2. Running Late

RUNNING LATE 2 Sam's heart slammed in his chest. The merry-go-round spun and spun! The speed plus the force made Sam's sneaker squeeze his foot tighter and tighter! He shouted, "SOMEONE HELP!" But the playground was empty. Sam's mind raced. I'm going to be thrown from this thing! I can't stop it!

萨姆的心猛地跳到胸口。 旋转木马转啊转！速度加上力使山姆的运动鞋把他的脚挤得越来越紧！他喊道：“来人啊！”但是操场上空无一人。 萨姆的脑子飞快地转。我要被扔下去了！我阻止不了！

But then— CLANK-CA-CLANK! The rusty merry-go-round shuddered and slowed! Sam crashed into the wood chips. His shoelace was released. He staggered to his feet. He had never been dizzier. The school could have hurled me, Sam thought. But it didn't. The school has never let me go without a fight before... Sam was confused— but he was also late! He raced toward the school. He bounded up the steps and hurried inside.

但是接着——叮——叮——叮！生锈的旋转木马颤抖着，减速了！萨姆撞到了木屑上。 他的鞋带松开了。 他摇摇晃晃地站了起来。他从来没有这么头晕过。 学校可能会把我扔出去，山姆想。 但事实并非如此。学校从来没有不打一架就放我走的…… 山姆很困惑，但他也迟到了！他向学校跑去。 他跳上台阶，匆匆走了进去。

"Sam Graves!" Ms. Grinker barked as he ran into the classroom. "You're late. Our head hall monitor should never be tardy." Sam felt his face grow red. Everyone was staring. A few students chuckled. "I'm sorry," Sam said quickly. He made his way to his desk, next to Antonio and Lucy. "Hey, buddy. You're never late," Antonio whispered. Lucy added, "What happened?" Sam was about to explain, but Ms. Grinker shot him a look.

“山姆坟墓!”当他跑进教室时，格林克老师叫道。 “你迟到了。我们的厅堂班长不应该迟到。” 萨姆觉得自己的脸变红了。 每个人都盯着他看。几个学生咯咯地笑了。 “对不起，”萨姆赶紧说。 他朝自己的桌子走去，坐在安东尼奥和露茜旁边。 “嘿,老兄。你从不迟到，”安东尼奥低声说。 露茜又问：“发生了什么事？”萨姆刚要解释，但是。 格林克瞪了他一眼。

"Students: a reminder!" said Ms. Grinker. "Tomorrow is the annual Kickball Showdown. As always, the game will have five innings. Two teams will take turns kicking and fielding. The team that scores the most runs wins." The class began buzzing. Everyone loved Kickball Showdown. Ms. Grinker continued, "Our class will compete against Ms. Armstrong's third-grade class. The entire school will watch from the bleachers."

“同学们，提醒一下！” Grinker。明天是一年一度的踢球对决。 一如既往，比赛将进行五局。 两队轮流踢球和防守。 得分最多的球队获胜。” 全班开始议论纷纷。每个人都喜欢Kickball摊牌。 Grinker女士继续说道：“我们班将和她的老师竞争。 阿姆斯特朗的三年级班级。 整个学校都会在露天看台上观看。”

"I am pumped," Antonio whispered to Sam. "I have been practicing my diving face-first slide. I'm going to steal a base!" "I'll believe it when I see it," Lucy said, smiling. "You might just trip and splat!" "No way!" Antonio said. "It will be the perfect slide in front of the whole school!" Sam's heart pounded. The whole school, he thought. Kickball Showdown means the whole school will be in one place!

“我很兴奋，”安东尼奥低声对山姆说。 “我一直在练习我的跳水滑滑梯。 我要去偷垒！”“我看到了才会相信。”露茜笑着说。 “你可能会被绊倒，摔在地上！”“不可能!”安东尼奥说。 “在全校师生面前，这将是一个完美的滑梯！”山姆的心怦怦直跳。 整个学校，他想。 踢球决战意味着整个学校将在一个地方！

That morning, for the first time ever, Eerie Elementary had simply let Sam go. And tomorrow, the whole school would be gathered in one place for the big game. Sam was certain both things were part of one big Orson Eerie evil plan. Sam gulped. He no longer felt excited for Kickball Showdown. Now, he felt afraid...

那天早上，怪诞小学有史以来第一次干脆让山姆走了。 明天，整个学校将聚集在一个地方进行大型比赛。 山姆确信这两件事都是奥森邪恶计划的一部分。 山姆一饮而尽。他不再为《Kickball摊牌》感到兴奋。 现在，他感到害怕……