2 A Shady Shortcut

Chapter 2 A Shady Shortcut Malia turned to her cousins, holding up her hand. "Listen up, boys. I'm the oldest, so I'm in charge. Follow my lead." Ivan smiled. "You're two months older than me. Big deal. I'm taller and smarter." "Whatever." Malia turned to Dante, who was shorter and not as smart. Still, sometimes he acted a little stuck-up. "Any problem?" Dante shrugged. "Nope. You're the boss. He's the brain." Ivan laughed. "What does that make you?" "The beauty, of course," Dante replied. "Come on, slowpokes. We're wasting time," Malia said.

第二章 一条阴凉的近路 玛利亚转向她的表兄弟们，抬起了手。 “听着，小子们。 我年纪最大，所以我说了算。 跟着我走。” 伊万笑了。 “你就比我大两个月而已。 有什么了不起的。 我比你高，也比你聪明。” “随便你怎么说。” 玛利亚看向但丁，他个子更矮，脑子也没那么灵光。 不过有时候他还挺臭美的。 “你有意见吗？” 但丁耸了耸肩。 “没意见。 你是老大。 他是智囊。” 伊万笑出了声。 “那你是什么呀？” “当然是颜值担当啦。”但丁回答。 “快点啊，慢吞吞的家伙们。 我们在浪费时间呢。”玛利亚说。

Off they went. Ivan had decided to wear ALL his swimming gear because he liked to be prepared. "I'm ready!" he shouted. Dante grinned. "Time to show off these hazel eyes in the hot tub." Malia sighed at her weird cousins. As they headed down 11th Street, she patted the head of her yellow duck floatie. "I'm going to float all afternoon. When I'm not speeding down the slide, I mean."

他们出发了。 伊万决定把他所有的游泳装备都穿上，因为他喜欢做好万全准备。 “我准备好啦！” 他大喊道。 但丁咧嘴笑了。 “是时候去热水池里秀一秀我这双淡褐色的眼睛啦。” 玛利亚对着她这两个古怪的表弟叹了口气。 他们沿着第11街往前走的时候，她拍了拍自己黄色鸭子游泳圈的脑袋。 “我要整个下午都飘在水上。 当然啦，我不去滑水滑梯的时候才飘着。”

"Hello, children!" a sweet voice exclaimed. It was an old woman, sweeping the sidewalk in front of a little house. "You must be new to Little Mexico."

“你们好呀，孩子们！” 一个甜甜的声音喊道。 是一位老奶奶，正在一栋小房子前面扫人行道。 你们肯定是刚来小墨西哥的吧。”

"Yes, ma'am. We're visiting our aunt for the summer," Malia replied politely. The old woman's eyes twinkled. "Going to the water park, I see." "Yes," Ivan said. The old woman glanced at Malia. "Why carry a purse, m'ija?" "It has my phone and other important stuff in it," she answered. "Valuables! Good. Still, what's most important is in your heart," the old lady replied. Dante giggled. "Hear that, boss?" The old woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Boss?

“是的，奶奶。 我们夏天来这儿看望我们的姨妈。”玛利亚礼貌地回答。 老奶奶的眼睛亮晶晶的。 “我看看，你们是要去水上乐园对吧。” “对呀。”伊万说。 老奶奶看向玛利亚。 “乖孩子，你为什么要带个包呀？” “包里装了我的手机和其他重要的东西。”她回答道。 “贵重物品呀！ 挺好的。 不过呀，最重要的东西都在你心里呢。”老奶奶回答。 但丁咯咯笑了起来。 “听到了吗，老大？” 老奶奶对着他挑了挑眉。 “老大？

Maybe you should learn to act on your own. Be a little braver, m'ijo." Malia was getting a little freaked out by this lady. "Well, uh, thanks! We've got to go." "There's a shortcut, you know," the woman said. "Turn right before the bakery. The alley's the quickest way to summer fun!" Dante gave her a thumbs-up. "Thanks, ma'am!" "Call me Do.a Chabela." She pronounced the first word don-ya. "I'll see you three on your way back!" Malia didn't like to take shortcuts. But they were in a hurry.

也许你该学着自己拿主意。 勇敢一点呀，孩子。” 玛利亚被这位老奶奶弄得有点害怕了。 “嗯，啊，谢谢您！ 我们得走啦。” “你们知道吗，有条近路可以走哦。”老奶奶说。 “在面包店前面右转。 那条巷子是去享受夏日乐趣最快的路啦！” 但丁对着她竖了个大拇指。 “谢谢您，奶奶！” “你们就叫我查韦拉夫人吧。” 她念第一个词的时候发音是don-ya。 “你们三个回来的时候我们还会再见的！” 玛利亚不喜欢走近路。 但是他们现在赶时间。

The alley was behind a bakery and smelled like Mexican pastries. It was shady and cool, but as the kids walked, the sky got darker. When they stepped out of the alley, the wind started to moan and it began to sprinkle. "No fair!" Dante cried. "What if they close the water park?"

那条巷子在一家面包店后面，闻起来满是墨西哥点心的香味。 巷子里阴凉又凉快，可孩子们走着走着，天渐渐暗了下来。 他们走出巷子的时候，风开始呜呜地刮，还下起了毛毛雨。 “太不公平了！” 但丁喊道。 “要是他们把水上乐园关了可怎么办呀？”