Chapter 21

Chapter 21 Jerks and Poets juxtaposition (n) the placement of two very different words or ideas side by side to create a strong sense of contrast (but also connection) between the two The hallway after recess was a tangle of kids and coats and boots and scarves as everyone hurried to put things away before going back into the classroom. Evan took his time, arranging and rearranging his things in his cubby. As usual, Megan was one of the last to come in. When just a few students were left in the hall, Evan signaled Megan to wait by her cubby. Finally, they were alone. Evan walked up to Megan, knowing that his face was getting redder by the second. He hoped

课间休息后的走廊上挤满了孩子、大衣、靴子和围巾，每个人在回教室之前都匆匆地把东西收拾好。 埃文不慌不忙，在他的小屋里整理了又整理他的东西。 和往常一样，梅根是最后一个进来的。 当大厅里只剩下几个学生时，埃文示意梅根在她的小隔间旁等着。 最后，只剩下他们了。埃文走向梅根，他知道自己的脸越来越红了。 他希望

she would think it was because it was so cold outside. "I'm sorry," he said, "for acting like a jerk the last couple of days. The guys have all been giving me a hard time, and I just wanted them to leave me alone. I wasn't trying to be mean to you." Megan nodded her head. "I've been getting teased a lot, too." She looked miserable. "I guess I've done some pretty dumb things lately. And I don't even know why I did them. Everything has felt so weird." "I know what you mean." Evan's heart was beating a mile a minute. His right hand was hooked into his back pocket, and he could feel the folded-up paper he had tucked away there. "It's just that..." Megan stopped and took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. "I like you, Evan." Evan felt his heart leap in his chest and a sudden warm glow spread through his body and radiate out the tips of his fingers. For a moment,

她会认为这是因为外面太冷了。 “我很抱歉，”他说，“我前几天表现得像个混蛋。 那些家伙一直在找我麻烦，我只是想让他们离我远点。 我不是想对你刻薄。” 梅金点了点头。“我也经常被取笑。” 她看上去很痛苦。“我想我最近做了一些相当愚蠢的事情。 我都不知道我为什么要这么做。 一切都感觉很奇怪。” “我明白你的意思。”埃文的心跳得很快。 他的右手插在后口袋里，他能感觉到他藏在那里的那张叠好的纸。 “只是……”梅金停了下来，深吸了一口气，然后闭上了眼睛。 “我喜欢你，埃文。”埃文感到他的心在胸腔里跳动，突然一阵温暖的光芒传遍了他的全身，并从他的指尖散发出来。 有那么一刻，

he wondered if he was floating above the ground. It was as if the happiness inside of him was a jet pack, lifting him gently into the air. "But I don't want to go out with you!" Megan blurted out. Whomp. The feeling of lightness vanished. Evan took half a step back, surprised. He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. There was a strange ringing in his ears, and he could feel his stomach starting to spin. "It's no fun!" Megan stared at him, looking worried and upset. The spinning in his stomach kept going and going. The ringing in his ears was louder now, and he felt like his vision was being squeezed through a thin tube. He was looking down a long tunnel at her face, which was getting farther and farther away by the second. Everything was pulling away from him. This was what he'd been waiting for. Dreading. This out-of-control feeling. "Are you okay?" asked Megan.

他想知道自己是不是浮在地面上了。 就好像他内心的幸福是一个喷气背包，轻轻地把他举到空中。 “但我不想和你出去！”梅金脱口而出。 撞击声。轻松的感觉消失了。 埃文吃惊地后退了半步。 他张开嘴。什么也没说出来。 他的耳朵里有一种奇怪的嗡嗡声，他可以感觉到他的胃开始旋转。 “一点也不好玩！”梅金盯着他，看起来又担心又难过。 他胃里不停地旋转。 他耳朵里的嗡嗡声现在更响了，他觉得自己的视力好像被一根细管子挤了进去。 他俯视着长长的隧道，看着她的脸，一秒一秒地越来越远。 一切都在远离他。 这就是他一直在等待的。 害怕。这种失控的感觉。 “你没事吧？”梅金问。

Evan managed to nod his head. "Are you mad?" "No." The word came out so sad and lonely that Evan wished he could come up with a few more, just to keep it company. "Then... can we be friends?" Friends. Evan felt the spinning slow down a little. "Sure. Friends," he croaked. Megan smiled. "Good. That'll be way more fun." Her face rippled into smoothness, the way the surface of a pond settles back into itself after a stone is dropped. Was it over? Evan wondered. He felt he should check his arms, his legs, his ribs, to see if he was still in one piece. Megan turned to go into the classroom. "Wait!" he said. "I have something... there's this thing... I want to show you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out The 4-O Forum, the only copy that hadn't been destroyed

埃文勉强点了点头。 “你疯了吗？”“没有。”这个词是如此的悲伤和孤独，埃文希望他能想出更多的词，只是为了陪伴它。 “那么……我们可以做朋友吗？”朋友。 埃文觉得旋转的速度慢了一些。 “当然。朋友们。”他嘶哑地说。 梅根笑了。“很好。那样会更有趣。” 她的脸泛起涟漪，变得光滑起来，就像池塘的水面被石头抛下后恢复原状一样。 结束了吗？艾凡疑惑。 他觉得自己应该检查一下自己的手臂、腿和肋骨，看看自己是否还完好无损。 梅金转身走进教室。 “等等！”他说。“我有些东西…… 有一件事……我想让你看看。” 他把手伸进后口袋，拿出《4- 0论坛》，这是唯一一本没有被毁的书

when he and Jessie had ripped up all the rest and thrown them in the Dumpster behind the school. "It's this thing... I wrote." He handed her the newspaper, folded so that his poem was in front.

他和杰西把剩下的都撕了，扔进了学校后面的垃圾箱。 “就是这件事……我写了。” 他把报纸递给她，折叠起来，使他的诗在前面。

Pony Girl by Evan Treski pony girl flying by always late lately in my heart vou laugh your happy laugh you smile you kindly smile you gallop past Ille standing still dumb sttuck Megan read the poem silently. Evan concentrated on her ponytail. The ringing in his ears was quieter now, and his vision had gone back to normal. Finally, Megan looked up at Evan. "Can I keep this?" Evan nodded. "But only if you swear you'll never show it to anyone, your whole life." "I swear," said Megan. She smiled. Evan and Megan stood still. He wasn't sure what to do next. They heard Mrs. Overton's voice floating out of the classroom—"Take out

马驹女孩马驹女孩飞过去总是迟到最近在我的心你笑你快乐的笑你微笑你亲切的微笑你飞奔过去伊尔站在原地哑巴梅甘默默地读诗。 埃文把注意力集中在她的马尾上。 他的耳鸣现在平静了，视力也恢复了正常。 最后，梅金抬头看着埃文。 “我可以留着这个吗？”艾凡点点头。 “但前提是你发誓一辈子都不给任何人看。” “我发誓。”梅金说。她笑了。 埃文和梅金站着不动。 他不知道下一步该做什么。 他们听见奥弗顿太太的声音从教室里传出来——“拿出来