22 The Responsible Party

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO The Responsible Party Scientific responsibility (noun). The duty of scientists to think about their social responsibilities as well as stick to professional standards. It's like understanding that you can't copy a friend's test but you can help her with her homework. THE SABOTEUR WAS JEREMY. It all started to make a little bit of sense. Well, I guess it did. On the soccer field he had doubted my goal. I thought that was just because he was being ultra competitive. But I realized something. He wanted to beat me on the field and at the STEM science fair. It didn't take Ms. Daly too long to find Jeremy, since he was in front of his poster setting up his empty can of Red Bull. "Jeremy," said Ms. Daly. "I need to speak with you." He set down his can. "Okay," he said. We both followed Ms. Daly into the hallway. After pulling us into the science lab, she calmly explained how we knew that Jeremy was the culprit. Through science, of course.

科学责任（名词）。 科学家有责任思考他们的社会责任，并坚持专业标准。 这就像你明白你不能抄袭朋友的试卷，但你可以帮助她做作业。 破坏者是杰里米。一切都开始变得有意义了。 嗯，我想是的。在足球场上，他曾怀疑过我的进球。 我以为那只是因为他太好胜了。 但我意识到一件事。他想在球场上和STEM科学展上打败我。 戴利没花太长时间就找到了杰里米，因为他正站在海报前摆着他的空红牛罐。 “杰里米，”戴利说。“我需要和你谈谈。” 他放下罐子。“好吧，”他说。 我们都跟着戴利女士进了走廊。 把我们拉进科学实验室后，她平静地解释了我们是如何知道杰里米是罪魁祸首的。 当然是通过科学。

Jeremy stared at a poster of the periodic table. Then his eyes cut to mine. "Everyone knows you're going to win. It's not fair. Your mom's principal." Ms. Daly nodded as Jeremy was speaking. "Yes, it's true. Kate's mom is the principal. But she has to do her own work just like everyone else." "I work really hard," I blurted out. "Yeah, and your mom probably makes sure that everyone knows it." Jeremy gestured toward the hall like my mom was standing out there telling teachers I was special. "Everything you're saying is not true." I shook my head, blinking back some tears. "I can vouch for that, Jeremy," said Ms. Daly. "I get it. I'm not the principal's kid, so I'm not a VIP." Jeremy sounded hurt. "I'm sorry you feel overlooked for some reason," said Ms. Daly more gently. "I don't." He shrugged. But his face looked almost as pale as his hair. "It's not about me. It's about her." His voice warbled. "Actually, Jeremy," stated Ms. Daly, "this is all about you right now. And your behavior. I think you know that not only is an apology needed, but also, we're going to have to speak to your parents. And there will be consequences. What you

杰里米盯着一张元素周期表的海报。 然后他的眼睛盯着我。 “每个人都知道你会赢。 这不公平。你妈妈的本金。” 杰里米说话时，戴利女士点了点头。 “是的，这是真的。凯特的妈妈是校长。 但她必须像其他人一样做自己的工作。” “我工作真的很努力，”我脱口而出。 “是的，你妈妈可能会确保每个人都知道。” 杰里米指着大厅，就像我妈妈站在外面告诉老师我很特别一样。 “你说的都不是真的。” 我摇了摇头，忍住了眼泪。 “我可以担保，杰里米。” 戴利。“我明白了。我不是校长的孩子，所以我不是什么大人物。” 杰里米听起来很受伤。“我很抱歉，你因为某种原因感到被忽视了。” 温柔一点。“我不。” 他耸了耸肩。但他的脸看起来几乎和他的头发一样苍白。 “这与我无关。这是关于她的。” 他的声音颤抖着。“事实上，杰里米。” 戴利，现在一切都围绕着你。 还有你的行为。我想你知道你不仅需要道歉，我们还得跟你父母谈谈。 这样会有后果的。 你

did was not acceptable in any way." Jeremy met my gaze. "I'm sorry, Kate. Really sorry." "This was all about a silly calculator?" I bit my lip, and then, turning to Ms. Daly, said, "Not that your calculator is silly, Ms. Daly. It's awesome and amazing." "Well, you went around acting like you were going to win," Jeremy said. "And you don't even know what you're going to do with the prize money." I felt like he had sucker-punched me. Because it was true. Even though it was STEM Night, I still didn't know what I would do with the money if I won. I was just confused. There were so many options and all of them were amazing. "That doesn't mean I won't figure it out," I said. If I won. Now, with all of this drama, I wasn't so sure I would. I felt wobbly. "I really am sorry," said Jeremy. "I was just mad, I guess." "Oh," I said. And for a minute, I understood just a little bit. There were things I wanted to do when I was mad, too, that I knew weren't the right thing to do. But I wanted to do them anyway. "No matter what, it wasn't okay to take my stuff. Or write on my poster." My voice grew shaky.

这无论如何都是不可接受的。” 杰里米与我的目光相遇。“对不起，凯特。 真的很抱歉。”“这一切都是因为一个愚蠢的计算器？”我咬了咬嘴唇，然后转向她。 戴利女士说：“并不是说你的计算器很蠢。 戴利。这太棒了，太神奇了。” “嗯，你到处表现得好像你要赢似的，”杰里米说。 “你甚至不知道你要拿奖金做什么。” 我觉得他给了我一拳。 因为这是真的。虽然是STEM之夜，但我仍然不知道如果我赢了，我该怎么花这笔钱。 我只是有点困惑。有这么多的选择，他们都是惊人的。 “那并不意味着我不会想明白，”我说。 如果我赢了。现在，经历了这么多戏剧性的事情，我不太确定我能做到。 我感到浑身发抖。“我真的很抱歉，”杰里米说。 “我想我只是疯了。” “哦，”我说。有那么一瞬间，我明白了一点。 我生气的时候也有想做的事，但我知道那是不对的。 但我还是想做。 “无论如何，拿我的东西是不行的。 或者写在我的海报上。”我的声音变得颤抖起来。

"You're not bad at science," said Jeremy. "You're the opposite." "Thanks," I breathed. "Jeremy, I'm afraid your project is disqualified," said Ms. Daly. "STEM Night is a privilege, not a right. I'm going to speak with your parents and you're going to watch but not participate in any activities." Jeremy's face turned as pink as his strawberry milk. "Okay," he whispered. For a moment, I felt really sorry for him. He wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the hands-on activities. Outside in the parking lot there was even a telescope for stargazing. It seemed like Jeremy really did care about his science project a whole lot. He sure had a funny way of showing it, though. After he handed me the calculator and packed away his poster, I looked away so he wouldn't feel bad. Even though I was still upset at him, I knew what it was like to feel that way. That nothing would work out.

“你的科学成绩不差，”杰里米说。 “你正好相反。”“谢谢。”我喘着气说。 “杰里米，恐怕你的项目不合格了。” 戴利。“STEM之夜是一种特权，而不是权利。 我要和你的父母谈谈，你要看着，但不要参加任何活动。” 杰里米的脸变得像他的草莓牛奶一样粉红。 “好吧，”他小声说。有那么一刻，我真的为他感到难过。 他将无法享受任何动手活动。 在外面的停车场里，甚至还有一个用来观星的望远镜。 看起来杰里米真的很在乎他的科学项目。 不过，他的表达方式确实很有趣。 他把计算器递给我，把海报收起来后，我把目光移开，以免他感到难过。 尽管我还在生他的气，但我知道那种感觉是什么样的。 什么都解决不了。

Afterward, I caught up with Birdie in the multipurpose room. Birdie asked, "How did it go?" "Fine," I said. She crossed her fingers. "I hope that nothing else goes wrong." "Thanks, but right now I don't need luck or superstition. I just need to remember the most important thing—that I love science!"

后来，我在多功能厅赶上了伯迪。 小鸟问：“怎么样？”“好吧，”我说。 她交叉着手指。“我希望别出什么差错。” “谢谢，但现在我不需要运气或迷信。 我只需要记住最重要的事情——我热爱科学！”