7. The Buddy System

7 The Buddy System We piled back into the minivan and stopped off for lunch (Pizza! Yum!), and then we drove to my favorite store in the whole world—Staples! I love Staples because they have rows and rows of pens and pencils and glue sticks and highlighters and notebooks and rubber bands and paper clips and everything else students need to do well in school. (They

我们挤进小货车，停下来吃午饭(披萨！)，然后我们开车去了我最喜欢的商店——史泰博！我喜欢史泰博，因为那里有成排成排的钢笔、铅笔、胶水棒、荧光笔、笔记本、橡皮筋、回形针以及学生在学校取得好成绩所需的一切东西。 (他们

even sell staples!) Our school sent out a list of supplies we would need this year. There was a big sign on the front of Staples that said BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALE. Staples is huge. When we got out of the minivan, our moms said Arlo and I had to use the buddy system to make sure that one of us (guess who?) didn't get lost in the store again. "You kids need to stay together at all times," my mom told us. "Do you understand?" "Yes!" I said. Arlo grunted. "And to be safe," Arlo's mom said, "I want you to hold hands." "WHAT?" Arlo shouted. "I'm not holding hands with a girl!" "A.J.!" said Arlo's mom with her hands on her hips.

甚至连订书钉都卖！)我们学校发了一份我们今年需要的用品清单。 史泰博商店的前面有一个大牌子，上面写着返校大甩卖。 史泰博的规模很大。当我们从小货车里出来的时候，我们的妈妈说，阿乐和我必须用伙伴制度来确保我们中的一个（猜猜是谁？）不会再在商店里迷路了。 “你们这些孩子需要一直待在一起，”我妈妈告诉我们。 “你明白吗？”“是的!”我说。 奥尔罗哼了一声。“为了安全起见，”阿乐的妈妈说，“我想让你们牵着手。” “什么?”奥尔罗喊道。“我才不要和女孩牵手呢！”“A.J.!”阿乐的妈妈双手叉腰说。

Arlo held my hand. "Let's skip!" I said. "No!" When we stepped on the rubber doormat and the front door of Staples slid open, it was almost like I could hear angels singing. There were school supplies as far as the eye could see! Crayons and calculators and clipboards and hole punchers and scissors and rulers and tape and glitter glue and Post-it notes in lots of different colors, shapes, and sizes.

阿乐握着我的手。“让我们跳过吧!”我说。 “不!”当我们踩在橡胶门垫上，史泰博的前门滑开时，我几乎能听到天使在唱歌。 放眼望去，到处都是学习用品！蜡笔、计算器、剪贴板、打孔机、剪刀、尺子、胶带、闪光胶和各种颜色、形状和大小的便利贴。

"I could spend all day here," I said.

“我可以在这儿待上一整天，”我说。

Our moms went to look at the office furniture. They told us again that we had to stay together and hold hands at all times. We got a shopping cart. Someday, when Arlo and I are married, we'll go shopping together just like this, except that Arlo will sit on a bench outside and wait for me to finish. That's what husbands do. "Where should we go first?" I asked Arlo. "Home," he replied. "Let's look at pens!" I said, because pens are something you need every day at school. When we got to the pen aisle, a funny-looking man came over to us. "May I help you?" he asked. "We need to buy pens for school," I said. "You're in luck," he said. "My name is Mr. Debakey. I'm a pen specialist." A pen specialist? I never heard of a pen specialist. Mr. Debakey took a little box out

我们的妈妈去看办公家具。 他们再次告诉我们，我们必须呆在一起，任何时候都要牵手。 我们有一辆购物车。有一天，当阿乐和我结婚的时候，我们会像这样一起去购物，除了阿乐会坐在外面的长凳上等我买完。 这就是丈夫该做的。“我们应该先去哪里？”我问阿乐。 “回家，”他回答。“我们来看看笔吧！”我说，因为笔是你每天在学校都需要的东西。 当我们走到卖笔的过道时，一个长相滑稽的人向我们走来。 “我能帮你吗？”他问。 “我们需要为学校买笔，”我说。 “你很幸运，”他说。 “我是德贝基先生。我是个钢笔专家。” 钢笔专家？我从来没听说过什么钢笔专家。 德贝基先生拿出一个小盒子

of his pocket. "May I suggest this Montblanc Meisterstück Classique writing instrument?" he said. "It's been engineered for precise handling and comfort, and it features a reliable swivel mechanism. As you can see, it has a beautiful jet-black finish with twenty-three-carat, gold-plated trim." "Wow," I said. "How much does it cost?" "Three hundred and fifty-seven dollars." "Three hundred and fifty-seven dollars for a pen?" Arlo shouted. "You gotta be joking." "I never joke about pens," said Mr. Debakey. "Look, we just need some plain old pens, okay?" said Arlo. "Nothing fancy." Mr. Debakey looked disappointed. "Fine," he said. "I believe a pen must be carefully matched to its user. I want you to

从他的口袋里。“我可以推荐这款万宝龙meisterst<e:1>经典书写工具吗？”他说。 “它经过精心设计，具有精确的操控性和舒适性，并具有可靠的旋转机构。 正如你所看到的，它有漂亮的喷黑饰面，还有23克拉的镀金饰边。” “哇，”我说。“多少钱？”“三百五十七美元。” “一支笔三百五十七美元？”奥尔罗喊道。 “你在开玩笑吧。”“我从不拿笔开玩笑，”德贝基说。 “听着，我们只需要一些普通的旧笔，好吗？”阿乐说。 “没什么的意。”德贝基先生看上去很失望。 “很好，”他说。“我相信一支笔必须仔细匹配它的使用者。 我想让你