Chapter 4

Chapter four, Frankie and I stayed at the Crunchy Pickle for over an hour, eating our sandwiches and working on our lines. As more customers came in, my mom said she needed the booth. So I kissed her good bye and Papa Pete took Frankie and me and, I'm sorry to say, Emily back to our apartment building. Frankie lives on the fourth floor, and my family lives on the tenth. He and I have a special clubhouse in the basement, right next to the laundry room. It's actually a storage room that we made into our clubhouse. We hang out there because it's really fun. Also, the air smells like soap suds, which is very refreshing for my

第四章，我和弗兰基在脆泡菜店呆了一个多小时，一边吃三明治一边练台词。 随着越来越多的顾客进来，我妈妈说她需要这个摊位。 所以我吻别了她，皮特爸爸带着我和弗兰基，还有，很抱歉，艾米丽回到了我们的公寓。 弗兰基住在四楼，我们家住在十楼。 他和我在地下室有个特别的会所，就在洗衣房旁边。 这其实是我们改成俱乐部会所的储藏室。 我们在那里玩，因为那里真的很有趣。 此外，空气闻起来像肥皂泡沫，这是非常清爽的我

nose. When we got home, we tried to continue our work on my dining-room table. My dad even moved his computer down to one end to make room for us. Also he put on shoes so we didn't have to look at his toenails. As Frankie and I started going over the lines, my dad looked up from his computer screen.

鼻子。回到家后，我们试图在我的餐桌上继续工作。 我爸爸甚至把他的电脑挪到了一端，给我们腾地方。 他还穿上了鞋子，这样我们就不用看他的脚趾甲了。 当我和弗兰基开始排队时，爸爸从电脑屏幕上抬起头来。

"That doesn't sound like schoolwork to me," he said. "We're getting ready to audition for our class play," Frankie explained.

“对我来说，这听起来不像是功课，”他说。 “我们正准备为班级话剧试镜，”弗兰基解释说。

"Hank, you should be working on your writing and arithmetic skills," my dad said. "No one ever did well on a test by being in a play." "This play is going to be really fun, Dad," I said. "And very educational, too." "Oh, really?" my dad snapped. "Well then, how much is forty minus eighteen?" I looked in every corner of my mind for the answer. It was nowhere to be found. My brain can hear numbers, but it has no idea what to do with them. I mean, addition is hard. But subtraction is out of the question. "I'll get back to you with the answer, Dad," I said. "In about five years." "Trust me, Hank, it won't be that long," he said. "After dinner, I'm getting out the flash cards. It's going to be an all-subtraction evening."

“汉克，你应该努力提高你的写作和算术技能，”爸爸说。 “没有人会因为参加戏剧而在考试中取得好成绩。” “爸爸，这出戏一定会很有趣。”我说。 “而且也很有教育意义。” “哦，真的吗？” “那么，四十减去十八等于多少呢？”我绞尽脑汁寻找答案。 它无处可寻。 我的大脑能听到数字，但它不知道该怎么处理它们。 我是说，加法很难。但是减法是不可能的。 “爸爸，我会告诉你答案的，”我说。 “大约五年后。”“相信我，汉克，不会太久的，”他说。 “晚饭后，我拿出记忆卡。 这将是一个全是减法的夜晚。”

What a horrible thought. Then, even more horribly, Emily decided to take her baby pet iguana, Katherine, on a walk around the apartment. Every time they passed, Katherine shot her tongue out and tried to touch my knuckles. One time she actually did. And let me tell you, iguana tongue is very sticky and rough. "Okay," I announced. "That does it for me. It's clubhouse time." "You don't have to leave," Emily said. "Katherine enjoys the company." "Oh, really? Then why is she hissing at us

多么可怕的想法。然后，更可怕的是，艾米丽决定带着她的宠物鬣蜥宝宝凯瑟琳在公寓里散步。 每次他们经过时，凯瑟琳就伸出舌头，试图摸我的指关节。 有一次她真的这么做了。 让我告诉你，鬣蜥的舌头很粘很粗糙。 “好吧，”我宣布。“对我来说就是这样。 现在是俱乐部时间。”“你不必离开，”艾米丽说。 “凯瑟琳喜欢有人陪着。” “哦,真的吗?那她为什么对我们发出嘘声

like a fire-breathing dragon?" Frankie asked. "That's her way of saying give me a hug." "Well, tell her my body is a hug-free zone," I answered. "Especially when it comes to lizards." "She's an iguana, Hank." "Whatever she is, she's ugly." With that, a superloud hiss flew out of Katherine's throat. Frankie and I dashed out of the apartment and into the elevator. Forty-two seconds later, we were in our clubhouse in the basement. But there was already someone there! As we rushed in, we saw a woman in a flowered dress standing on a ladder. Holding the ladder steady was a girl about our age. A girl in our clubhouse? No, that's not in the rulebook. "Hi," the girl said, turning to us. "I'm Ashley Wong. I just moved into the building, and I'm starting second grade tomorrow at PS Eighty- Seven."

像一条喷火的龙？”弗兰基问道。 “这是她说给我一个拥抱的方式。” “好吧，告诉她我的身体不允许拥抱，”我回答。 “尤其是在蜥蜴身上。” “她是只鬣蜥，汉克。”“不管她是什么，反正她很丑。” 说着，凯瑟琳的喉咙里发出一声巨大的嘶嘶声。 弗兰基和我冲出公寓，进了电梯。 42秒后，我们来到了地下室的俱乐部会所。 但是那里已经有人了！我们冲进去时，看见一个穿花衣服的女人站在梯子上。 扶着梯子的是一个和我们年纪相仿的女孩。 我们俱乐部里的女孩？不，规则手册里没有。 “嗨，”女孩转过身来对我们说。 “我是Ashley Wong。我刚搬进这栋楼，明天就要在八十七小学上二年级了。”