11 A Strawberry on Top

CHAPTER ELEVEN A Strawberry on Top Heat (noun). From a chemistry standpoint, heat is energy flowing from a hotter system to a cooler one. If you give off energy, things heat up. If you take it away, things cool down. That's why if you do a hundred jumping jacks, you'll start to sweat. "I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU," said Birdie on Friday at lunch. "What?" I asked. We sat in the cafeteria away from everyone, behind the wilty salad bar. Normally, we sat at a long table in a big group. But I wanted a little chance to relax. It still felt like someone was out to get me. And I had no idea who or why. Birdie held out a white paper bag. I pressed my hands together. "Please, Birdie. You know I have zero patience. Tell me what's in there. I'm begging you!" "Close your eyes and count to ten." "Okay, fine." I squeezed my eyes shut. And started to count. "One Michigan," I began. "Two

第十一章高温下的草莓（名词） 从化学的角度来看，热是从较热的系统流向较冷系统的能量。 如果你释放能量，物体就会变热。 如果你把它拿走，事情就会冷却下来。 这就是为什么如果你做100个开合跳，你就会开始出汗。 “我有东西要给你，”星期五午餐时小鸟说。 “什么?”我问。我们坐在自助餐厅里，远离大家，坐在破旧的沙拉吧台后面。 通常，我们一群人坐在一张长桌子旁。 但我想找个机会放松一下。 我还是觉得有人要找我麻烦。 我不知道是谁，也不知道为什么。 小鸟拿出一个白色的纸袋。 我双手合十。 “请小鸟。你知道我没有耐心。 告诉我里面有什么。我求你了！”“闭上眼睛，数到十。” “好,好。”我紧紧地闭上眼睛。 开始数数。“一个密歇根。”我开始说。 “两个

Michigan." I could hear Birdie opening the bag. "Three Michigan." The sound of more paper crinkling. "Four Michigan. I can't stand it. Five, six, seven, eight, nine-ten," I rushed, then fluttered my eyes open. And there sitting on top of Birdie's palm was my strawberry candle. It looked just like it had before. Only better, if that was possible. "That looks amazing. So real. I mean, I actually want to eat it." "You think it's your wax strawberry. It's a real one," she said with a serious voice. "Really?" "Just kidding. But it does look real, doesn't it?" "Yes," I admitted. "I could almost forget that it was ever messed up. Like maybe it was just a figment of my imagination." "It wasn't your imagination," said Birdie firmly. "It looked like someone warmed it up in their hands and then squeezed it really hard to smash it." Birdie bit into her taco. "I just don't get who would do something like that." "Me either. Maybe it was a hungry rat who was confused." "Ha ha. That's weird."

密歇根。”我能听到小鸟打开袋子的声音。 “三个。”更多的纸张起皱的声音。 “四密歇根。我受不了了。 五，六，七，八，九，十，”我冲过去，然后摇着眼睛睁开。 在小鸟的掌心上放着我的草莓蜡烛。 它看起来和以前一样。 如果可能的话，只会更好。 “看起来很神奇。如此真实。 我的意思是，我真的很想吃它。” “你以为那是你的蜜蜡草莓。 这是真的，”她用严肃的声音说。 “真的吗?”“开个玩笑。但它看起来是真的，不是吗？”“是的，”我承认。 “我几乎可以忘记它曾经一团糟。 也许这只是我想象出来的。” “那不是你的想象，”小鸟坚定地说。 “看起来像是有人用手把它加热，然后使劲挤它，想把它砸碎。” 小鸟咬了一口她的玉米卷。“我就是不明白谁会做出这种事。” ”我。也许是一只饥饿的老鼠迷惑了。” “哈哈。这很奇怪。”

"What's weird is the way Rory is looking over at me." I nodded over to the table where he sat with Elijah and a bunch of guys. Rory peered at me again and then looked away when I tried to catch his eye. Then he whispered to Memito. "Okay. That is weird," whispered Birdie. "I know." At that moment, as if Rory knew we were talking about him, he snuck a glance at me one more time. I gave him a questioning look and he whipped around. "Weirder," I said. "Agreed," said Birdie, dipping her spoon in some rice pudding, which was dusted with cocoa powder. "Hold up! That's cocoa powder." "Yummy. And pretty." "And also, a great tool." I remembered a Dr. Caroline episode about dusting for fingerprints with cocoa powder. I explained how it worked to Birdie and then I zipped to the lunch counter. Mrs. Andrews, who manages the cafeteria, was sealing the lid on a jar of mayonnaise. "Can I please have some cocoa powder? Just a small cup. It's for a really good reason. A science experiment." "Science, huh?" She looked at me. She looked over at a plastic container of cocoa. "I don't see why

“奇怪的是罗里看着我的样子。” 我朝他和以利亚还有一群人坐在一起的那张桌子点了点头。 罗里又看了我一眼，当我试图吸引他的目光时，他把目光移开了。 然后他低声对记忆托说。 “好吧。这太奇怪了，”小鸟低声说。 “我知道。”在那一刻，罗里似乎知道我们在谈论他，他又偷偷地看了我一眼。 我疑惑地看了他一眼，他转过身来。 “更奇怪了，”我说。“同意。”小鸟说着，用勺子蘸了蘸米布丁，上面撒了可可粉。 “举起!那是可可粉。” “好吃。和漂亮。”“同时，它也是一个伟大的工具。” 我记得卡洛琳医生讲过用可可粉擦拭指纹。 我向伯迪解释了它的工作原理，然后就直奔午餐柜台。 管理自助餐厅的安德鲁斯太太正在盖一罐蛋黄酱。 “我能吃点可可粉吗？” 就一小杯。这是有充分理由的。 一个科学实验。”“科学,嗯?”她看着我。 她看了看一个装可可的塑料容器。 “我不明白为什么

not. Is it for class, Kate, or are you doing something on your own? Your mom told me about your kitchen science experiments earlier this week." I smiled at her. It's always a little weird that the grown-ups at school know things about me that I didn't tell them. But sometimes it's kind of nice, too. "There's a science project competition, one week from this Friday." I pointed to a banner in the cafeteria that read: STEM NIGHT! NOV. 20! "Oh right!" She measured out a cup and handed it to me in a baggie. "Good luck!" "Thanks." Back at the table, I turned to Birdie. "Sometimes having your mom as principal has some perks." As fast as we could, we went to Mrs. Eberlin's classroom, which was always open to students at lunch. We said hi to Mrs. Eberlin, who stood in the middle of the classroom with a stack of books in her arms. "What are you girls up to?" she asked as she strolled toward the back of the classroom. "Oh, just a little science," I said, which was the truth. "Well, have fun, girls. I'm going to do a little reshelving." She disappeared behind a bookshelf

不是。是为了上课，凯特，还是你在做自己的事？ 你妈妈本周早些时候告诉了我你的厨房科学实验。” 我对她笑了笑。学校里的大人们知道一些我没告诉他们的事，这总是有点奇怪。 但有时也很好。 “从这个星期五起一周后有一个科学项目竞赛。” 我指着餐厅里的横幅，上面写着：STEM之夜！11月。 20 !“哦对!”她量出一个杯子，装在袋子里递给我。 “祝你好运!”“谢谢。”回到桌边，我转向伯蒂。 “有时候让妈妈当校长会有一些好处。” 我们以最快的速度去了埃伯林夫人的教室，午餐时间总是对学生开放。 我们向埃伯林夫人问好，她站在教室中央，怀里抱着一摞书。 “你们这些女孩在做什么？”她一边向教室后面走去，一边问道。 “哦，只是一点科学知识，”我说，这是事实。 “好吧，玩得开心，姑娘们。我要重新整理一下架子。” 她消失在一个书架后面

area we call the book nook. "Holler if you need anything." "We will," I said. Explaining the procedure to Birdie, I quickly gathered everything we needed (luckily Birdie always has art supplies in her backpack and it was cold enough out that we had gloves in our jacket pockets): 2 pairs of gloves—to avoid putting our prints all over everything, or getting cocoa powder all over us 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder—not to make hot chocolate but to dust for fingerprints 1 paintbrush with soft bristles—to apply the cocoa powder, not for a Birdie masterpiece 1 roll of tape—not to tape stuff together but to lift off the fingerprints 1 index card—to stick the lifted fingerprint to for evidence

我们称之为书角的地方。 “需要什么就喊一声。” “我们会的，”我说。我向Birdie解释了整个过程，并迅速收集了我们需要的所有东西（幸运的是，Birdie的背包里总是有美术用品，而且外面很冷，我们的夹克口袋里也有手套）：2双手套——避免把我们的指纹弄得到处都是，或者把可可粉弄得到处都是——1汤匙可可粉——不是用来做热巧克力，而是用来擦拭指纹——1把刷毛软的画笔——涂抹可可粉，不是用来制作Birdie的杰作——1卷胶带——不是用来把东西粘在一起，而是用来擦掉指纹——1张索引卡——用来粘上擦掉的指纹作为证据

Birdie pulled on a pair of purple gloves that she'd bedazzled with rhinestones. "My prints will not be contaminating the evidence." "Definitely not." I grabbed some of the cocoa powder and poured it into my cubby. Then I picked up the paintbrush. "How does it actually work?" asked Birdie. "Fingers are coated with sweat and oil. That means the powder will stick to it. Dark powder works best on a light surface." After lightly swishing the brush back and forth, I gently blew away the excess powder. "Look!" I pointed to three fingerprints. "Wow," whispered Birdie. "I know." Birdie cut off three strips of tape. "It's time for liftoff." Smoothing the strips over the prints, she

伯蒂戴上一副紫色的手套，上面镶满了令人眼花缭乱的水钻。 “我的指纹不会污染证据。” “绝对不会。”我拿了一些可可粉，倒进我的柜子里。 然后我拿起画笔。 “它到底是怎么工作的？”小鸟问。 “手指上沾满了汗水和油脂。 这意味着粉末会粘在上面。 深色粉末在浅色表面效果最好。” 轻轻地来回刷刷后，我轻轻地吹走多余的粉末。 “看!”我指着三个指纹。 “哇，”小鸟低声说。“我知道。” 伯迪剪掉了三条胶带。 “是起飞的时候了。”把带子在指纹上擦平，她