7 SWORD OF A BIG DEAL

CHAPTER 7 SWORD OF A BIG DEAL Wait up, Rip!" said Alexander as he pulled on his gym shirt.

等一等，瑞普！”亚历山大一边说一边穿上运动衫。

Alexander walked into the gym. Actually, it wasn't a gym it was a hospital laundry room. Students had lined up near a row of washing machines. Everyone wore matching gym clothes, except for Nikki. She joined Alexander and Rip at the end of the line. "You wear your hoodie to gym?" Alexander asked. "Yes." Nikki jammed her hands into the hoodie's pockets. "I have a... condition."

亚历山大走进体育馆。 事实上，那不是健身房而是医院的洗衣房。 学生们在一排洗衣机旁排队。 除了妮基，每个人都穿着相同的运动服。 她加入了亚历山大和里普的行列。 “你穿连帽衫去健身房？”亚历山大问。 “是的。”妮基把手塞进连帽衫的口袋里。 “我有一个……条件。”

"What do you mean?" asked Alexander. CLANG! CLONG! The students stopped talking. "What was that?" someone whispered. Alexander pointed to a square hole in the ceiling. "It's coming from the laundry chute!" BUMPA-BUMPA-BOOM! "Is someone up there?" asked Nikki. "Duh, Nikki!" Rip sneered. "I bet that chute is Hoarsely's hidey-hole!"

“你是什么意思？”亚历山大问。 铿锵声!CLONG !学生们停止了谈话。 “那是什么声音？”有人小声问。 亚历山大指着天花板上的一个方洞。 “它是从洗衣槽里出来的！”BUMPA-BUMPA-BOOM !“上面有人吗？”妮基问。 “咄,尼基!”Rip冷笑道。 “我敢打赌那个降落伞就是沙哑的藏身之处！”

The clanging sound grew louder until -WHOOSH! a white blur tumbled through the chute. The blur caught a water pipe and flipped backward through the air, landing perfectly on its toes. Whoa! Alexander took a step back. It was the masked woman he'd seen earlier. The class started clapping. "She's an acrobat!" said Nikki. "Acrobat, nothing," said Rip. "She's a ninja!" The woman took a bow.

叮当声越来越响，直到——呼！一个白色的模糊物滚过降落伞。 模糊抓住了一根水管，在空中向后翻转，完美地用脚趾着地。 哇!亚历山大向后退了一步。 是他之前见过的那个蒙面女人。 全班开始鼓掌。 “她是个杂技演员！”尼基说。 “杂技，没什么，”里普说。 “她是个忍者！”女人鞠了一躬。

"Good afternoon, students. I am Coach Gill." Her voice sounded wet and bubbly, like she was gargling mouthwash. "I'll be filling in while your teacher is... on vacation." Alexander raised his hand. "But Mr. Hoarsely isn't Coach Gill leaped across the room and landed in a crouch, inches from Alexander. "Yes?" She read Alexander's shirt. "Mr. Bopp? Were you going to correct me on the whereabouts of"— she took a raspy breath— "Mr. Hoarsely?" Alexander stared into Coach Gill's face mask, but all he could see was darkness. He also caught a whiff of her breath. Pee-yew! Someone had tuna for lunch!

“同学们，下午好。 我是吉尔教练。”她的声音听起来湿漉漉的，像在用漱口水漱口。 “我来代班，你们的老师…… 度假。”亚历山大举起了手。 但沙哑先生不是，吉尔教练跳过房间，蹲在离亚历山大几英寸的地方。 “是吗?”她看了看亚历山大的衬衫。 “Bopp先生吗?你是要纠正我关于——”她粗声粗气地吸了口气。 嘶哑地?”亚历山大盯着吉尔教练的面罩，但他能看到的只有黑暗。 他还闻到了她的气息。 Pee-yew !有人午餐吃了金枪鱼！

"Um, no," he said, leaning back. "Never mind." Coach Gill stared at Alexander a moment longer. "Today," she said, "you will learn the sport of warriors fencing!" She wheeled out a laundry cart full of swords. "Everyone, take a practice foil," she said. "Once you've sharpened your skills, you may one day use a real blade. Like mine." Alexander tapped Rip's shoulder. "Doesn't her sword look weird?" Practice foil (Short and flimsy) Coach Gill's sword (Long and sharp)

“嗯，不，”他说，向后靠了靠。 “不要紧。”吉尔教练又盯着亚历山大看了一会儿。 “今天，”她说，“你们将学习武士击剑运动！”她推出一辆装满剑的洗衣车。 “每个人，拿一个练习用的锡纸，”她说。 “一旦你磨练了自己的技能，有一天你可能会使用一把真正的剑。 像我的。”亚历山大拍了拍瑞普的肩膀。 “她的剑看起来不奇怪吗？”练习花剑（短而脆弱）吉尔教练的剑（长而锋利）