18 Empty-Handed

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN EMPTY-HANDED Molecules (noun). These are microscopic units of a substance. So a water molecule is the smallest piece of matter that is still, well, water. Even though, with our eyes, we might not be able to see the water molecules that have boiled off a pot of water, you can imagine them having an invisible dance party floating around in the air as steam! I STARED AT MY EMPTY WAGON and my empty, scraped-up hands. What a total failure. I wanted to melt into the nearby snowbank. And then I thought about something I had learned in science. Was a glass beaker actually empty? No. It was filled with air. Air was made up of molecules. From a scientific point of view, the beaker was filled to the brim. Just like outer space wasn't really empty either, but filled with stuff like particles and plasma, dust and cosmic rays. I guess from a scientific point of view, I wasn't actually empty-handed. Bending down, I examined my palm and rubbed my chilly fingers. They were bleeding a little bit, and freezing, since I hadn't had time to slip on my gloves.

第十八章空手分子（名词）。 它们是一种物质的微观单位。 所以水分子是最小的仍然是水的物质。 即使用我们的眼睛，我们可能无法看到煮沸一壶水的水分子，你可以想象它们以蒸汽的形式在空中漂浮着一场看不见的舞会！我盯着我空空的马车和我空空的、伤痕累累的双手。 真是彻底的失败。我想融化在附近的雪堆里。 然后我想到了我在科学中学到的一些东西。 玻璃烧杯真的是空的吗？ 否。它充满了空气。 空气是由分子组成的。 从科学的角度来看，烧杯已经满了。 就像外太空也不是真的空无一物一样，而是充满了粒子、等离子体、尘埃和宇宙射线等物质。 我想从科学的角度来看，我并不是空手而归。 我弯下腰，检查了手掌，揉了揉冰凉的手指。 因为我还没来得及戴上手套，他们有点流血，而且冻僵了。

What was I going to do? I couldn't say, "Hey, Liam. Sorry, I was too late to pick up your special ice cream cake," then cup my hands and say, "But here, have some air instead. There's plenty of molecules in there to keep you busy until your next birthday." No. That definitely wouldn't work. My fingers were freezing from the cold. My head stung from my fall. My throat was dry from running. And, somehow, underneath my winter jacket I was sweating, too. There was no doubt about it. I was going to let Liam down. Again. I felt terrible. Like how a balloon looks if you put it in the freezer after you blow it up. All small and wrinkled and useless. I studied the pavement, trying to figure out the best way to apologize. Suddenly, I heard a honk. When I looked up, I saw Birdie and her mom and sister in their SUV. They eased to a stop in front of me. Birdie rolled down her window from the back of the SUV. "Kate, are you okay?" she asked. "I'm fine," I said, because I didn't want to be a burden. "You're not fine," said Mrs. Bhatt in her usual no- nonsense but warm style. It was probably why she won so many cases as a trial lawyer.

我该怎么办呢？我不能说，“嘿，利亚姆。 对不起，我来晚了，没能拿起你特制的冰淇淋蛋糕。”然后捧起双手说：“来，呼吸点新鲜空气吧。” 里面有很多分子可以让你忙到下一个生日。” 否。这绝对行不通。 我的手指冻僵了。 我的头因跌倒而刺痛。 我跑得嗓子都干了。 不知怎么的，在我的冬夹克下面，我也在出汗。 这是毫无疑问的。 我会让利亚姆失望的。 再一次。我感觉糟透了。就像你把气球吹大后放进冰箱的样子。 又小又皱又没用。 我打量着人行道，想找出最好的道歉方式。 突然，我听到一声喇叭声。当我抬头时，我看到伯迪和她妈妈还有妹妹在他们的SUV里。 他们慢慢地在我面前停了下来。 伯蒂从SUV后座摇下车窗。 “凯特，你没事吧？”她问。 “我很好，”我说，因为我不想成为一个负担。 “你不舒服，”巴特太太用她一贯的严肃而温暖的语气说。 这可能是她作为出庭律师赢得这么多案子的原因。

"You're right," I said. "Everything is messed up." I sniffed hard to hold back tears. "I knew it," said Birdie. "I told Mom to stop. We were on the way to the library." "Sure are," said Meela, Birdie's older sister. She held up a heavy stack of fantasy novels. I blinked and stared. "I tried to call you. And you weren't at the rocket launch, so I was worried. On top of everything else." "What else?" asked Birdie softly. "I'm a mess-up." I sniffed and then quickly explained what had just happened. "You're anything but a mess-up," declared Birdie. "You're Kate. You love science, especially chemistry, and you make it fun. You love soccer and penguins. And your family." Suddenly, I didn't feel quite so deflated anymore. I felt more than a little hopeful. At least when it came to Birdie. But not about anything else. I let out a deep sigh. "My family's going to be so disappointed. A galaxy of disappointment, especially Liam." "Um, are you suffering from hypothermia? Because the Kate Crawford I know does not give up." "Maybe you're right," I said.

“你说得对，”我说。“一切都一团糟。” 我使劲吸着鼻子，强忍住眼泪。 “我就知道，”小鸟说。“我叫妈妈停下来。 我们在去图书馆的路上。” “当然，”小鸟的姐姐米拉说。 她举起一大堆奇幻小说。 我眨了眨眼睛，盯着看。“我试着给你打电话。 你没去火箭发射现场，所以我很担心。 最重要的是。” “还有什么？”小鸟轻声问。 “我真是一团糟。”我闻了闻，然后迅速解释刚才发生的事情。 “你一点也不糟糕，”小鸟说。 “你是凯特。你热爱科学，尤其是化学，你让它变得有趣。 你喜欢足球和企鹅。 还有你的家人。”突然间，我不再觉得那么泄气了。 我感到非常有希望。 至少对小鸟来说是这样。 但不谈其他任何事。 我深深地叹了口气。“我的家人会非常失望。 一个充满失望的星系，尤其是利亚姆。” “嗯，你是不是体温过低了？” 因为我认识的凯特·克劳福德不会放弃。” “也许你是对的，”我说。

"Didn't you make astronaut ice cream when you did your report on the Apollo 11 mission for social studies last year?" Wait a minute. I did. "So, you have the equipment," said Birdie. "Oh my gosh. We have the liquid nitrogen. Dad was even using it right outside the garage to make the cloudy atmosphere on Jupiter." "So that means you can make astronaut ice cream for Liam. Remember those delicious little frozen chunks you made in class? He'll love it. I know I did. The ice cream was delicious." "Birdie, you're a genius!" I said. "I know that," said Mrs. Bhatt. "And me too," said Meela, lifting her head out of her book. Then I grabbed the handle of my wagon. "I've got to get home!" "Throw your wagon in the trunk and we'll take you home," said Mrs. Bhatt. "Thank you," I said. "Thank you so much." Soon my eyes met Birdie's as I sat next to her in the back seat. Birdie was quiet again. I lowered my voice. "Is everything okay with Meela?" I gestured toward her sister, whose head was once again buried in a novel. Next to Meela, Mrs. Bhatt bopped to the beat of an oldie rock song as she drove.

“你去年在做关于阿波罗11号任务的社会研究报告时，不是做了宇航员冰淇淋吗？”等一下。 我做到了。“所以，你有设备，”小鸟说。 “哦，我的天哪。我们有液氮。 爸爸甚至在车库外用它来制造木星上的多云大气层。” “所以这意味着你可以为利亚姆制作宇航员冰淇淋。 还记得你在课堂上做的那些美味的冷冻小块吗？ 他会喜欢的。我知道我做过。 冰淇淋很好吃。” “小鸟，你真是个天才！”我说。 “我知道，”巴特太太说。 “我也是。”米拉说着，从书本上抬起头来。 然后我抓住马车的把手。 “我得回家了！”“把你的马车扔进后备箱，我们送你回家，”巴特太太说。 “谢谢你，”我说。“非常感谢。” 不久，我和伯蒂的目光相遇了，我坐在她旁边的后座上。 小鸟又安静下来了。我压低了声音。 “米拉还好吗？”我指了指她的妹妹，她的头又在埋头看小说。 在米拉旁边，巴特太太一边开车，一边随着一首古老的摇滚歌曲的节拍跳着。

"My sister?" Birdie whispered. "What do you mean?" "You had to do something secret with her last week," I reminded her in a whisper. "Is she okay?" "It didn't really have anything to do with my sister," said Birdie, lowering her voice more, even though there was no way her sister could hear us over the music. "It was Tala." "What about her?" "I guess I was sort of jealous," Birdie said. "It started when you let her draw your tattoo instead of me. I felt dumped or something. And then you couldn't even figure out why I was upset. It felt like you didn't even know me anymore." "Oh my gosh, Birdie. No, you're my best friend. Forever and ever. Nobody could replace you. You seemed super busy with your parrot tattoo, and Tala happened to make an atom. And I just thought it was cool." I placed my hand over my heart. "Seriously. You know you're my bestie. And I'm really sorry I didn't figure out why you were upset. I didn't even think you'd be upset about that! I promise next time you can draw my tattoo. You're the best artist I know. But I do like Tala. And I hope all three of us can be friends." I paused. "Or at least I can be friends with both of you at the same time."

“我妹妹?”小鸟低声说。 “你是什么意思？”“上周你和她做了一件秘密的事，”我低声提醒她。 “她还好吗？”“这真的和我妹妹没有任何关系，”小鸟说，声音放得更低了，尽管她姐姐在音乐声中根本听不见我们说话。 “是塔拉。”“她怎么样？”“我想我是有点嫉妒，”小鸟说。 “事情是从你让她替你画纹身开始的。 我感觉被甩了什么的。 然后你甚至不明白我为什么不高兴。 感觉你好像不再认识我了。” “哦，我的天哪，小鸟。不，你是我最好的朋友。 直到永远。没有人能取代你。 你好像在忙着你的鹦鹉纹身，而塔拉碰巧制造了一个原子。 我只是觉得这很酷。” 我把手放在心口上。 “严重。你知道你是我的闺蜜。 我真的很抱歉我没弄明白你为什么不高兴。 我都没想到你会为此生气！我保证下次你可以帮我画纹身。 你是我认识的最好的艺术家。 但我确实喜欢塔拉。我希望我们三个都能成为朋友。” 我停了下来。“或者至少我可以同时和你们两个做朋友。”

"I'm sorry, too," said Birdie. "I just worried that you didn't like me as much anymore." "Not possible." "I know. And, Kate, I think I'd like to get to know Tala, too." "That would be awesome," I said just as we pulled up to my house. "I've got an idea," said Birdie. "And I think you might really like it." "What?" I said. "Tell me." "You'll see," said Birdie. "I can't take any more not knowing stuff." Birdie put her arm around me. "I'm going to go with you to the party. Together, we'll help make the best astronaut ice cream in the entire world."

“我也很抱歉，”小鸟说。 “我只是担心你不再那么喜欢我了。” “不可能的”。“我知道。还有，凯特，我想我也想了解塔拉。” “那太棒了，”当我们把车停在我家门前时，我说。 “我有个主意，”小鸟说。 “我想你可能真的会喜欢它。” “什么?”我说。“告诉我。” “你会看到的，”小鸟说。 “我不能再忍受一无所知了。” 伯蒂用胳膊搂着我。 “我要和你一起去参加聚会。 我们将一起做出世界上最好的宇航员冰淇淋。”