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The shopkeeper pulled the French horn down off the hook and handed it to me. But when Dad saw the price tag, he put the brakes on the whole thing. Dad said we should RENT instead of buy, because that would be a whole lot cheaper. But all the rental instruments were USED. The kid who played the French horn in the school band last year was Joshua Ballard, and there was a chance the rental belonged to HIM.

店主把圆号从挂钩上扯下来递给我。 但当爸爸看到价格标签时，他叫停了整件事。 爸爸说我们应该租而不是买，因为那样会便宜很多。 但是所有的租赁工具都被使用了。 去年在学校乐队吹法国号的那个孩子叫约书亚·巴拉德（Joshua Ballard），租来的房子有可能是他的。

Mom and Dad got into an argument in front of everyone, and it was kind of embarrassing. Dad said we were spending too much money on something I'd quit in two weeks, and Mom said he needed to show more FAITH in me. Eventually, Dad caved in. But before he swiped his credit card, he made me promise I'd practice every night. This thing better be as easy as it looks. Because it feels like a lot of trouble to go through just to get invited to a Halloween party. Tuesday When I was picking an instrument, I should've put more thought into it. I was mostly thinking about IMAGE, but there are OTHER considerations, too.

爸爸妈妈在大家面前吵了起来，有点尴尬。 爸爸说我们在某件事上花了太多钱，我两周内就会戒掉。妈妈说他应该对我更有信心。 最后，爸爸屈服了。但在他刷信用卡之前，他让我保证每晚都要练习。 这事最好没看上去那么简单。 因为仅仅为了被邀请去参加万圣节派对，感觉就太麻烦了。 星期二当我挑选乐器的时候，我应该多花点心思。 我主要考虑的是图像，但也有其他考虑因素。

It was a pain in the neck bringing my French horn to school today, because the CASE weighs almost as much as the instrument. But when I saw what Grayden Bundy had to deal with, I felt OK about my choice. Everybody says Annabelle Grier is one of the smartest girls in our grade, and it's easy to see why. She plays the piccolo, so she's not wasting any energy lugging a heavy instrument around.

今天把我的圆号带到学校真是件苦事，因为盒子几乎和乐器一样重。 但当我看到格雷登·邦迪不得不面对的情况时，我对自己的选择感到满意。 每个人都说安娜贝尔·格里尔是我们年级最聪明的女孩之一，原因很简单。 她会吹短笛，所以她不会把精力浪费在拖着沉重的乐器上。

But George Deveney might be even smarter than HER. He plays the kettledrums, and those are too big to take home every night, so they stay in the band room full-time. Something I never really noticed before is that most of the kids in the band actually kind of LOOK like their instruments. I don't know if people do that on purpose or if it's just a coincidence.

但是George Deveney可能比她更聪明。 他会打铜鼓，铜鼓太大了，不能每晚都带回家，所以他们就一直呆在乐队房间里。 我以前从未真正注意到的是，乐队里的大多数孩子实际上有点像他们的乐器。 我不知道人们是故意这样做还是只是巧合。

The great thing about the band is that there are no tryouts or anything. Basically, if you buy an instrument and show up, you're in. But I wasn't thinking it all the way through when I picked my instrument. The French horn is in the brass section, and almost everyone in the brass section is a GUY. The woodwind section is the complete opposite. It's all GIRLS except for a handful of guys, including Rowley. I really wish he'd given me a heads-up about it, because that information would've been nice to know. Maybe Rowley didn't tell me on PURPOSE so I wouldn't give him any competition.

这个乐队最棒的地方就是没有选拔赛之类的。 基本上，如果你买了一件乐器然后出现，你就被录取了。 但当我挑选乐器的时候，我并没有从头到尾考虑到这一点。 法国号在铜管部，铜管部几乎每个人都是男的。 木管乐器部分则完全相反。 除了罗利在内的几个男生，都是女生。 我真希望他能提前告诉我一声，因为知道这些信息就好了。 也许罗利没有故意告诉我，所以我不会给他任何竞争。

I noticed he sits right next to Mariana Mendoza, and believe me, that's no accident. When class started, Mrs. Graziano told us to start warming up. That's when I remembered that my least favorite sound in the world is kids practicing their instruments. But Mrs. Graziano didn't seem to mind. She's retiring this year, so I think she's already checked out.

我注意到他就坐在玛丽安娜·门多萨旁边，相信我，这不是偶然。 上课时，格拉齐亚诺老师让我们开始热身。 这时我想起我最不喜欢的声音就是孩子们练习乐器的声音。 但格拉齐亚诺夫人似乎并不介意。 她今年要退休了，所以我想她已经退房了。