissed me.

我只能猛吸香甜的空气，一边听她们俩讨论杂货店和天气预报。之后，我就跟妈妈回家了。感觉很奇怪。我根本没能和布莱斯玩一玩。我只知道他的眼睛是令人晕眩的蓝色，他有一个不值得信任的姐姐，他还差点吻了我。

 

I fell asleep that night thinking about the kiss that might have been. What did a kiss feel like, anyway? Somehow I knew it wouldn't be like the one I got from Mom or Dad at bedtime. The same species, maybe, but a radically different beast, to be sure. Like a wolf and a whippet—only science would put them on the same tree.

那天晚上，我睡着了，想着那个可能成真的吻。亲吻到底是什么感觉呢？不知怎的，我知道它不会像我睡前从爸妈那里得到的那样。也许是算是一种东西，但肯定是完全不同的感觉。就像狼和猎犬，只有科学才会把它们放在同一种族里。

 

Looking back on the second grade, I like to think it was at least partly scientific curiosity that made me chase after that kiss, but to be honest, it was probably more those blue eyes. All through the second and third grades I couldn't seem to stop myself from following him, from sitting by him, from just wanting to be near him.

回想起二年级的时候，我想至少有一部分原因是科学好奇心让我追逐那个吻，但说实话，可能更多的是因为那双蓝眼睛。整个二年级和三年级，我似乎都无法阻止自己跟着他，坐在他身边，离他越近越好。

 

By the fourth grade I'd learned to control myself. The sight of him—the thought of him—still sent my heart humming, but my legs didn't actually chase after him anymore. I just watched and thought and dreamed.

四年级时，我学会了控制自己。看到他，想到他，我的心仍然怦怦直跳。但我的双腿不再追逐他了。我只是看着、想着、做着梦。

 

Then in the fifth grade Shelly Stalls came into the picture. Shelly Stalls is a ninny. A whiny, gossipy, backstabbing ninny who says one thing to one person and the opposite to another. Now that we're in junior high, she's the undisputed diva of drama, but even back in elementary school she knew how to put on a performance. Especially when it came to P.E. I never once saw her run laps or do calisthenics. Instead, she would go into her “delicate” act, claiming her body would absolutely collapse from the strain if she ran or jumped or stretched.

五年级时，Shelly Stalls出现了。Shelly Stalls是个爱抱怨、爱说闲话、背后捅刀子、脑袋空空的小妮子。见人说人话，见鬼说鬼话。现在我们上初中了，她是无可争议的戏精。但即使在小学，她也知道如何表演。特别是在体育课上，我从没见过她跑圈或做健身操。相反，她会装出一副 "娇弱 "的样子，声称如果她跑起来、跳起来或做伸展运动，她的身体绝对会不堪重负而垮掉。

 

It worked. Every year. She'd bring in some note and be sure to swoon a little for the teacher the first few days of the year, after which she'd be excused from anything that required muscles. She never even put up her own chair at the end of the day. The only muscles she exercised regularly were the ones around her mouth, and those she worked out nonstop.

这种说法奏效了。每年都是这样，在开学的头几天，她会带一些纸条来，并且一定要拿着在老师面前表演一下，然后她就可以不用做任何需要用到肌肉的事情了。一天结束后，她甚至从来没有摆过自己的椅子。她唯一经常锻炼的肌肉就是嘴巴周围的肌肉，而这些肌肉因为长期的锻炼而异常发达。

 

If there was an Olympic contest for talking, Shelly Stalls would sweep the event. Well, she'd at least win the gold and silver— one medal for each side of her mouth. What bugged me about it was not the fact that she got out of P.E.—who'd want her on their team, anyway? What bugged me about it was that anyone who bothered to look would know that it wasn't asthma or weak ankles or her being “delicate” that was stopping her. It was her hair. She had mountains of it, twisted this way or that, clipped or beaded, braided or swirled. Her ponytails rivaled the ones on carousel horses. And on the days she let it all hang down, she'd sort of shimmy and cuddle inside it like it was a blanket, so that practically all you saw of her face was her nose. 

如果有一场关于说话的奥林匹克竞赛，Shelly Stalls一定会横扫全场。好吧，她至少会赢得金牌和银牌：上下嘴皮一边各一块奖牌。让我不爽的不是她能不上体育课，反正也没人想让她在自己的队伍里。让我不爽的是，有眼睛的人都知道，她不是因为哮喘或脚踝无力或"娇弱"而不能运动，而只是因为她的头发。她的头发多得像山一样，有的扭成这样，有的扭成那样，有的剪成珠状，有的编成辫子，有的卷着。她的马尾辫堪比旋转木马上的马尾。有时候她会把头发全放下来披着，她就会像把头发当成毯子一样偎依着，让人几乎只能看到她的鼻子。

 

Good luck playing four-square with a blanket over your head. 

想顶着个毯子玩游戏？祝你好运吧。

 

My solution to Shelly Stalls was to ignore her, which worked just dandy until about halfway through the fifth grade when I saw her holding hands with Bryce. My Bryce. The one who was still embarrassed over holding my hand two days before the second grade. The one who was still too shy to say much more than hello to me.The one who was still walking around with my first kiss.

对于Shelly Stalls，我选择不去理会，这招一直很管用，直到五年级上到一半的时候，我看到她和Bryce手牵手。我的Bryce。那个在二年级前两天还因为牵了我的手而尴尬不已的Bryce，那个还害羞得不敢跟我打招呼的Bryce，那个还带着我的初吻到处走的Bryce。

 

How could Shelly have wormed her hand into his? That pushy little princess had no business hanging on to him like that! Bryce looked over his shoulder from time to time as they walked along, and he was looking at me. My first thought was that he was telling me he was sorry. Then it dawned on me— he needed my help. Absolutely, that's what it had to be! Shelly Stalls was too delicate to shake off, too swirly to be pushed away. She'd unravel and start sniffling and oh, how embarrassing that would be for him! No, this wasn't a job a boy could do gracefully.

This was a job for a girl.

Shelly怎么能把手伸进他的臂弯呢？那个爱出风头的小公主根本没资格这样粘着他！他们走在路上时，Bryce时不时地侧过头来，看着我。我的第一反应是他在向我道歉。然后我恍然大悟！他需要我的帮助。完全正确，一定是这样！Shelly Stalls太纤弱了，无法摆脱，陷进去而无法推开。她会崩溃，开始流鼻涕，哦，那会让他多么尴尬！不，这不是一个男孩能优雅地完成的工作。

这是女孩的工作。

 

I didn't even bother checking around for other candidates—I had her off of him in two seconds flat. Bryce ran away the minute he was free, but not Shelly.

我甚至都懒得四处打听有没有其他人能胜任这份工作。两秒钟，我就把她从他身上拽了下来。布莱斯一挣脱就跑了，但雪莉没有。

 

Oh, no-no-no! She came at me, scratching and pulling and twisting anything she could get her hands on, telling me that Bryce was hers and there was no way she was letting him go. How delicate.

哦，不，不，不！她向我扑来，抓、拉、拧她能抓到的任何东西，告诉我布莱斯是她的，她绝对不会让他走。真够脆弱的。

 

I was hoping for herds of teachers to appear so they could see the real Shelly Stalls in action, but it was too late by the time anyone arrived on the scene. I had Fluffy in a headlock and her arm twisted back in a hammerlock, and no amount of her squawking or scratching was going to get me to unlock her until a teacher arrived.

我当时真希望能有成群结队的老师出现，好让他们看看Shelly Stalls真实的嘴脸。但当任何人赶到现场时都为时已晚，我已经锁住了毛茸茸的头，拧住了她的胳膊。在老师来之前，她无论怎么叫喊或抓挠，我都没松开她。

 

In the end, Shelly went home early with a bad case of mussed-up hair, while I told my side of things to the principal. Mrs. Shultz is a sturdy lady who probably secretly appreciates the value of a swift kick well placed, and although she told me that it would be better if I let other people work out their own dilemmas, she definitely understood about Shelly Stalls and her hair and told me she was glad I'd had the self-control to do nothing more than restrain her.

最后，Shelly顶着一头乱糟糟的头发提早回家了，而我则把我的想法告诉了校长。Shultz夫人是个坚强的女人，她可能在暗地里赞赏一脚踢得漂亮的价值，虽然她告诉我最好让其他人自己解决自己的困境，但她绝对理解Shelly Stalls和她的头发，并告诉我她很高兴我有自制力，除了约束她之外什么也没做。

 

Shelly was back the next day with a head full of braids. And of course she got everybody whispering about me, but I just ignored them. The facts spoke for themselves. Bryce didn't go anywhere near her for the rest of the year.

第二天，Shelly又梳着满头的辫子回来了。当然，她和别人勾搭起来说我的小话，但我置之不理。事实胜于雄辩，布莱斯在接下来的一年里都没有接近过她。

 

That's not to say that Bryce held my hand after that, but he did start being a little friendlier to me. Especially in the sixth grade, after Mr. Mertins sat us right next to each other in the third row back.Sitting next to Bryce was nice. He was nice. He'd say Hi, Juli to me every morning, and once in a while I'd catch him looking my way. He'd always blush and go back to his own work, and I couldn't help but smile. He was so shy. And so cute! We talked to each other more, too. Especially after Mr. Mertins moved me behind him.

这并不意味着Bryce从那以后就来牵我的手了，但他确实开始对我友好了一些。特别是到了六年级，Mertins先生让我们坐在后第三排的座位上。他很好，他每天早上都会跟我说 "嗨，Juli"，偶尔我还会看到他朝我这边看。他总是红着脸继续做自己的事，我忍不住笑了。他太害羞了，也很可爱。我们之间的交谈也多了起来 特别是Mertins先生把我调到他后面之后。 

 

Mr. Mertins had a detention policy about spelling, where if you missed more than seven out of twenty-five words, you had to spend lunch inside with him, writing your words over and over and over again.

Mertins先生有一项关于拼写的留堂政策，如果你在二十五个单词中漏掉了七个以上，你就必须在午餐时间去他的办公室，一遍又一遍地重新抄写。

 

The pressure of detention made Bryce panic. And even though it bothered my conscience, I'd lean in and whisper answers to him, hoping that maybe I could spend lunch with him instead. His hair smelled like watermelon, and his ear-lobes had fuzz. Soft, blond fuzz. And I wondered about that. How does a boy with such black hair wind up with blond ear fuzz? What's it doing there, anyway? I checked my own ear-lobes in the mirror but couldn't find much of anything on them, and I didn't spot any on other people's either.

留堂的压力让Bryce感到恐慌。尽管这让我良心不安，我还是会凑过去小声告诉他答案，希望能和他共进午餐。他的头发闻起来像西瓜，耳垂上有柔软的金色绒毛。我对此很好奇。一个黑头发的男孩怎么会有金色的耳毛呢？耳毛长在那里做什么？我照了照镜子，发现自己的耳垂上也没有什么绒毛，别人的耳垂上也没有。

 

I thought about asking Mr. Mertins about earlobe fuzz when we were discussing evolution in science, but I didn't. Instead, I spent the year whispering spelling words, sniffing watermelon, and wondering if I was ever going to get my kiss.

当我们讨论科学进化论时，我曾想过向Mertins先生请教有关耳垂绒毛的问题，但我没有这么做。相反，我花了一年的时间小声嘀咕拼写单词，闻西瓜，幻想着我的初吻。