1 Illusion

The Magic Trap The Lemonade War Series

魔法陷阱柠檬水战争系列

Chapter 1 Illusion illusion (n) something that seems to be one thing when it is really another; a magic trick Jessie slipped her fingers along the inside of her closet doorjamb until she found the secret key. Silently, she unhooked it from the tiny nail pressed into the old wood and closed the key tightly in her fist. She liked the way the key became warm when she did this, the way it left a perfect imprint of itself in the soft flesh of her palm. As quietly as a cat, she padded over to her bookcase, then paused. Was the Locked sign still showing on her door? Sometimes it flipped around if she closed her door too quickly. It would be a disaster if someone walked in while she was retrieving her lockbox from its hiding place. Even

错觉（名词）看似是一回事，实则是另一回事；杰西用手指在衣橱门框里面滑动，直到找到了那把秘密钥匙。 她默默地把钥匙从压在老木头上的小钉子上取下来，用拳头把钥匙紧紧地攥在手里。 她喜欢当她这样做的时候，钥匙变得温暖起来，它在她柔软的手掌上留下了完美的印记。 她像猫一样悄悄地走到她的书架前，然后停了下来。 她的门上还挂着上锁的牌子吗？ 有时，如果她关门太快，它会翻转过来。 如果有人在她从藏身处取出她的锁箱时走进来，那将是一场灾难。 甚至

worse if someone walked in while the lockbox was open and saw what was inside. Jessie never showed anyone her saved-up money. That was just asking for trouble! THIS DOOR IS LOWED! She opened her door and poked her head out to make sure that the Locked sign was in place. As long as the sign was on her door, no one was allowed to come into her room. That was the rule in the Treski house. She could hear her mother packing in her room across the hall—a dresser drawer opening, the sound

更糟糕的是，如果有人在锁箱开着的时候进来，看到了里面的东西。 杰西从不给任何人看她的积蓄。 那简直是自找麻烦！这门是关着的！她打开门，探出头来，看看上锁的牌子是不是已经贴好了。 只要她的门上贴着告示，任何人都不能进入她的房间。 这是特雷斯基家的规矩。 她能听到母亲在走廊对面的房间里收拾东西的声音——梳妆台抽屉打开的声音

of footsteps crossing the wooden floor, hangers jangling in a closet. Jessie frowned. She didn't like her mother going away. But there was nothing she could do about it now. This was one of those situations where she would have to "adapt and evolve," as her mother sometimes said. "Hey, Jess, can I ask you something?" Jessie jumped at the sound of her brother's voice as he came up the stairs. Evan had been in the basement all morning, banging away on some old wooden boards. She'd thought she was safe from his prying eyes! She clutched the key more tightly in her hand. "Not right now. I'm busy." Jessie started to retreat into her room, but she stopped when she noticed that her brother was carrying a book in his hands. Evan never carried books. He hated books. To him, they were the enemy, making him feel small and dumb. It didn't help that Jessie, who was thirteen months younger, was such a good reader. She looked at the book, wondering what it could possibly be.

脚步声穿过木地板，衣架在壁橱里叮当作响。 杰西皱起了眉头。她不喜欢她妈妈离开。 但是现在她已经无能为力了。 正如她母亲有时说的那样，这是她必须“适应和发展”的情况之一。 “杰西，我能问你点事吗”杰西听到哥哥上楼的声音就跳了起来。 埃文整个上午都在地下室，敲打着一些旧木板。 她以为自己不会受到他窥探的目光的伤害！她把钥匙抓得更紧了。 “现在不行。我很忙。” 杰西开始退回到她的房间，但当她注意到她哥哥手里拿着一本书时，她停了下来。 埃文从不带书。他讨厌书。 对他来说，他们是敌人，让他觉得自己渺小又愚蠢。 比她小13个月的杰西是一个很好的读者，这对她没有任何帮助。 她看了看那本书，不知道会是什么。

It was old, whatever it was. The edges of the brown leather cover looked like they were crumbling, and the fancy gold lettering on the spine was half flaked off. Evan held it slightly open, his fingers curled around the edge to mark the page. "It'll take two seconds," he said, half pleading, half ordering. "Not now!" Jessie replied. She tapped the Locked sign on her door for emphasis, just so he'd remember the rule, and went back into her room, closing the door tightly behind her. Still, she waited two whole minutes ("one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississipp...") to make sure Evan had left the hallway and wasn't listening at her door, before she tiptoed to her bookcase and retrieved the lockbox she kept hidden behind the row of books on the top shelf. The lockbox was heavy because of all the coins she'd been collecting for the past few months. It was surprising how many pennies, nickels, and dimes you could find if you just kept your eyes on the

它是旧的，不管它是什么。 棕色皮革封面的边缘看起来已经摇摇欲坠，书脊上漂亮的金字已经剥落了一半。 埃文把它微微打开，手指在边缘卷起来，在书页上做记号。 “只需要两秒钟。”他半恳求半命令地说。 “不是现在!”杰西回答道。 她轻轻地敲了敲房门上的上锁牌子以示强调，好让他记住规矩，然后回到自己的房间，随手把门紧紧地关上。 尽管如此，她还是等了整整两分钟（“一个密西西比，两个密西西比，三个密西西比……”），以确保埃文已经离开了走廊，没有在她的门口偷听，然后她蹑手蹑脚地走到她的书架前，取出了她藏在书架顶层一排书后面的锁箱。 上锁的箱子很沉，因为她在过去的几个月里收集了很多硬币。 你会惊讶地发现，如果你的眼睛一直盯着

ground. Jessie's mom said that Jessie had a talent for finding money, but it wasn't a talent so much as a passion. Most kids wouldn't even bother to pick up a penny if they spotted it, but Jessie never let a coin pass without scooping it up and putting it in her pocket. She also saved her gift money and chore money, and now her lockbox was terrifically heavy and made the most wonderful rattling sound when she shook it. Jessie sat cross-legged on her bed and opened the box. There were dollar bills and coins, the blue ribbon Evan and Jessie had won in the Labor Day contest last summer, several comment cards from her best friend, Megan, postcards from her dad, and a handwritten survey about love in the fourth grade, in which someone in her class had admitted to having a crush on Jessie. Anonymously! Jessie wasn't even sure why she kept that particular piece of paper, but every time she decided to throw it out, she ended up putting it back in the lockbox. It was evidence! Of what, she wasn't sure.

地面。杰西的妈妈说杰西有赚钱的天赋，但与其说是天赋不如说是激情。 大多数孩子看到一分钱都懒得捡起来，但杰西从不放过一枚硬币而不把它捡起来放进口袋。 她还省下了她的礼物钱和家务钱，现在她的锁箱非常重，当她摇晃它时发出最美妙的咔嗒声。 杰西盘腿坐在床上，打开了盒子。 里面有美元钞票和硬币，埃文和杰西去年夏天在劳动节比赛中赢得的蓝丝带，她最好的朋友梅根寄来的几张评论卡，她爸爸寄来的明信片，还有一份关于四年级爱情的手写调查，调查中她班上有人承认对杰西有好感。 匿名!杰西甚至不确定她为什么要留着那张纸，但每次她决定扔掉它时，她最后都会把它放回锁箱里。 这是证据！至于什么，她也不确定。