19 Partners in Crime

CHAPTER NINETEEN Partners in Crime Vinegar (noun). An acid that is used in many science experiments. It's also good to use as an ingredient for salad dressing, but you wouldn't want to drink it by itself! "LET'S NOT THINK ABOUT TOMORROW," said Birdie as she swung on the monkey bars. "You've got to give yourself a break, Kate." Outside, the sun was shining. It was almost warm enough to shed my coat. "You're right," I said, trying not to think about all of the sabotage. "Let's have a hanging upside down contest." "You'll win." She laughed. "You don't know that. Hey, look, Kate." She pointed to the clouds. "Doesn't it look like a giant question mark? It's like the sky is curious." "Cool!" Birdie always saw things differently than me. Maybe that's what made her a great artist.

第十九章同案犯醋（名词） 在许多科学实验中使用的酸。 它也可以作为沙拉酱的原料，但你不会想单独喝它！“我们不要再想明天了，”小鸟一边在单杠上荡秋千，一边说。 “你得让自己休息一下，凯特。” 外面，阳光灿烂。 天气暖和得几乎可以脱下我的外套了。 “你说得对，”我说，尽量不去想那些蓄意破坏。 “我们来个倒挂比赛吧。” “你会赢。”她笑了。 “你不知道。嘿，看，凯特。” 她指着云彩。 “它看起来不像一个巨大的问号吗？” 好像天空很好奇。” “酷!”伯蒂看问题的角度总是和我不一样。 也许这就是她成为伟大艺术家的原因。

Grabbing a bar, I started to swing when I noticed Rory whispering with Elijah. They were friends, so that part wasn't weird. What was weird was that they kept on staring at me like maybe I was a baking soda and vinegar volcano that was about to explode. I continued to swing on the monkey bars, but I could feel their stares burning into the back of my head. "That's it!" I dropped down on the ground with a hard thump. Birdie glanced at me confused. "What's it?" "I'll tell you in a minute." I stormed over to Elijah as he headed toward the line to play tetherball. "What's going on? Why were you and Rory just looking at me? It was weird." Elijah kept on walking on the field. "No reason." A group of shrieking third graders playing tag brushed past us. "There was a reason. Tell me. Plus, this isn't the first time that Rory has been giving me weird looks." Elijah stopped. He seemed reluctant to turn around. "Can't say," he whispered. My hands pressed against my mouth. It all became clear as a crystal.

我抓起一根酒吧，开始荡秋千，这时我注意到罗里在和以利亚窃窃私语。 他们是朋友，所以这一点也不奇怪。 奇怪的是，他们一直盯着我看，好像我是一个即将爆炸的小苏打和醋火山。 我继续在单杠上荡秋千，但我能感觉到他们的目光在我的后脑勺燃烧。 “就是这样!”我重重地一声倒在地上。 小鸟困惑地瞥了我一眼。 “什么?”“我马上就告诉你。” 以利亚正要去打绳球，我向他冲了过去。 “发生了什么事？”你和罗里为什么一直看着我？ 这很奇怪。”以利亚继续在场上走着。 “没有理由”。一群尖叫着玩捉人游戏的三年级学生从我们身边擦过。 “这是有原因的。告诉我。 另外，这不是罗里第一次用奇怪的眼神看我了。” 以利亚停了下来。他似乎不愿意回头。 “说不上来。”他低声说。 我双手捂着嘴。 一切都变得清澈如水晶。

"You and Rory are trying to sabotage my project," I stated hotly. Elijah squinted painfully as if he were staring into direct sunlight. Only the sun had just gone behind some clouds. "Well, well... you see—" "I caught you! Ha!" Elijah tugged nervously on his hair. "Kate. Don't be mad. Please. It's not what you think. I'd never mess with your project." He looked so sincere. "You've got to believe me." His voice quavered as if he were really upset. "That's not what it is at all." "So, it's Rory, then. You're protecting him. I knew it!' Elijah sighed. "Not about that. It's... Rory's mom is letting him have a boy/girl party for his birthday. And he wanted to invite you. And he was asking me if I thought you'd come." It was all about a party? The tight knot of upset started to soften. "So, it's not Rory trying to ruin my project?" He shook his head. "I don't think so." I was quiet for a second and then I said, softly. "I'd come. If Rory invited me. You can... you can tell him that." Then I walked back to Birdie.

“你和罗里在试图破坏我的项目，”我愤怒地说。 以利亚痛苦地眯着眼睛，好像他正盯着直射的阳光。 只是太阳刚刚躲在云层后面。 “嗯,嗯…你看——”“我抓住你了！哈!”以利亚紧张地扯了扯头发。 “凯特。不要生气。请。 不是你想的那样。我永远不会破坏你的项目。” 他看起来很真诚。“你一定要相信我。” 他的声音颤抖，好像他真的心烦意乱。 “根本不是这样的。” “那么，就是罗里了。你在保护他。 我就知道！”以利亚叹了口气。 “不是那个意思。这是……罗里的妈妈让他办一个男孩/女孩的生日派对。 他想邀请你。 他还问我你会不会来呢。” 这一切都是为了一个派对？紧绷的心结开始软化。 “所以，不是罗里想毁了我的项目？”他摇了摇头。 “我不这么认为。”我沉默了一会儿，然后轻轻地说。 “我来了。如果罗里邀请我。 你可以…你可以这样告诉他。” 然后我走回小鸟身边。

So, it wasn't Elijah. And it wasn't Rory. That just left two people—Jeremy and Avery.

所以不是以利亚而且不是罗里。 只剩下两个人，杰里米和艾弗里。