Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Every bit of the potato salad—including the chopped parsley—flew out of the bowl like it was a jet plane. When it hit the floor, it splattered all over and made a slippery, goopy carpet. After that, everything happened very quickly. Ashley, who was following right behind me, stepped smack in the middle of the potato salad. Her bowl of coleslaw flew up in the air and landed with a splat on top of the potato salad. Behind her was Frankie. You guessed it. His ketchup and mustard added color to the potato salad mountain that was rising up on the floor. Then Carlos stepped right in the middle of the mess and slid around like he was ice skating. "Whoa," I heard him shout. "I'm going down."

每一片土豆沙拉——包括切碎的欧芹——都从碗里飞了出来，就像一架喷气式飞机。 当它落到地板上时，溅得到处都是，弄得地毯又滑又粘。 从那以后，一切都发生得很快。 紧跟着我的阿什利突然踩到了土豆沙拉中间。 她那碗凉拌卷心菜飞到空中，啪的一声落在土豆沙拉上。 她身后是弗兰基。你猜对了。 他的番茄酱和芥末为地板上堆积如山的土豆沙拉增添了色彩。 然后卡洛斯正好站在混乱的中间，像滑冰一样滑来滑去。 “哇，”我听见他喊道。 “我要下去了。”

And with that, his legs flew out from under him, and he plopped down right on his butt. His pants, which were black, were suddenly yellow, red, white, and creamy. His first reaction was to reach up and touch his spiky hair. "Did I get any potato salad in my hair?" he asked. Papa Pete was right behind Carlos with the meat platter. Luckily, he didn't fall down—but the salami did. A pile of it landed right on Carlos's head. It looked like he was wearing a meat hat. "I can't go on a date like this!" he shouted. "I look like a walking deli sandwich."

说着，他的腿从他身下飞了出来，他扑通一声屁股趴了下来。 他的裤子本来是黑色的，突然变成了黄色、红色、白色和奶油色。 他的第一反应是伸手去摸他那尖尖的头发。 “我头发上沾到土豆沙拉了吗？”他问。 皮特爸爸端着肉盘就在卡洛斯后面。 幸运的是，他没有摔倒，但腊肠却摔倒了。 一堆正好落在卡洛斯的头上。 看起来他戴着一顶肉帽。 “我不能这样去约会！”他喊道。 “我看起来就像一个行走的熟食三明治。”

Carlos wasn't the only one who was upset. I stared at the mess on the floor and realized I had just ruined the teachers' party. Why didn't I remember that carrying a big bowl of potato salad takes two hands? This kind of thing happens to me a lot. I'm always in the middle of trouble, and I never know how I got there. The teachers just stood there with their mouths hanging open. This wasn't the kind of mess you could fix with a couple of paper towels. This was going to take a shovel. Principal Love was on his feet. The mole on his cheek, which looks like the Statue of Liberty without the torch, was bouncing up and down like it was on a trampoline.

卡洛斯不是唯一一个心烦意乱的人。 我盯着地板上乱七八糟的东西，意识到我刚刚毁了老师们的聚会。 为什么我不记得拿一大碗土豆沙拉需要两只手？ 这种事经常发生在我身上。 我总是处在麻烦之中，我从来不知道我是怎么陷入困境的。 老师们只是站在那里，张着嘴。 这可不是你用几张纸巾就能搞定的烂摊子。 这需要一把铲子。 洛夫校长站了起来。 他脸颊上的那颗痣就像没有火炬的自由女神像，像在蹦床上一样上下跳动。

"Look what you've done, Hank Zipzer," he shouted. "Instead of giving your teachers a delicious meal, you've created a sloppy mess." I have never been so embarrassed in my life. My face turned as red as the ketchup that was all over my shoes. "I'm sorry," I said. "I was just trying to wave hello." "You never think before you act," he said. "Whoa, that's harsh," Carlos said. Papa Pete put down the half-empty meat tray and walked over to Principal Love. "What do you think he's going to say?" Ashley whispered to me. "I don't know, but I hope I don't get into more trouble." "Don't worry," Frankie said. "Papa Pete will handle this. He never lets us down." "Excuse me," Papa Pete said to Principal Love. His voice was very calm. "What

“看看你都干了些什么，汉克·齐泽尔。” “你没有给你的老师一顿美味的饭，而是制造了一团混乱。” 我这辈子从没这么尴尬过。 我的脸变红了，就像我鞋子上的番茄酱一样。 “对不起，”我说。“我只是想跟你打个招呼。” “你做事从不三思，”他说。 “哇，这太残酷了，”卡洛斯说。 皮特爸爸放下半空的肉盘，向洛夫校长走去。 “你觉得他会说什么？”艾希礼悄悄地对我说。 “我不知道，但我希望我不会惹上更多的麻烦。” “别担心，”弗兰基说。 “皮特爸爸会处理的。 他从不让我们失望。”“对不起，”皮特爸爸对爱校长说。 他的声音很平静。“什么

happened here was an accident." "And I'm so sorry about it," I said. "It was all my fault." "It was an accident, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "It isn't anyone's fault. That's why they call them accidents." "Nonsense," a teacher named Ms. Adolf said. Everyone in school knows that she's the meanest teacher we have. "I saw what happened with my very eyes. That boy was careless." "My grandson Hank is a very thoughtful person. Sometimes he gets excited and that causes problems. But he always tries his hardest to do the right thing."

发生在这里的是一场意外。” “我很抱歉，”我说。 “都是我的错。”“那是个意外，汉克，”皮特爸爸说。 “这不是任何人的错。这就是为什么他们称之为事故。” “胡说。” 阿道夫说。学校里每个人都知道她是我们最刻薄的老师。 “我亲眼看到了发生的一切。 那个男孩太粗心了。”“我的孙子汉克是一个非常体贴的人。 有时他会很兴奋，这会引起问题。 但他总是尽最大努力做正确的事。”

"I agree," Ms. Flowers said. "Hank is always the first one in my class to raise his hand when I ask for help." "And he tries very hard in my music class," Mr. Rock said. "He plays the triangle with all his heart." Principal Love still seemed angry. His mole looked like it was doing the hula. "Do you consider this a party," he grumbled to Papa Pete, "with most of the food on the floor?" "I just happen to have several trays of black and white cookies in the van," Papa Pete said. "How about if I bring those up?" "Oh, that's my favorite kind of cookie," Ms. Flowers said. A lot of the teachers agreed. "Me too!" I said. "Hey, I have an idea. We can have a reverse dinner! We'll have dessert first." "Good thinking, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "While everyone is enjoying the cookies, Carlos and I will go back to the deli and bring some

“我同意，”弗劳尔斯说。 “当我向汉克求助时，他总是第一个举手的人。” “他在我的音乐课上非常努力，”洛克说。 “他全心全意地打三角进攻。” 洛夫校长似乎还在生气。 他的痣看起来像是在跳草裙舞。 “你认为这是一个聚会，”他对皮特爸爸抱怨道，“大部分食物都在地上吗？”“我刚好在车里有几盘黑白饼干，”皮特爸爸说。 “我把这些拿出来怎么样？”“哦，那是我最喜欢的饼干。” 花说。很多老师都同意。 “我也是!”我说。“嘿，我有个主意。 我们可以来一顿反向晚餐！我们先吃甜点吧。” “好主意，汉克，”皮特爸爸说。 “当每个人都在享受饼干的时候，卡洛斯和我将回到熟食店买一些