Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Millie watched as Amber finished her routine, curtsied, and then dashed off toward an empty hallway. Millie followed her. "Amber?" Millie called out. Muffled sobs were the only reply. Millie followed the sound. She found Amber huddled in a corner, behind a stack of chairs. She was crying into her knees.

第八章 米莉看着安珀完成了整套表演，行了个屈膝礼，然后朝一条空走廊匆匆跑去。 米莉跟在了她后面。 “安珀？” 米莉出声喊道。 回应她的只有闷闷的抽泣声。 米莉顺着声音找了过去。 她发现安珀缩在一堆椅子后面的角落里。 她正把脸埋在膝盖上哭。

"Are you okay?" Millie asked, crouching down to sit close to Amber. Amber shook her head, so Millie searched her own bag for a spare tissue and offered it to her. Amber looked up. "Why are you being nice to me? I'm not very nice to you." Millie shrugged. "You look really upset." Amber brushed away the tears from her wet cheeks. "I wish I'd done better in my audition."

“你还好吗？” 米莉一边问，一边蹲下来坐到安珀身边。 安珀摇了摇头，于是米莉在自己的包里翻找备用纸巾，递给了她。 安珀抬起了头。 “你为什么要对我这么好呀？ 我之前对你可不太好。” 米莉耸了耸肩。 “你看起来真的很伤心呀。” 安珀擦去了湿乎乎的脸颊上的眼泪。 “我真希望刚才的试演我能表现得更好一点。”

Millie looked confused. "But you were really good." "I don't think I was good enough," Amber said, her voice small. "And if I don't get the part, my mom will be really disappointed in me." "I don't think she will," Millie said gently. "I saw your audition. It was really, really good. I could tell you were trying your hardest."

米莉看起来很困惑。 “可是你刚才跳得真的很棒呀。” “我觉得我还不够好，”安珀小声地说。 “要是我拿不到这个角色，我妈妈肯定会对我特别失望的。” “我觉得她不会的，”米莉温柔地说。 “我看了你的试演。 真的、真的特别棒。 我能看出来你已经尽最大的努力了。”

Amber curled up tighter into a ball but kept her eyes on Millie. Millie remembered what her mom had said to her. "All anyone can ask of you is to do your very best," Millie said to Amber. "You showed everyone out there how much you love ballet, and that's all that matters." "I did," Amber said, her voice still tiny. "You should tell your mom how you feel," Millie continued. "I don't think she'll understand," Amber said, weeping. "You won't know unless you try," Millie said. She put her arm around Amber's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. Amber took a deep breath. She swallowed hard and nodded. She sat up straight, pushed back her shoulders, and wiped her tears away. Then, she put her arm around Millie and gave her a squeeze back.

安珀把身子缩得更紧，团成了一个球，但眼睛一直看着米莉。 米莉想起了妈妈跟她说过的话。 “别人对你的所有要求，不过是让你尽自己最大的努力而已，”米莉对安珀说。 “你已经向在场的所有人展示了你有多热爱芭蕾，这才是最重要的。” “我确实很热爱芭蕾，”安珀说，声音还是小小的。 “你应该把你的感受告诉你妈妈，”米莉接着说。 “我觉得她不会理解我的，”安珀一边哭一边说。 “你不试试怎么知道呢？”米莉说。 她伸出胳膊搂住安珀的肩膀，轻轻抱了抱她。 安珀深吸了一口气。 她用力咽了咽口水，点了点头。 她坐直了身子，往后收了收肩膀，擦去了眼泪。 然后，她也伸出胳膊搂住米莉，轻轻回抱了她一下。