20

I could tell Rodrick wanted to go up to Bill and SAY something, but he was swarmed by music journalists, so Rodrick couldn't get close to him. And it was pretty clear Bill was saving his voice for his big performance, anyway. There was a screen in one corner of the room that listed all the bands in order of when they were scheduled to perform. And I was pretty disappointed that Löded Diper was dead last, because all I wanted to do at that point was get this over with and go HOME. But Löded Diper wasn't the only band that was performing at the end of the competition. Stank was scheduled to go on right BEFORE us.

我看得出来，罗德里克想走到比尔跟前说点什么，可比尔被音乐记者团团围住，罗德里克根本靠近不了。 而且话说回来，明摆着比尔要省着嗓子留给他的大型演出呢。 房间的一角有一块屏幕，按出场顺序列出了所有乐队的名单。 看到爆棚Diper排在最后一个出场，我特别失望，因为我那时候只想赶紧完事回家。 可这场比赛最后出场的乐队，不止爆棚Diper一个。 臭臭乐队刚好排在我们前面上场。

That meant we had to hang out with Bill and his new bandmates backstage, which was really awkward. So when the competition started, I decided to slip out the side door and watch the show from the wings. There were at least a thousand people in the audience, which made me feel queasy all over again. And they were already getting rowdy before the competition even STARTED. When the first band came onstage, the crowd went totally NUTS. And they didn't let up for the rest of the night.

这意味着我们得跟比尔和他的新队友一起待在后台，气氛真的超级尴尬。 所以比赛一开始，我就偷偷溜出侧门，躲到舞台侧翼看演出。 台下至少有一千名观众，看得我又开始浑身犯恶心了。 而且比赛还没开始，观众就已经闹得沸沸扬扬了。 第一支乐队登上舞台的时候，观众彻底疯狂了。 那一整晚，他们的热情就没消退过。

All the bands sounded the same to me, but the audience didn't seem to mind. Everybody was there to have a good time, including the security guard from Hipp'O" Henry's, who I guess was just there as a fan. The bands were all WAY more professional than Löded Diper, and I'm guessing most of these groups did this full-time. So I could tell that we were out of our league in this competition.

在我听来所有乐队都一个味儿，可观众好像一点都不介意。 大家都是来这儿开心玩的，连河马亨利店的保安都来了，我猜他就是来当粉丝凑热闹的。 这些乐队全都比爆棚Diper专业太多了，我猜他们大部分都是全职玩乐队的。 所以我看得出来，我们在这场比赛里完全是不自量力。

I thought about making a run for it to save myself the embarrassment of having to perform. But at that point it didn't seem right to ditch Rodrick. I knew the time for Löded Diper to go up there was getting close when Stank took the stage. I thought they a come out and tear into one of their big hits, because that would've definitely made the crowd go wild. But Bill came out by himself and sat down at a piano. And when he started playing a slow song, the crowd didn't seem to know how to react. I SAW YOU THERE LOOKIN" OH SO SWEET WITH YOUR COLLARED SHIRT AND YOUR PANTS PRESSED NEAT

我都已经想着赶紧开溜了，免得等会儿上台表演丢面子。 可事到如今，抛下罗德里克好像不太够意思。 臭臭乐队上台的时候，我就知道爆棚Diper马上就要上场了。 我本来以为他们会全员出场，直接炸一首热门金曲，肯定能点燃全场观众的热情。 结果只有比尔一个人走出来，坐到了钢琴前。 他弹起一首慢歌的时候，观众都不知道该作何反应。 我看见你站在那儿张望 哦 翻领衫配笔挺长裤 你甜得刚刚好

But it was all just a big fake-out, because then the rest of the band stepped onstage and launched into a speed metal version of "Becky." OH BECKY, YOU FILL ME UP SO HOW "BOUT YOU POUR ME ANOTHER CUP? The audience was totally eating it up, and I knew right then that Stank had this competition in the bag. And that was BEFORE Becky started tossing donuts into the audience.

可这全都是故意设的幌子，剩下的乐队成员紧接着就登台，演奏起速度金属版的《贝姬》。 哦贝姬 你填满了我的心房 不然就再给我满上一杯怎么样？ 观众超吃这一套，我当时就知道，臭臭乐队稳拿这次比赛的冠军了。 这还是贝姬往观众席扔甜甜圈之前的事呢。

I should've been a little more careful about how close I was to the crowd, though, because the next thing I knew I was PART of it. I guess I kind of let myself get swept up in the moment, because for a second there I forgot I was supposed to be onstage NEXT. But when I saw Rodrick at the stage door, I remembered why I was there.

不过我真该多注意，不该离观众那么近，下一秒我就被卷入人群里了。 我当时也有点跟着现场的气氛走了，因为在那一瞬间 我居然忘了下一个就该我们上场了。 可我一看到站在舞台口的罗德里克，立马就想起我为什么待在这儿了。