Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 THAT NIGHT 7:00 P.M. "Sounds way too dangerous," Mom said, adding a dash of pepper to a bubbling pot of chili. "I don't like the idea of Dex heading off with some thrill seeker." Dex, Mom, and Dad were in the kitchen, cooking their usual Saturday night chili dinner. Dad had already spoken to Dr. Gage and he was excited for Dex to go on tomorrow's chase. Now they just had to get Mom to go along with the plan.

第四章那天晚上7点 “听起来太危险了，”妈妈说着，往一锅冒着泡的辣椒里加了一点胡椒粉。 “我不喜欢德克斯和一个寻求刺激的人一起去。” 德克斯、妈妈和爸爸在厨房里，做着他们星期六晚上常吃的辣味晚餐。 爸爸已经和医生谈过了。 盖奇和他都为德克斯明天要去打猎而兴奋不已。 现在他们只需要让妈妈同意他们的计划。

"Deb, Norm is a serious scientist," Dad said. Mom eyed him. "What he does is dangerous, David. Norman Gage isn't chasing bunnies. He's chasing tornadoes!" "Now there's a show I'd like to see," Dad said. "Norman Gage, bunny chaser!" That made them all laugh, with Mom's singsong giggle rising up loudest. Good sign, Dex thought. When Mom was really upset, not even Zeke could make her smile. After Jeremy left, it seemed Mom hadn't cracked a smile for a month. Mom stopped laughing. "I'd just feel better if one of us were going along." There was no way she or Dad could miss the graduation ceremony. Dad brushed one of Mom's blond curls off of her forehead. "I trust Norm. He really doesn't take risks," Dad said. "And this is an incredible opportunity for Dex."

“黛比，诺姆是个严肃的科学家，”爸爸说。 妈妈看着他。“他做的事很危险，大卫。 诺曼·盖奇不是在追兔子。 他在追龙卷风!”“现在有一场我想看的表演，”爸爸说。 “诺曼·盖奇，兔子追逐者!”这让他们都笑了起来，其中妈妈的咯咯声最响。 好兆头，德克斯想。妈妈伤心的时候，连齐克都没法让她笑。 杰里米走后，妈妈好像有一个月没笑过了。 妈妈不再笑了。“如果我们中有一个人去，我会感觉更好。” 她和爸爸不可能错过毕业典礼。 爸爸把妈妈额头上的一头金发卷发拨开。 “我信任诺姆。他真的不敢冒险，”爸爸说。 “这对德克斯来说是一个不可思议的机会。”

"You should see his car, Mom," Dex said. "It can go way faster than any tornado." Mom looked at Dad, and then Dex, flicking her dark eyes back and forth. Dex held his breath. Finally, Mom gave her I surrender sigh and flashed the smile that Dad swore was the prettiest in Joplin. "All right." Victory! After dinner, Mom put the Scrabble board on the table. She looked at Dex hopefully. "Quick game?" Scrabble used to be another Saturday night tradition — Mom and Dad versus Dex and Jeremy. The fierce games would stretch for hours over bowls of popcorn and chocolate ice cream. When Dex and Jeremy won, they'd parade around the house like Super Bowl champs, whooping with joy.

“你应该看看他的车，妈妈，”德克斯说。 “它比任何龙卷风都要快得多。” 妈妈看了看爸爸，然后是德克斯，她的黑眼睛前后扫视着。 德克斯屏住了呼吸。最后，妈妈向她叹了口气，露出了爸爸发誓说她是乔普林最漂亮的人的微笑。 “好吧。”胜利!晚饭后，妈妈把拼字板放在桌子上。 她满怀希望地看着德克斯。 “快速游戏?”拼字游戏曾经是另一个周六晚上的传统——爸爸妈妈对战德克斯和杰里米。 激烈的游戏会持续几个小时，一边吃着爆米花和巧克力冰淇淋。 当德克斯和杰里米赢球时，他们会像超级碗冠军一样在房子里游行，欢呼雀跃。

Dex couldn't tell Mom that with Jeremy gone, Scrabble was just a boring game. He kissed her good night. "I need to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow." He said good night to Dad and headed up to his room. He watched a couple episodes of Dr. Gage's show and then got ready for bed. He pulled back his blankets to make a spot for Zeke. He had to yank hard to undo his sheets, which were tucked in extra tight. Jeremy had taught him how to make his bed that way. He had just finished SEAL training in California, the most brutal military training in the world. It was six months of pure misery, Jeremy said, endless days of grueling runs, freezing ocean swims, and impossible obstacle courses. The worst night for Jeremy was when they had to swim for hours in the freezing Pacific Ocean. The surf was so rough he got thrown against some rocks and cut his leg.

德克斯不能告诉妈妈，杰里米走了，拼字游戏就成了一项无聊的游戏。 他吻她道晚安。“我需要为明天睡个好觉。” 他向爸爸道了晚安，然后上楼回了自己的房间。 他看了几集《医生。 盖奇的节目，然后准备睡觉。 他拉开毯子，给齐克腾地方。 他不得不使劲一拉才能解开被单，因为被单掖得特别紧。 杰里米教他怎样那样铺床。 他刚刚在加利福尼亚完成海豹突击队的训练，这是世界上最残酷的军事训练。 杰里米说，那是纯粹痛苦的六个月，没完没了的艰苦跑步、冰冷的海洋游泳和不可能的障碍赛。 对杰里米来说，最糟糕的一晚是他们不得不在冰冷的太平洋里游上几个小时。 海浪太猛烈了，他被撞到一些岩石上，划破了腿。

"They finally pulled me out of the water," Jeremy had said. "They were afraid my blood would attract the great white sharks that feed in that area." Dex had repeated that story to Dylan and the guys, and they had almost fallen off of their chairs with happiness. Dex also showed them Jeremy's SEAL trident pin, which Jeremy let him bring to school for the

“他们终于把我从水里拉了出来，”杰里米说。 “他们担心我的血会吸引在那个地区觅食的大白鲨。” 德克斯把这个故事重复给迪伦和其他人听，他们高兴得差点从椅子上掉下来。 德克斯还给他们看了杰里米的海豹突击队三叉戟别针，杰里米让他把它带到学校

day. The pin was a golden eagle clutching an anchor, a gun, and a three-pronged spear. Dex explained that out of the 118 guys who started in Jeremy's training class, only 23 passed and got their pins. The guys crowded around Dex, staring at the pin in awe, as if it was a dinosaur egg about to hatch. "What was the best thing Jeremy learned in training?" Dylan had asked. Almost without thinking, Dex said, "To make his bed right. It's the first thing a SEAL learns in training. Anyone who does it wrong gets their bed ripped apart by the instructors." "I don't get it," Dylan said, not rudely. Dex had said the same thing to Jeremy, and now Dex repeated his brother's answer almost word for word to the guys. "Because you make your bed right, and you've started your day doing something right. And if you have a hard day, you can come home to a bed you

的一天。别针是一只金鹰，手里抓着一个锚、一支枪和一支三尖矛。 德克斯解释说，在杰里米的训练班开始的118个人中，只有23人通过并得到了他们的徽章。 大家围着德克斯，敬畏地盯着别针，好像那是一个即将孵化的恐龙蛋。 “杰里米在训练中学到的最好的东西是什么?”迪伦问。 德克斯几乎不假思索地说:“把他的床整理好。 这是海豹突击队员在训练中学到的第一件事。 谁要是做错了，教官就会把他的床拆了。” “我不明白，”迪伦说，语气并不粗鲁。 德克斯也对杰里米说过同样的话，现在德克斯几乎一字不差地把他哥哥的回答重复给大家听。 “因为你把床整理好了，你做了正确的事情开始了新的一天。 如果你有一个辛苦的一天，你可以回家睡觉