Working Things Out

Finally! Maddie said as Gage skidded into the yard. “ You’re twenty minutes late! ” " Football practice ran late again, sorry! ” Gage started madly raking leaves. Maddie sighed. Gage was small and shy, and he had never been into sports before. But this year he seemed to care about nothing else.

最后当盖奇滑进院子时，玛迪说道。“你迟到了二十分钟！” "足球训练又迟到了，对不起！”盖奇开始疯狂地耙树叶。 玛迪叹了口气。盖奇个子矮小，很害羞，他以前从未参加过体育运动。 但今年他似乎什么都不在乎。

" How was practice?” she asked, trying to sound supportive. He grinned. “ Great. I’m the fastest runner on the team. ” " Cool. ” Maddie just wished he was a little faster at getting to their after-school job. They were helping their neighbor, Mrs. Famer, with some yard work for an hour a few days every week.

"练习怎么样？”她问，试图听起来支持。 他咧嘴一笑。“太好了。我是队里跑得最快的。” "很酷。”玛迪只是希望他能更快地找到他们的课后工作。 他们每周有几天帮助邻居法默夫人做一小时的庭院工作。

" Ready to trim those tree branches?” " Sure. ” Gage grabbed the shears and raced up the ladder. As Maddie picked up the branches he cut, frustrated thoughts crowded her mind. If Gage had been on time, they might have been finished by now. The ladder suddenly shook, and a branch flew past her head.

"准备好修剪那些树枝了吗？” "当然。”盖奇抓起剪刀，冲上梯子。 当玛迪捡起他砍下的树枝时，沮丧的思绪涌上心头。 如果盖奇准时的话，他们现在可能已经完成了。 梯子突然摇晃，一根树枝从她的头顶飞过。

" What are you doing up there?” " Just practicing a football pass. ” Gage sounded embarrassed. “ I guess it works better on the ground. ” Maddie bit back angry words. At this rate trimming the trees was going to take twice as long as it should.

"你在上面干什么？” "只是在练习足球传球。”盖奇听起来很尴尬。“我想它在地面上效果更好。” 玛迪收回了愤怒的话。按照这个速度修剪树木需要两倍的时间。

Sure enough, their hour of work was up before the trees were done. But Mrs. Famer thanked and paid them. She smiled at Gage. " You must have a different schedule these days. You two never show up at the same time anymore. ” " I know, ” Gage mumbled guiltily.

果不其然，他们的工作时间在树木完成之前就结束了。 但法默夫人感谢并支付了他们。她对盖奇微笑。 "这几天你肯定有不同的日程安排。 你们俩再也不会同时出现了。”“我知道，”盖奇内疚地喃喃自语。

As she and Gage walked home, Maddie clutched the money in her hand. Normally, she halved it right away. " You’ve been late a lot, Gage! ” she finally blurted out. " Football just . . . ” Gage’s voice trailed away. All of Maddie’s frustration bubbled up. “ Football! ” she exploded. " Is that the most important thing in the world now?

当她和盖奇走回家的时候，玛迪手里攥着钱。通常情况下，她会马上减半。 "你迟到了很多，盖奇！”她终于脱口而出。 "足球只是……”盖奇的声音渐渐远去。 玛迪所有的沮丧都涌了出来。“足球！”她爆炸了。 "这是现在世界上最重要的事情吗？