Chapter 3

Chapter three, Before I could get up the nerve to use even one of those excuses, movie night had started. Ashley took the pillows from the couch and arranged them on the floor for us. Frankie got the movie all set up in the TV. Cheerio settled in on my dad's chair, panting hard like he does when he gets excited. And my dad surprised us by bringing in a big bowl of popcorn. Emily, still half covered with scales, followed him. "Even though I'm not allowed to watch the movie with you, I helped Dad make you popcorn," she said. "Just to show you how nice us Komodo dragons are." "Wow, Mr. Z," Frankie said. "That's a whole lot of popcorn."

在我鼓起勇气说出哪怕一个借口之前，电影之夜已经开始了。 艾希礼从沙发上拿起枕头，为我们把它们放在地板上。 弗兰基把电视里的电影都准备好了。 麦里奥坐在我爸的椅子上，气喘吁吁，就像他兴奋时那样。 我爸爸给了我们一个惊喜，他端来了一大碗爆米花。 埃米莉身上还披着一半的鳞片，跟在他后面。 “虽然我不能和你一起看电影，但我还是帮爸爸给你做了爆米花，”她说。 “只是想让你看看我们科莫多龙有多好。” “哇，Z先生，”弗兰基说。 “那可是一大堆爆米花啊。”

"We made extra," my dad said, "because Nick McKelty is coming over to watch the movie with you guys." Did he just say Nick McKelty, the biggest bully in our class, was coming over? To my apartment? That wasn't possible. My ears must have gone out for a walk. "Wait, Dad... none of us invited him." "I ran into his father on the street," my dad explained. "He and I are going to the neighborhood-council meeting tonight. He needs a place for Nick to stay for a couple of hours. Since your mom will be home, I said of course he's welcome here." "No, he isn't," I said loudly. "Yes, he is," my father said, even louder. This night was getting worse by the second. The doorbell rang, and my stomach flipped like a pancake on the griddle.

“我们多做了一些，”爸爸说，“因为尼克·麦凯尔蒂要过来和你们一起看电影。” 他刚才是不是说我们班最大的恶霸尼克·麦克尔蒂要过来？ 去我的公寓？那是不可能的。 我的耳朵一定是出去散步了。 “等等,爸爸……我们谁也没有邀请他。” “我在街上碰到了他爸爸，”爸爸解释说。 “他和我今晚要去参加社区委员会会议。 他需要找个地方让尼克待几个小时。 既然你妈妈会在家，我就说当然欢迎他来。” “不，他不是。”我大声说。 “是的，他是。”父亲说，声音更大了。 一秒一秒地，这个夜晚变得更糟了。 门铃响了，我的胃像煎锅上的煎饼一样翻腾起来。

"Please, Dad," I begged. "Tell him we moved." "Yeah," Frankie chimed in. "To Iceland." "No," Ashley added. "To Pluto. It's the planet farthest away." "Pluto is no longer a planet," Emily the know-it-all dragon said. "It is now known as a dwarf planet, and, if you'd like, I can explain to you why." "You know what, Em?" I said. "Why don't you save that for a rainy day?" The doorbell rang again. "Fine," Emily said. "Have a good time with McKelty. Mom and I will be in my room working

“求你了，爸爸，”我恳求道。“告诉他我们搬家了。” “是啊，”弗兰基插嘴说。 “冰岛”。“没有，"艾希礼补充说。 “冥王星。它是最遥远的星球。” “冥王星不再是一颗行星了，”无所不知的龙艾米丽说。 “它现在被称为矮行星，如果你愿意，我可以向你解释为什么。” “你知道吗，爱姆？”我说。 “你为什么不把钱存起来以备不时之需呢？”门铃又响了。 “很好，”艾米丽说。祝你和麦凯尔蒂玩得愉快。 妈妈和我会在我房间工作

on my costume." She stomped out, leaving a trail of green cardboard scales behind her. My dad picked them up as he went to open the front door. Standing in the doorway, shoving a jelly donut in his mouth, was Nick McKelty. "I have arrived," he grunted, with the red jelly from the donut squirting through his teeth. "Now the party can finally start." My dad got his jacket, yelled good-bye, and disappeared into the hallway with Mr. McKelty. Nick the Tick marched his blobby self into the living room and plopped down on the pillows. "What are we watching?" he asked, stuffing the last of the donut into his mouth while his

在我的服装上。”她跺着脚走了出去，身后留下一串绿色的纸板鳞片。 我爸爸打开前门的时候把它们捡了起来。 站在门口，嘴里塞着一个果冻甜甜圈的是尼克·麦克尔蒂。 “我来了，”他嘟囔着，甜甜圈里的红色果冻从他的牙齿里喷出来。 “现在派对终于可以开始了。” 我爸爸拿起夹克，大声说再见，然后和麦凯尔蒂先生一起消失在走廊里。 胖乎乎的壁虎尼克大步走进客厅，扑通一声坐在枕头上。 “我们在看什么？”他问，把最后一块甜甜圈塞进嘴里，而他的

other hand was reaching for popcorn. i wondered if he was going to wipe his jelly- covered fingers on the couch pillows. He wiped them on his pants instead. "Attack of the Zombies," Frankie told him. "That movie is for babies," he said with a snort. "I've seen it eighty times." "Then maybe you don't want to stay," I said. "You could hang out with Emily. She's having a dragon party in her room. You'd fit right in." "Your family is so weird," McKelty said. "Let's just watch this movie already so I don't have to listen to you guys." "That's a good idea," Ashley said. "Why don't you sit up on the couch so we don't have to look at the jelly hanging off your nose?" Ashley pressed the PLAY button, and the movie started. As soon as he heard the scary

另一只手在拿爆米花。 我不知道他是不是要在沙发枕头上擦拭沾满果冻的手指。 他在裤子上擦了擦。 “僵尸的攻击，”弗兰基告诉他。 “那部电影是给婴儿看的，”他哼了一声说。 “我已经看过八十遍了。” “那么也许你不想留下来了。”我说。 “你可以和艾米丽出去玩。 她在她的房间里开了一个龙派对。 你会很适合的。”“你的家人太奇怪了，”麦凯尔蒂说。 “我们还是看这部电影吧，这样我就不用听你们的了。” “好主意，"艾希礼说。 “你为什么不坐在沙发上，这样我们就不用看挂在你鼻子上的果冻了？”阿什利按下播放键，电影开始了。 他一听到可怕的声音

music, Cheerio started to whimper. Inside, I was whimpering right along with him. I hate scary music. I tried to hum a tune inside my head to drown it out, but the only one I could think of was "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." That got too annoying, so I had to stop. And then, there it was again, that creepy music. Cheerio jumped off my dad's chair and ran into Emily's room. Even though I have no interest in cardboard lizard scales, I wanted so badly to go with him. But Ashley was grinning at me and shooting me a big thumbs-up sign. She really wanted me to love this movie. I decided I'd try. But not for long! In the very first scene, a bunch of zombies missing hunks of their faces marched into the town. With their arms stretched out in front of them, their low moans sounded like a herd of sick cows.

麦里奥开始呜咽起来。 内心深处，我和他一起呜咽着。 我讨厌恐怖音乐。我试着在脑子里哼一支曲子来盖过它，但我唯一能想到的是《五只小猴子在床上跳》。 太烦人了，所以我不得不停下来。 然后，又出现了可怕的音乐。 麦圈从我爸的椅子上跳下来，跑进艾米丽的房间。 尽管我对硬纸板蜥蜴鳞片不感兴趣，但我还是非常想和他一起去。 但艾希礼对我咧嘴笑着，朝我竖起大拇指。 她真的希望我喜欢这部电影。 我决定试试。但好景不长！在影片的第一个场景中，一群丧尸向小镇进发。 他们把胳膊伸在身前，低声呻吟，听起来像一群病牛。