13 Always Break a Leg

CHAPTER THIRTEEN ALWAYS BREAK A LEG Probability (noun). The likelihood that something will happen. It's the odds that when you flip a coin it will be heads or tails. Or the chances of you winning in rock, paper, scissors. FIRST THING IN THE MORNING on Tuesday, I pulled out the rehearsal schedule and stuffed my backpack under a seat. "I put my glue in a sealed bag today," I said to Birdie. "Wish me luck!" "No, Kate! Take that back!" "What do you mean?" "It's bad luck to say"—she lowered her voice —"good luck in a theater. You're supposed to say break a leg." "Oh, c'mon. That's silly. There's no such thing as luck. It's all probability. If you roll two dice, there's a higher chance you'll get a seven than a two. Superstitions are plain weird. They make

第十三章总是摔断腿概率（名词）。 可能性：某事发生的可能性 当你抛硬币时，是正面还是反面的概率。 或者你在石头剪子布游戏中获胜的几率。 星期二早上的第一件事，我拿出排演时间表，把背包塞到座位下面。 “今天我把胶水放在一个密封的袋子里，”我对小鸟说。 “祝我好运吧！”“不,凯特!收回那句话！”“你是什么意思？”“说‘祝你在剧院里好运’——她压低了声音。 你应该说祝你好运。” “哦,来吧。这是很愚蠢的。没有运气这回事。 都是概率。如果你掷两个骰子，得到7的几率比得到2的几率大。 迷信是很奇怪的。 他们使

people do weird stuff like hate on black cats or run into a busy street to get away from a ladder." I grabbed Birdie's arm. "So, I'm going to say good luck, just to myself—since you're so against it." Birdie clapped her hands over her ears. "Please. Stop. Now something bad is definitely going to happen. I'm really afraid." For a moment, I thought she was joking. But judging from her quivery bottom lip, she wasn't. "Look, the only bad thing that's going to happen is we're going to be late to start rehearsal." I was supposed to go over the schedule with the cast, while Mrs. Hansberry organized the backstage crew. It was part of my job. In the back of the theater, Mrs. Hansberry motioned me over. Today, she was dressed in a longish skirt and Birkenstocks with rainbow socks. Immediately, I felt too plain in my jeans and pink T-shirt. Tomorrow, I decided, I was going to dress with more flair. That would be fun. Putting my schedule on the seat, I hurried toward Mrs. Hansberry while Birdie headed to sit with the rest of the cast in the first two rows of the theater. "Here's the prop list," said Mrs. Hansberry, handing me a paper. "It's good to have props as early as possible so actors can rehearse with them."

人们会做一些奇怪的事情，比如讨厌黑猫，或者跑到繁忙的街道上躲避梯子。” 我抓住小鸟的胳膊。“所以，我要说祝你好运，就对我自己说——既然你这么反对。” 伯蒂用手捂住耳朵。 “请。停止。现在肯定会有不好的事情发生。 我真的很害怕。”有那么一刻，我以为她是在开玩笑。 但从她颤抖的下嘴唇来看，她不是。 “听着，唯一会发生的坏事就是我们开始排练要迟到了。” 汉斯伯里太太组织后台工作人员的时候，我应该和演员们一起过一遍日程安排。 这是我工作的一部分。在剧院后面，汉斯伯里太太示意我过去。 今天，她穿着一条长裙，一双勃肯鞋和一双彩虹袜。 我立刻觉得我的牛仔裤和粉色t恤太普通了。 明天，我决定，我要穿得更有风格。 那会很有趣。我把日程表放在座位上，匆匆走向汉斯伯里太太，而伯迪则和其他演员一起坐在剧院前两排。 “这是道具清单，”汉斯伯里太太递给我一张纸说。 “尽早有道具是件好事，这样演员就可以和它们一起排练。”

"That makes sense." It was a long list with items like a crystal orb, an oversize dragon sandwich, blankets, and a long jump rope to tie up the unicorns. "I'm going to be at least thirty minutes with the crew. We'll be with Mr. Caldera, the facility manager, discussing some basic safety procedures. I trust that you can take care of the cast rehearsal schedule. Who needs to be where and when." "Of course! I've got it under control." Mrs. Hansberry glanced over at the first two rows where all the actors were in the process of sitting down and nodded. "Splendid. This is the only time that Mr. Caldera can meet, and I want to be respectful of his schedule." I took that as Mrs. Hansberry's polite hint that she needed to go. When I turned around, Birdie was still walking toward the first two rows of seats. That was so Birdie. She acted as if she had all day to do everything. I hurried back to my seat where I had placed the schedule. When I peered down at the sheet, I let out a small squeal. Black streaks of ink blotted out all the information. What was going on here?! Someone had used a Sharpie to cross out everything I needed to know.

“这说得通。”这是一个长长的清单，上面有一个水晶球、一个超大的龙三明治、毯子和一根用来绑住独角兽的跳绳。 “我至少要和船员们呆30分钟。 我们会和设施经理卡尔德拉先生，讨论一些基本的安全程序。 我相信你能安排好演员排练的日程。 谁需要在何时何地出现。” “当然!我已经控制住了。” 汉斯伯里太太瞥了一眼头两排，所有的演员都在那里坐下，然后点了点头。 “辉煌。这是卡尔德拉先生唯一可以见面的时间，我想尊重他的日程安排。” 我以为这是汉斯伯里太太礼貌地暗示她该走了。 当我转过身时，小鸟还在向前两排座位走去。 这太伯迪了。她表现得好像她有一整天的时间做所有的事情。 我急忙回到我放日程表的座位上。 当我低头看床单时，我发出了一声小小的尖叫。 黑色的墨迹遮住了所有的信息。 这是怎么回事？！有人用记号笔划掉了我需要知道的一切。

This definitely wasn't some sort of dumb accident. This was on purpose.

这绝对不是什么愚蠢的意外。 这是故意的。