12 Focusing on the Positive

CHAPTER TWELVE Focusing on the Positive Positive charge (noun). When an atom is missing an electron or two, it will have a positive charge. It's like having a balance scale with a pound of lollipops on one side and a pound of chocolate on the other. If you take away a lollipop, you'll now have more chocolate than lollipops. AFTER SCHOOL, Elijah passed the soccer ball to me and I drove it down the field. The wind blew against my face. It was chilly outside, but I didn't mind. Running with the ball felt good, almost easy. If only my science project felt that way, too. If only I could figure out who was messing with me. "You got this!" cheered Elijah. "Go, Kate!" shouted Avery, waving at me from the opposite side of the field. Streams of sunlight broke through the clouds.

正电荷（名词）。 当一个原子失去一两个电子时，它就带一个正电荷。 这就像一个天平，一边是一磅棒棒糖，另一边是一磅巧克力。 如果你拿走一个棒棒糖，你现在得到的巧克力会比棒棒糖多。 放学后，以利亚把足球传给我，我把它带下了球场。 风吹着我的脸。 外面很冷，但我不介意。 带球跑动感觉很好，几乎很轻松。 要是我的科学项目也是这样就好了。 要是我知道是谁在耍我就好了。 “你能行的！”以利亚欢呼道。 “加油，凯特！”艾弗里喊道，在球场的另一边向我挥手。 缕缕阳光穿过云层。

I got this, I told myself. But I wasn't so sure. Rory stood in my way. I mean, he literally stood. He wasn't coming at me. But more like standing still waving his arms, trying to intimidate me. On my team, I'm a defender, so I'm not as confident when it comes to duking it out. But I was going to have to speed past him. He was my obstacle. Calm down, I told myself. This isn't a real game. It was just a pickup game after school. Tapping the ball to the side, I used a quick change of direction to scoot past him. Yes! I dribbled down the field. The goal was getting closer. Just as Jeremy tried to take possession, I kicked. The ball lifted off, arcing into the air and into the goal. "Oh yeah," I cried, racing to grab the ball before I booted it back to midfield for the kickoff. Elijah high-fived me. Avery yelled "Goal!" and I saw the sunlight reflect off her sparkly red lip gloss, the latest color from her STEM project. "Hold up," said Jeremy. "Are you actually saying that was a goal?" "Uh-huh!" I said. "It went right between the goal post markers." "Dude, it did," said Elijah. "I placed the rocks exactly where we always put the cones."

我能行的，我告诉自己。 但我不太确定。罗里挡住了我的去路。 我是说，他真的站着。 他不是冲着我来的。但更像是站着不动，挥舞着手臂，试图恐吓我。 在我的球队里，我是一名防守队员，所以我在防守的时候没有那么自信。 但我得从他身边疾驰而过。 他是我的障碍。冷静下来，我告诉自己。 这不是真正的游戏。只是放学后的临时比赛。 把球拍向一边，我迅速改变方向，从他身边掠过。 是的!我沿着球场运球。 目标越来越近了。 正当杰里米想要占有时，我踢了他一脚。 球飞了起来，呈弧形飞向空中，最后射入球门。 “哦，是的，”我叫道，在我把球踢回中场之前，我跑去抢球。 以利亚跟我击掌。艾弗里喊道：“进球！”我看到阳光反射在她闪亮的红色唇彩上，这是她STEM项目的最新颜色。 “等等，”杰里米说。“你真的说那是一个进球吗？”“啊哈!”我说。 “它正好在门柱标记之间。” “老兄，确实是这样。”以利亚说。 “我把石头放在我们总是放锥体的地方。”

Jeremy folded his arms in front of his chest. He peered at Rory. "You were closer than me. Did you see it go between those rocks?" Rory stared at me. He looked at Jeremy and then he considered the goal. "Um, yeah. Sort of. I did." "Sorry. I couldn't see it," said Jeremy. "This is why this school needs soccer nets!" "They would be helpful," said Rory. Jeremy waved his arms emphatically. "We should have them. It's basic equipment. If you win the STEM competition, you should also use the money to buy goals," Jeremy said to Rory. Rory peered back toward the school. "Actually, I want to buy more books for the library. I've read every science fiction series in there." "Me too," I agreed. "I love sci-fi." "Cool," said Rory. "Uh, Kate, looks like your mom wants you." Following his gaze, I spotted Mom, standing with Liam on the blacktop. She signaled it was time for us to go. "Okay, see you tomorrow, everyone," I called out. "Don't count this as a win because we didn't finish," Jeremy called after me. "Sure." I jogged backward. "It doesn't matter, anyway. We'll beat you tomorrow, too."

杰里米双臂交叉放在胸前。 他凝视着罗里。“你比我更近。 你看见它在那些岩石之间穿行了吗？”罗里盯着我。 他看着杰里米，然后考虑进球。 “嗯,是的。排序的。我所做的。” “对不起。我看不见，”杰里米说。 “这就是为什么这所学校需要足球网！”“他们会有帮助的，”罗里说。 杰里米用力挥动双臂。 “我们应该拥有它们。这是基本设备。 如果你赢得了STEM比赛，你也应该用这笔钱买进球，”杰里米对罗里说。 罗里回头望着学校。 “事实上，我想为图书馆买更多的书。 我读过里面所有的科幻系列。” “我也是，”我同意了。“我喜欢科幻小说。” “酷。”罗里说。“凯特，看来你妈妈想要你” 顺着他的目光，我看到了妈妈，她和利亚姆站在柏油路上。 她示意我们该走了。 “好吧，大家明天见。”我喊道。 “别把这算胜利，因为我们还没打完，”杰里米在我身后喊道。 “当然。”我向后慢跑。 “反正没关系。 明天我们也会打败你。”

"You wish!" shouted Jeremy. Elijah caught up to me. "Man, Jeremy is as competitive as you are." "Yeah," I admitted. "I definitely like to win." Winning made me think of the STEM competition, which had been in my brain almost nonstop. I bit my lip and turned to Elijah. "I'm not sure I'm going to do so hot on the STEM competition, especially with someone sabotaging me. I just wish I knew who it was. Then I could stop them!" "Focus on the positive," suggested Elijah. "Hmm. When I think of the positive, I think of a positive charge, which makes me think of my project, which makes me get worried all over again." With a sigh, I folded my arms across my chest. "C'mon, Kate. Just think about what you'll do with the money." "I don't know," I mumbled. "How about buying more test tubes? Or lights and lasers for a musical talent show." "Maybe. But I want it to be... you know, something that feels essential." Everyone except me seemed to have great ways to spend the prize money. But it wouldn't even matter if I didn't figure out what was going on with

“你想得美！”杰里米喊道。 以利亚追上了我“伙计，杰里米和你一样好胜。” “是的，”我承认。“我绝对喜欢赢。” 获胜让我想起了STEM竞赛，它几乎一直在我的脑海里萦绕。 我咬着嘴唇，转向以利亚。 “我不确定我是否能在STEM竞赛中取得如此大的成功，尤其是有人在暗中破坏我。 我只希望知道是谁。 这样我就可以阻止他们了！”“关注积极的一面，”以利亚建议道。 “嗯。当我想到积极的一面时，我想到的是正电荷，这让我想到我的项目，这让我再次担心。” 我叹了口气，双臂交叉在胸前。 “来吧,凯特。想想你要怎么花这笔钱。” “我不知道，”我咕哝着。 “多买一些试管怎么样？” 或者是音乐才艺表演用的灯光和激光。” “也许。但我希望它是…… 你知道，一些感觉很重要的东西。” 除了我之外，每个人似乎都有很好的方法来花这笔奖金。 但如果我不知道发生了什么，那也无所谓

my project. I'd never win if someone kept messing with my stuff. I tapped my pocket, which had the index card of fingerprints inside. Hopefully that would lead me to the answer.

我的项目。如果有人一直乱弄我的东西，我永远也赢不了。 我敲了敲口袋，里面有指纹索引卡。 希望这能让我找到答案。