15

The GOOD news is, there wasn't actually a FIRE, there was just a lot of SMOKE. But the bad news is, it was MY fault. Last week, when we were putting our food in places where the mice couldn't get at it, I hid some snacks in the OVEN. So, when Mom preheated the oven to put in a batch of bacon this morning, a plastic bag MELTED. It's kind of UNFORTUNATE, because that was a waste of some perfectly good crisps.

好消息是，其实这里根本没着火，只是冒出了好多烟而已。 但坏消息是，这事儿全怪我。 上周我们把食物藏到老鼠够不着的地方时，我偷偷把零食塞在了烤箱里。 所以今早妈妈预热烤箱准备烤培根时，一个塑料袋被烤化了。 这事儿真倒霉，还白白糟蹋了一包好好的薯片呢。

And this was definitely one of those times when I could've used that escape hatch at the back of my closet. Wednesday Believe it or not, Mom and Dad have already moved past the whole crisp-packet incident. And that's good news for ME. But the REASON they've forgotten about it is the BAD news. A few days ago, the building inspector came out to check the framework of the extension.

这事儿糟透了，我真恨不得能用衣柜后面的逃生密道溜掉。 星期三 信不信由你，爸妈早就翻篇，不再提那包薯片的事儿了。 这对我来说当然是好消息。 可他们这么快就忘了这事的原因，却是个坏消息。 几天前，建筑检查员来检查扩建部分的框架了。

And, when he DID, he found out the whole structure was too close to Mrs Tuttle's property line by about three FEET. I guess the construction company messed up when they created the plans for the extension, but the council didn't catch the mistake when they issued the building permit. So now there was just a bunch of finger-pointing, and no one would take any responsibility. The building inspector told us the only thing we could really do NOW was to get our next-door neighbour to sign something that says we had permission to build the structure close to her property line. But that wasn't gonna be EASY.

结果检查员一查发现，整个扩建部分离塔特尔太太的地界近了足足三英尺。 我猜是建筑公司画扩建图纸的时候出了错，议会发建筑许可证时也没查出这个失误。 所以现在所有人都在互相甩锅，没人愿意承担责任。 建筑检查员说，我们现在唯一能做的，就是让隔壁的塔特尔太太签字，同意我们把扩建建在离她家地界这么近的位置。 可这事哪有那么容易。

The other day, when the concrete guys came back to patch up the driveway and front path, they set up their cement mixer on our lawn. But I guess they forgot we were on a HILL, because the mixer tipped over and poured fresh concrete right into Mrs Tuttle's GARDEN. So, when Mom and Dad asked for Mrs Tuttle's permission to keep our extension where it WAS, she wasn't looking to do them any favours.

前几天水泥工人回来补车道和前门步道，把水泥搅拌机停在了我们的草坪上。 估计他们忘了我们家在坡地上，结果搅拌机翻了，刚拌好的水泥全倒进了塔特尔太太的花园。 所以当爸妈找塔特尔太太签字，想要保住现有的扩建位置时，她当然不肯帮忙了。

Mrs Tuttle wouldn't BUDGE, and the council told Mom and Dad the whole structure was gonna have to come DOWN. And that's exactly what happened this afternoon. So now EVERYONE'S unhappy, except for MANNY. He finished work on HIS place TODAY, and he had a housewarming party to celebrate.

塔特尔太太寸步不让，议会也告诉爸妈，整个扩建部分都得拆掉。 今天下午，这事真的发生了。 所以现在所有人都不开心，只有曼尼例外。 他今天刚弄完自己小窝的装修，还办了暖屋派对庆祝呢。

JUNE Thursday Mom's been in a real funk ever since the extension was torn down. I figured we'd just start over and build it the RIGHT way this time. But Mom said we'd burned through most of Aunt Reba's inheritance during construction, and we were gonna need to spend the REST patching up the side of the house. So Mom was ALREADY in a bad mood when my test results came in the post, and they didn't cheer her up any. It wasn't only MY results that were bad, though. The whole CLASS did poorly, and I can tell you the reason WHY.

六月 星期四 自从扩建被拆掉之后，妈妈一直心情低落。 我本来以为我们只要重新来过，这次按正确的位置建就好了。 可妈妈说，盖扩建已经花光了里巴阿姨的大部分遗产，剩下的钱只够修补房子的侧边了。 所以我的考试成绩寄到家时，妈妈本来心情就差，成绩单更是一点都没让她开心起来。 不过不只是我一个人考得差。 全班都考砸了，我清楚原因出在哪。