5 The Bad Luck Kid

CHAPTER FIVE THE BAD LUCK KID Improbability principle (noun). This is the idea in science that coincidences might not be rare. For example, if there is a classroom of thirty students, the chances that two kids will have the same birthday is really high! Which means a double birthday party at school! THE MINUTE I FINISHED HANGING up my coat, Liam burst into the mudroom. "I'm bad luck," he moaned. "What? You're the opposite of that. Who made the most goals on his soccer team?" "Me." "Who saw the giant green frog at the county fair?" "Me." "Who got to be Student of the Month in kindergarten?" "Me. But Desmond said I'm the most unlucky kid ever." Desmond was Liam's best friend and he said lots of silly things. Like that he ate slugs for breakfast and had invisibility superpowers.

第五章倒霉小孩的非概率原理（名词）。 这是科学上的观点，巧合可能并不罕见。 例如，如果一个教室有30个学生，两个孩子同一天生日的可能性非常高！也就是说学校要举办双生派对！我刚把外套挂好，利亚姆就冲进了储藏室。 “我运气不好，”他呻吟道。 “什么?你正好相反。 谁在他的足球队里进球最多？”“我。” “谁在县里的集市上看到了那只巨大的绿色青蛙？”“我。” “谁得了幼儿园月度学生奖？””我。 但戴斯蒙德说我是最倒霉的孩子。” 戴斯蒙德是利亚姆最好的朋友他说了很多傻话。 比如他早餐吃鼻涕虫还有隐形的超能力。

"C'mon." I plunked off my boots. "Let's talk in the kitchen." "Desmond said that 'cause I'm born on December thirteenth, my whole life is bad luck. He said thirteen is a really unlucky number." "That's just a superstition. And it's not true." "Then how come I broke my collarbone when we went to Florida? And lost my Batman sneakers? Plus, the tooth fairy forgot to give me money last month." "You got money, Liam." "Yeah, but the day after I was supposed to. And last year, my birthday party didn't even—" "Stop! Seriously. The thirteenth is an awesome day. All that stuff has nothing to do with the number thirteen. You should stop talking about it." And if I was being honest, I just couldn't handle hearing about Liam's non-party last year. Even rescheduling it didn't work out, because of a snowstorm and then it was winter break. Plus, a bunch of Liam's friends all got sick, too. That's why Mom and Dad had promised Liam an extra-special birthday party this year. Usually, he can only invite ten friends. This year they said he could invite twenty. Basically, his entire kindergarten class. But right now, Liam wasn't focusing on the positive. He was as negative as an electron.

“来吧。”我猛地脱下靴子。 “我们到厨房里谈吧。” “戴斯蒙德说，因为我出生在12月13日，我的一生都很倒霉。 他说13是个非常不吉利的数字。” “那只是一种迷信。 这不是真的。”“那我们去佛罗里达的时候我怎么会摔断了锁骨呢？” 丢了我的蝙蝠侠运动鞋？ 再说，牙仙上个月忘了给我钱。” “你有钱，利亚姆。”“是的，但是第二天我就应该。 去年，我的生日聚会甚至没有——”“别说了！认真对待。 13号是个很棒的日子。 所有这些都和数字13无关。 你应该停止谈论它。” 说实话，我就是受不了听到利亚姆去年不参加派对的事。 即使重新安排也没有成功，因为一场暴风雪，然后是寒假。 另外，利亚姆的一群朋友也都生病了。 这就是为什么爸妈答应利亚姆今年要办一个特别的生日派对。 通常，他只能邀请十个朋友。 今年他们说他可以邀请20个。 基本上是他的整个幼儿园班级。 但现在，利亚姆没有往好的方面想。 他就像一个电子一样消极。

Liam pouted so that his bottom lip stuck out like a bulldog's. "Desmond said bad things will happen at my birthday party. Catastrophes." "Ignore Desmond. He's trying to get your goat." "I don't have a goat." Liam almost sort of smiled. "I have a dog." He pointed to where our rust-colored retriever, Dribble, lay in front of the back door. "'Getting your goat' is an expression. Desmond was trying to tease you. Let's talk about happy things— like your party decorations." Liam's shoulders went less slumpy. "It's got to be everything outer space." "I know, but let's decide on the details." "Okay." His eyes sparkled and the world seemed almost sunny, even though the snow was coming down faster outside. I grabbed two packets of hot chocolate and a bag of miniature marshmallows. "I think we need a treat." I filled up our teakettle with water. "If you're making hot chocolate, count me in," said Dad, strolling into the kitchen. He's a psychologist, which means he helps people with their problems and sometimes does his paperwork in his home office. "I'm ready for a break." "On it." I whipped out another packet of hot chocolate.

利亚姆撅着嘴，他的下嘴唇像斗牛犬一样突出来。 “戴斯蒙德说在我的生日聚会上会发生不好的事情。 灾难。”“忽略德斯蒙德。 他想惹你生气。” “我没有山羊。”利亚姆几乎笑了。 “我有一只狗。”他指着我们那只铁锈色的猎犬Dribble躺在后门前面的地方。 “get your goat是一种表达方式。 戴斯蒙德想戏弄你。 让我们谈谈开心的事情吧——比如你的派对装饰。” 利亚姆的肩膀不那么耷拉了。 “一切都应该是外太空。” “我知道，但让我们来决定细节吧。” “好吧。”他的眼睛闪闪发光，整个世界似乎都充满了阳光，尽管外面的雪下得更快了。 我拿了两包热巧克力和一袋迷你棉花糖。 “我想我们需要款待一下。” 我把水壶装满了水。 “如果你要做热巧克力，算我一个。”爸爸说着走进厨房。 他是一名心理学家，这意味着他帮助人们解决他们的问题，有时在他的家庭办公室做文书工作。 “我准备休息一下。”“。” 我又拿出一包热巧克力。

"Katie's planning my birthday party," shouted Liam. He's the only person I let call me Katie. Although his cheeks were still red from being upset, a smile was on his face. We plopped down at the kitchen table, and Dad grabbed a yellow pad from a drawer. "I'll be the note taker. I can't wait to hear your ideas," he said. "Same here," I said. "Same not here," said Liam with a giggle. "'Cause I'm in outer space!"

“凯蒂在筹划我的生日派对，”利亚姆喊道。 他是我唯一允许叫我凯蒂的人。 虽然他的脸颊还因为沮丧而红着，但他的脸上却挂着微笑。 我们扑通一声坐在厨房的桌子旁，爸爸从抽屉里抓起一个黄色的便笺本。 “我来做笔记。我迫不及待地想听听你们的想法，”他说。 “我也是，”我说。“这里不一样，”利亚姆咯咯笑着说。 “因为我在外太空！”