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But Mom said the only people who could hand out punishments were her and Dad, so I ended up serving a DOUBLE time-out for breaking that picture. I figured Wesley deserved a TRIPLE time-out for locking me in the laundry room. But it was getting pretty late, and I knew it would look bad if the Stringers came: and I was still what's inside. So I started looking for another way out. There was a spare freezer blocking a door to the back deck, so I pushed with all my might and gave myself just enough room to squeeze through and open the door.

但是妈妈说只有她和爸爸才有权惩罚我，所以我因为打破了那张画而被判了双倍的缓刑。 我觉得韦斯利把我锁在洗衣房应该被罚三次禁闭。 但时间已经很晚了，我知道如果斯特林格的人来了，情况会很糟糕，而我仍然是里面的人。 所以我开始寻找另一条出路。 有一个备用的冰柜挡住了通往后甲板的一扇门，所以我使出全身的力气，勉强挤了进去，打开了门。

It was really cold outside, and I was only wearing a T-shirt and pants. I tried to open the front door, but it was locked. I decided if I was gonna catch this kid off guard, I'd need the element of surprise. So I walked around the house and tried all the windows on the first floor until I found one that was unlocked. I then pushed it open and crawled inside. I landed headfirst in someone's bedroom, and after I looked around I realized it must be Laurels.

外面很冷，我只穿了一件t恤和裤子。 我想打开前门，但门是锁着的。 我决定如果我想让这孩子措手不及，我就得出其不意。 于是我在房子里转了一圈，试遍了一楼所有的窗户，直到找到一扇没锁的。 然后我推开门，爬了进去。 我一头栽倒在别人的卧室里，环顾四周后，我意识到一定是劳蕾尔斯。

Like I said, it was freezing cold outside, so I needed to warm up before going after Wesley. But I really regret taking a few minutes to do that, because in the time I was in Laurel's room, Mr. and Mrs. Stringer came home. Hopefully, we can all have a good chuckle about this story at some future Thanksgiving, too. But I think it's gonna be a while before Mr. Stringer is ready to laugh about this one. Wednesday

就像我说的，外面很冷，所以我得先热身再去追韦斯利。 但我真的很后悔花了几分钟时间，因为我在劳蕾尔房间的时候，斯金格夫妇回来了。 希望在未来的感恩节，我们也能对这个故事开怀大笑。 但我觉得斯特林格先生还需要一段时间才能笑出来。 周三

After blowing my chances with Laurel Stringer, I pretty much gave up on finding someone to take to the dance. It's only three days away, and by now everyone who's going is already paired up with someone else. So I figured I'd be spending Saturday night at home playing video games by myself. But yesterday Rowley gave me some news after one of his Dance Committee meetings that changed EVERYTHING. He said Abigail Brown was upset during the meeting because the boy she was going with, Michael Sampson, has a family obligation and had to cancel on her. So now Abigail has a dress and no one to go to the dance with.

跟劳蕾尔·斯金格泡汤后，我几乎放弃了找舞伴的念头。 只有三天了，现在每个要去的人都已经和别人配对了。 所以我想周六晚上我会一个人在家玩电子游戏。 但是昨天罗利在一次舞蹈委员会会议后告诉了我一些改变了一切的消息。 他说，阿比盖尔·布朗在会议期间很不高兴，因为和她一起去的男孩迈克尔·桑普森有家庭责任，不得不取消和她的约会。 现在阿比盖尔有了裙子却没人陪她去舞会了。

So the stage is set for me to swoop in and be the hero. I told Rowley this was his big chance to come through as my wingman and hook me up with Abigail. The thing is, Abigail doesn't really know me, and I kind of doubted she'd go to the dance with a person she doesn't know. So I told Rowley he should tell Abigail the three of us could go to the dance TOGETHER as a "group of friends." Rowley seemed to like that idea because he's been doing all this work on the Dance Committee and didn't have anyone to go with, either. I figured the three of us could go out to dinner, and at the restaurant Abigail would get to see what a great guy I was. By the time we got to the dance, we'd walk in as a couple. The only problem was that we'd need a ride. I wasn't about to ask Mom for one, because the seats in our minivan are crusted with old Cheerios and God knows

所以舞台已经准备好了，我可以突然出现，成为英雄。 我告诉罗利，这是他做我的僚机，帮我和阿比盖尔牵线的大好机会。 问题是，阿比盖尔并不真正了解我，我有点怀疑她会不会和一个不认识的人一起去舞会。 所以我告诉罗利，他应该告诉阿比盖尔，我们三个可以作为“一群朋友”一起去参加舞会。 罗利似乎很喜欢这个主意，因为他一直在舞蹈委员会做这些工作，也没有人陪他一起去。 我想我们三个可以一起出去吃饭，在餐厅里阿比盖尔会看到我是一个多么好的人。 等我们去舞会的时候，我们已经是一对了。 唯一的问题是我们需要搭车。 我没打算向妈妈要一个，因为我们小货车的座位上都是旧的麦圈，天知道

what else. Plus, having Mom along on my date could be a total disaster. IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS JUST YESTERDAY THAT GREG WAS IN DIAPERS! I knew if I really wanted to impress Abigail, I need to rent a limo, but those things cost a FORTUNE. Then I had an idea. Rowley's dad has a really nice car, so I figured we could get HIM to drive us. Abigail wouldn't even have to know Mr. Jefferson was Rowley's dad. If we didn't say anything, she'd just think he was a professional driver. Maybe I'll even get him one of those hats chauffeurs wear, to really sell the idea. Of course, we wouldn't be able to say anything to MR.

还有什么。另外，和妈妈一起约会可能会是一场灾难。 格雷格还在穿尿布的事就好像是昨天发生的一样！我知道如果我真的想给阿比盖尔留下好印象，我就得租辆豪华轿车，但那些东西花了我一大笔钱。 然后我有了一个主意。罗利的爸爸有一辆非常好的车，所以我想我们可以让他开我们。 阿比盖尔甚至不需要知道杰弗逊先生是罗利的父亲。 如果我们什么都不说，她会以为他是个职业司机。 也许我应该给他买一顶司机戴的帽子，让他真正接受这个想法。 当然，我们不能对MR说什么。