The Soccer Bully

The Soccer Bully

足球恶霸

Eliot roamed through Mickey’s Sports, browsing shelves stocked with tennis rackets and baseball bats. His younger brother, Sean, was searching for a new goalkeeper’s jersey in the soccer aisle. Soccer tryouts started on Monday, and Sean wanted a new jersey for good luck. As Eliot headed back toward the soccer gear, he spotted an athletic boy looming over Sean. “ Sean must have bumped into a friend, ” he thought. Then he saw the kid jab Sean with a finger.

艾略特在米奇运动品牌店中闲逛，随便看了看货架上堆满的网球拍和棒球棒。 他的弟弟肖恩正在足球过道上寻找一件新的守门员球衣。 足球选拔赛于周一开始，肖恩想要一件新球衣以获得好运。 当艾略特朝着足球装备走去时，他发现一个健壮男孩正走近肖恩。 “肖恩一定是遇到了朋友，”他想。 然后他看到那孩子用手指戳了肖恩。

“ Hey! ” Eliot shouted. Sean’s face turned bright red when he saw Eliot rushing toward him. “ Stay off the soccer field, loser! ” the kid snarled before he stalked off, snickering. “ Who was that?” Eliot asked. Sean held up a lime green jersey. “ What do you think?” he joked weakly. “ Does this go with my red hair and freckles?” Before Eliot could reply, Sean shoved the jersey back in a pile on the shelf.

“嘿！”艾略特喊道。 当肖恩看到艾略特朝他冲过来时，他的脸变得通红。 “离足球场远点，失败者！”那孩子龇牙低吼，然后窃笑地走开了。 “那是谁？”艾略特问。 肖恩举起一件青绿色的球衣。 “你觉得怎么样？”他弱弱地开玩笑说。 “这和我的红头发和雀斑搭配吗？” 艾略特还没来得及回答，肖恩就把球衣堆回了货架上。

“ Let’s get out of here. I can’t afford a new jersey anyway. ” On Monday Eliot wasn’t expecting to see Sean until dinnertime, after his first tryout session had ended. But when Eliot entered the kitchen after school, Sean was perched on a counter stool. “ Sean! What are you doing here?” “ I live here, ” he said sarcastically. “ Remember?”

“我们离开这里吧。反正我买不起新球衣。” 周一，艾略特没想到会在晚饭时见到肖恩，那他第一次试训结束的时候。 但是，当艾略特放学后走进厨房时，肖恩正坐在一张柜台的凳子上。 “肖恩！你在这里干什么？” “我住在这里，”他讽刺地说。“记得吗？”

“ That’s not what I meant, ” Eliot said. “ Why aren’t you at tryouts?” “ Because I’m not trying out. ” “ What?” “ I won’t make the team. So what’s the point?” “ The point is, you love soccer, ” Eliot said. “ And you’ve been preparing for tryouts for months. ” “ That was before I—” Sean’s mouth abruptly snapped shut. “ Before what?” Eliot demanded.

“我不是这意思，”艾略特说。“你为什么不参加选拔赛？” “因为我没有尝试。” “什么t?” “我不会加入球队。那有什么意义？” “意义是，你热爱足球，”艾略特说。“你已经为试训做了几个月的准备。” “那是我之前——”肖恩的嘴突然闭上了。 “之前什么？”艾略特强烈地问道。

Suddenly he flashed back to the scene at Mickey’s Sports. “ It’s that kid from the store! He’s the reason you skipped tryouts. You can’t let him bully you into staying on the sidelines! ” “ It’s my own fault, ” Sean said. “ I shouldn’t have bragged about my goalie skills to him. ” “ Whoa. ” Eliot held up a hand. “ It’s not your fault. That kid is a bully, plain and simple. ” He frowned. “ Has he harmed you physically?” Sean shook his head. “ George just threatens to hurt me.

突然，他回想起米奇运动品牌店里的场景。 “是店里的那个孩子！他是你不参加选拔赛的原因。你不能让他欺负你到场外呆着！” “这是我自己的错，”肖恩说。“我不应该向他吹嘘我的守门员技术。” “哇。”艾略特举起一只手。“这不是你的错。那孩子是个不折不扣仗势欺人的人。”他皱着眉头。“他有伤害你身体吗？” 肖恩摇了摇头。“乔治只是威胁要伤害我。