8. Last Chance

Chapter 8 Last Chance Casey did not say a word all day. At least not when Marvin was near. He didn't know if she said anything when he wasn't around, although he suspected that she did. After school, he walked with Nick and Stuart to Nick's house. "She's lying," Marvin repeated several times on the way there. "How can she lie if she can't talk?" asked Stuart. "That's how," said Marvin. "Because she can talk." "Why would she pretend she can't talk?" asked Nick. "Why do you care?" asked Stuart. "I don't care!" Marvin insisted. He didn't tell them about the magic crystal. He had

凯西一整天一句话也没说。 至少马文在附近的时候没有。 他不知道他不在的时候她是否说了什么，尽管他怀疑她说了。 放学后，他和尼克、斯图尔特一起走到尼克家。 “她在撒谎。”马文在去那里的路上重复了好几次。 “如果她不会说话，她怎么能撒谎呢?”斯图亚特问。 “就是这样。”马文说。 “因为她会说话。”“她为什么要假装不会说话?”尼克问。 “你为什么这么关心?”斯图亚特问。 “我才不管呢!”马文坚持道。 他没有告诉他们魔法水晶的事。 他有

promised Casey to keep it secret. And even though she was pretending she couldn't talk, and even though she called him a stupid, stinky booboo-head baboon, he still kept his promise. "You want to play basketball?" Nick asked when they reached his house. "I don't care," Marvin repeated, still thinking about Casey. "Sure," said Stuart. "Horse, or knockout?" "I don't care," said Marvin. "I just know she's faking." They decided to play horse, because they'd need two basketballs to play knockout. Nick only had one basketball. Nick talked and played at the same time. "… Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The amazing Nick Tuffle is now going to try a shot from behind the brown spot in the driveway! Can he do it? He's taking careful aim. Oh, the pressure! It would be amazing if he can make this shot. He shoots! The ball is up. It bounces off the rim … and GOES THROUGH THE NET! He did it! Nick Tuffle made the shot!" Marvin was the first to lose. He was too busy thinking

答应凯西保守秘密 即使她假装不会说话，即使她叫他愚蠢的，臭狒狒，他仍然遵守诺言。 “你想打篮球吗?”当他们到达他家时，尼克问道。 “我不在乎，”马文重复道，仍然想着凯西。 “当然，”斯图亚特说。“马，还是击倒?”“我不在乎。”马文说。 “我只知道她在装。” 他们决定玩赛马，因为他们需要两个篮球来玩淘汰赛。 尼克只有一个篮球。 尼克一边说一边玩。 “……是的，女士们，先生们。 神奇的尼克·塔夫尔现在要尝试从车道上的棕色斑点后面投篮!他能做到吗? 他正在仔细瞄准。哦，压力!如果他能投进这个球，那就太棒了。 他拍摄的!球到了。 它从篮筐上弹了出来，然后穿过了篮网!他做到了!尼克·塔夫尔投进了球!”马文是第一个输的。 他忙于思考

about how much he didn't care about Casey. "Why don't you go home and get your basketball?" Stuart said. "Then we can play knockout." Marvin liked knockout better than horse. It was faster and had a lot more action. He only lived around the block from Nick. He headed home. His basketball was kept in the garage, but the garage door was closed, so he had to go through the house. Jacob and Nate were eating popcorn in the kitchen. Jacob was Marvin's older brother. Nate was Jacob's best friend. They were in middle school. They were two-fisted eaters. Sometimes all four fists were in the large popcorn bowl at the same time. "Hey, Mar," said Jacob. "You have a visitor." "I do?" asked Marvin. "Is she your girlfriend?" asked Nate. "My girlfriend?" asked Marvin. "She's cute," said Jacob. "Who are you talking about?" asked Marvin. "You mean there's more than one?" asked Nate. Nate and Jacob laughed.

他有多不在乎凯西 “你为什么不回家拿你的篮球呢?”斯图尔特说。 “然后我们可以玩淘汰赛。” 马文喜欢拳击胜过骑马。 它更快，动作也更多。 他住的地方离尼克只有一个街区。 他回家了。他的篮球被放在车库里，但车库里的门是关着的，所以他不得不穿过房子。 雅各布和内特在厨房里吃爆米花。 雅各布是马文的哥哥。 内特是雅各布最好的朋友。 他们在上中学。 他们是双拳食客。 有时四个拳头同时放在大爆米花碗里。 “嘿，妈妈，”雅各布说。“你有客人。” “是吗?”马文问。“她是你的女朋友吗?”内特问。 “我女朋友?”马文问。 “她很可爱，”雅各布说。“你在说谁?”马文问。 “你是说不止一个?”内特问。 内特和雅各布笑了。

"How many girlfriends do you have?" asked Jacob. They laughed some more. Marvin felt himself blush. "I don't know who you're talking about. And she's not my girlfriend!" "She's upstairs, playing with Linzy," said Jacob. Marvin rushed up the stairs. "He's sure in a hurry to see her!" said Nate. Marvin stopped. The only reason he was hurrying was because Nick and Stuart were waiting for him. He probably shouldn't even go upstairs at all. He should just get his basketball and leave. But maybe he could catch Casey talking. Very quietly, he continued up the stairs, then down the hall to Linzy's room. The door was open. He peeked inside. Casey and Linzy were sitting on the floor, playing Candy Land. Casey's back was to Marvin. Marvin put his fingers to his lips so Linzy wouldn't say anything. "Hi, Marvin!" Linzy blurted. "Do you like my new hairstyle?" Linzy had a ponytail sticking out of the side of her head.

“你有几个女朋友?”雅各布问。 他们又笑了起来。马文觉得自己脸红了。 “我不知道你在说谁。 而且她不是我女朋友!”“她在楼上和琳兹玩呢，”雅各布说。 马文冲上楼梯。 “他肯定急着要见她!”内特说。 马文停了下来。他匆忙的唯一原因是尼克和斯图亚特在等他。 他可能根本就不该上楼。 他应该拿上篮球然后离开。 但也许他能听到凯西说话。 他非常安静地继续上楼，然后穿过大厅来到琳姿的房间。 门开着。他往里面偷看。 凯西和林兹坐在地板上玩糖果乐园。 凯西背对着马文。 马文把手指放在嘴唇上，这样林兹就不会说话了。 “嗨,马文!”Linzy脱口而出。 “你喜欢我的新发型吗?”林兹的马尾辫从脑袋的一侧伸出来。

Casey turned and stared at Marvin. "I'm playing with Casey," Linzy said. "She can't talk. And it's your fault." Marvin spoke to Linzy, but he looked at Casey. "How do you know she can't talk?" he asked. "Unless she told you." "Well … because she hasn't said anything!" said Linzy.

凯西转过身，盯着马文。 “我在和凯西玩，”林兹说。 “她不能说话。这是你的错。” 马文跟琳姿说话，但他看了看凯西。 “你怎么知道她不会说话?”他问。 “除非她告诉你。”“嗯……因为她什么也没说!”

"But how do you know it's my fault?" Marvin asked, still staring at Casey. Everything is your fault, Marvin, said Casey's face. "Well, you two have fun playing Candy Land," said Marvin. "I just came to get my basketball." "Wait! Don't go!" said Linzy. "You can fix her so she can talk again." "Oh, really?" asked Marvin. "How can I do that?" "All you have to do is say you're sorry for telling her to shut up," said Linzy. Marvin thought it over. He did feel bad about telling Casey to shut up. Casey tapped Linzy's shoulder. "Oh, I forgot," said Linzy. She giggled. "You also have to say that you 'miss hearing her sweet voice.' " She giggled again. Marvin reddened. There was no way he could say that! "Well, first of all," said Marvin, "I know she's faking. Second of all, what makes you think I want her to talk again? I'm going to play basketball. Nick and Stuart are waiting for me." Casey glared at him. Her face said, If you leave now,

“可是你怎么知道是我的错呢?”马文问，仍然盯着凯西。 “一切都是你的错，马文，”凯西的脸说。 “好吧，你们俩玩得开心，”马文说。 “我只是来拿我的篮球。” “等等!别走!”林兹说。 “你可以治好她，这样她就能说话了。” “哦，真的吗?”马文问。 “我怎么能做到呢?”“你所要做的就是说你很抱歉让她闭嘴，”林兹说。 马文想了想。他确实为让凯西闭嘴而感到内疚。 凯西拍了拍琳兹的肩膀。 “哦，我忘了，”林兹说。 她咯咯笑了。“你还得说，你很想念她甜美的声音。’”她又咯咯地笑起来。 马文发红了。他不可能这么说!“嗯，首先，”马文说，“我知道她在装。 其次，你凭什么认为我想让她再开口? 我要去打篮球。 尼克和斯图尔特在等我。” 凯西瞪着他。她的脸在说，如果你现在离开，