2 OFF TO SCHOOL

CHAPTER 2 OFF TO SCHOOL No," Beckett said the next morning while he and Kaz drifted around Claire's bedroom. Claire was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. "You can't go traipsing off to school with that solid girl when you have your own lessons to work on right here." "My lessons are coming along fine," Kaz said. "Are they?" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Can you glow? Can you wail? Can you pass through a solid object or even hold one in your hand? These skills don't develop by themselves, Kaz. You have to practice them."

第二天早上，当贝克特和卡兹在克莱尔的卧室里闲逛时，他说：“不。” 克莱尔在浴室里刷牙。 “你不能带着那个漂亮的姑娘慢悠悠地去上学，你在这儿还有自己的功课要做呢。” “我的功课进展得很好，”卡兹说。 “是吗?”贝克特扬起了眉毛。 “你能发光吗？你会哭吗？ 你能穿过一个固体物体，甚至能把它拿在手里吗？ 这些技能不是自己培养出来的，卡兹。 你必须练习。”

"I know," Kaz said. "And I will practice." "When?" Beckett asked. "Later," Kaz said. Claire skipped back into her room. "Are you ready to go, Kaz?" She twisted the top off her water bottle and held it out to him. Beckett folded his arms across his chest. "I have to go to school with Claire," Kaz told Beckett. "We have a case to solve. That case could help me find my family." Not that he needed Beckett's permission. Beckett wasn't his parent. He wasn't even Kaz's grandparent. "Fine. Go." Beckett waved his hand. "We will work on those skills later!" "Sure," Kaz said. He shrank down... down... down until he was small enough to fit inside Claire's water bottle. Claire twisted the bottle closed, grabbed her bag, and thundered down the stairs. "Bye, Grandma," she called as she reached for the door.

“我知道，”卡兹说。“我会练习的。” “什么时候?”贝克特问道。“以后再说。”卡兹说。 克莱尔跳回自己的房间。 “你准备好出发了吗，卡兹？”她拧开水瓶的盖子，递给他。 贝克特双臂交叉在胸前。 “我必须和克莱尔一起上学，”卡兹告诉贝克特。 “我们有一个案子要解决。那个箱子可以帮我找到我的家人。” 他不需要贝克特的许可 贝克特不是他的父母。 他甚至不是卡兹的祖父母。 “很好。走吧。”贝克特挥挥手。 “我们以后再学习这些技能！”“当然，”卡兹说。 他畏缩了……下来……直到他小到可以放进克莱尔的水瓶里。 克莱尔拧上瓶子，抓起包，轰隆隆地走下楼梯。 “再见，奶奶。”她伸手去开门，喊道。

"Have a good day, dear," Grandma Karen said as she walked into the entryway. Claire's grandma was the librarian there. She was a lot like Kaz's grandma, except she had a pink stripe in her hair. And she wasn't a ghost. "Is your ghost friend in there?" Grandma Karen peered into the water bottle that hung from Claire's shoulder. Claire's grandma couldn't see Kaz, but she knew all about him. And, she knew that Claire could see ghosts when they weren't glowing. Grandma Karen used to see ghosts, too, when

“祝你今天过得愉快，亲爱的。”凯伦奶奶边说边走进门厅。 克莱尔的奶奶是那里的图书管理员。 她很像卡兹的奶奶，除了她的头发上有一条粉红色的条纹。 她也不是鬼。“你的鬼朋友在里面吗？”凯伦奶奶看了看挂在克莱尔肩上的水瓶。 克莱尔的奶奶不能见卡兹，但她知道卡兹的一切。 而且，她知道克莱尔能看到不发光的鬼魂。 凯伦奶奶以前也能看见鬼，当

she was Claire's age, but she couldn't see them anymore. Grandma Karen also knew that Claire was trying to help Kaz find his family. Claire's parents didn't know any of that. They were detectives, but they weren't around very often because they had big cases of their own to solve. None of their cases involved ghosts. They didn't believe in ghosts. "We've got a case to solve at school," Claire told her grandma. "Someone saw a ghost there, so we want to see if it's someone in Kaz's family." "How exciting," Grandma Karen said. She talked above Kaz's head. "I hope you find your family, Kaz." Claire lifted her bottle so Kaz could see her grandma better. "Me too," said Kaz, even though he knew Grandma Karen couldn't hear him. Claire's school was bigger than the old schoolhouse. Noisier, too! Kaz had to put his

她和克莱尔一样大，但她再也看不见他们了。 凯伦奶奶也知道克莱尔在试图帮助卡兹找到他的家人。 克莱尔的父母对此一无所知。 他们是侦探，但他们不常在身边，因为他们有自己的大案要解决。 他们的案子都不涉及鬼魂。 他们不相信有鬼。 “我们学校有个案子要解决，”克莱尔告诉奶奶。 “有人在那里看到了鬼，所以我们想看看是不是和子家里的人。” “真令人兴奋，”卡伦奶奶说。 她说得比卡兹还高。 “我希望你能找到你的家人，卡兹。” 克莱尔举起奶瓶，好让卡兹看清楚她的奶奶。 “我也是。”卡兹说，尽管他知道凯伦奶奶听不见他说的话。 克莱尔的学校比旧校舍还大。 吵着!卡兹不得不把他的

hands over his ears to block out all the footsteps, voices, and banging doors. Claire stopped in front of a wall of metal doors and set Kaz's water bottle on the floor so she could take off her jacket. "Aaaah!" Kaz yelled as a bunch of giant FEET rushed toward him. "Pick me up, Claire! PICK ME UP!" He covered his head with his hands. "Why? What's the matter?" Claire grabbed the bottle.

用手捂住耳朵，挡住所有的脚步声、说话声和敲门声。 克莱尔在一堵金属门前停了下来，把卡兹的水瓶放在地上，这样她就可以脱下外套了。 “啊!”卡兹喊道，一群巨大的大脚向他冲了过来。 “接我，克莱尔！”把我抱起来！”他用手捂住头。 “为什么?怎么啦？”克莱尔抓起瓶子。

The boy next to Claire gave her a funny look. Kaz knew he had to be careful about talking to Claire in front of other solids. If she answered him, other solids would wonder who she was talking to. They would think she was weird. But Kaz couldn't help himself. "All those feet," he said, peeking out between his fingers. "I'm afraid someone will step on me or kick me down the hall." Claire lowered her voice. "Okay, I'll put you inside my locker." She moved Kaz's bottle to the floor of her open locker. "Better?" "Yes. Much better," Kaz said. Claire hung her jacket on a hook way above Kaz, then picked up the bottle again. "Okay," she said cheerfully, as she twisted the cap off. "Time to go find a ghost." Kaz huddled at the bottom of the bottle. "I think I'll stay here," he said. "Inside the bottle? You'll never find the ghost in there," Claire said.

克莱尔旁边的男孩奇怪地看了她一眼。 卡兹知道他在其他固体人面前和克莱尔说话要小心。 如果她回答了他，其他固体会怀疑她在和谁说话。 他们会觉得她很奇怪。 但是卡兹控制不住自己。 “那些脚，”他说着，从手指间往外偷看。 “我怕有人会踩到我，或者把我踢出大厅。” 克莱尔压低了声音。“好吧，我把你放在我的储物柜里。” 她把卡兹的瓶子移到她打开的储物柜的地板上。 “好吗?”“是的。好多了，”卡兹说。 克莱尔把她的夹克挂在卡兹上方的钩子上，然后又拿起了瓶子。 “好吧，”她高兴地说，一边拧下帽子。 “是时候去找鬼了。” 卡兹蜷缩在瓶子底部。 “我想我会留在这里，”他说。 “在瓶子里？”你永远不会在那里找到鬼魂，”克莱尔说。