1、我只希望朱莉?贝克能离我远点All I ever wanted was for Juli Baker to leave me alone. 故事始于一年级暑假 年的夏天It all began in the summer of , before the start of second grade. 我们到家啦Here we are. 你们觉得这里怎么样? 我挺喜欢的What do you guys think? I like this place. 很赞呢 我的房间是什么颜色? Its cool. Uh, what color is my room? 别急嘛Just you wait. 咱们进
2、去瞧瞧 嘿 布莱斯Lets see whats inside. Hey, come on, buddy Bryce. 过来给我搭把手搬东西Why dont, uh, you and I go help unload the van让姑娘们去整理厨房吧and the womenfolk here can get in the kitchen and start setting up. 好的 老爸Okay, Dad. 于我而言 这意味着我从此步入了For me, it was the beginning of what would be长达五年的不安与逃避生涯more than half a de
3、cade of strategic avoidance and social discomfort. 嗨 我是朱莉?贝克 喂喂喂 你干嘛呢? Hi, Im Juli Baker. Hey, hey, what are you doing? 要我帮忙吗? Dont you want some help? 不必了 那里面都是贵重物品No. Theres some valuable things in there. 那我就搬这个吧 不用了How about this one? No, no, no. 赶紧回家吧 你妈妈没准在找你呢Run home. Your mothers probably won
4、dering where you are. 没关系 我妈妈知道我在哪 她同意我过来Oh, no, my mom knows where I am. She said its fine. 显然这姑娘也太不识趣了It didnt take long to realize this girl could not take a hint. 咱们仨在这儿有点挤吧 不要紧啊Its crowded in here with three people. I dont mind. 毫无自知之明 我们一起推吧? Of any kind. You wanna push this one together? 布莱斯
5、你妈妈还等着你去帮忙吧? Bryce, isnt it time for you to go help your mother? 是啊是啊Oh, yeah. 我真是拿她没辙I mean, nothing would stop her. 我终于忍无可忍 这时候诡异的事情却发生了I was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. 我真是难以置信I couldnt believe it. 我居然会牵着陌生女孩的手There I was holding hands with this strange girl. 我
6、咋就惹上了这种麻烦? 你好呀How did I get into this mess? Well, hello. 看来你已经认识我儿子了I see youve met my son我不得不使出岁男生仅有的气概Finally, I did the only manly thing available when youre years old. 然而 还有一大串的麻烦等着我However, my troubles were far from over. 就在我走进叶尔森老师的教室时The minute I walked into Miss Yelsons classroom布莱斯? 你也在这啊Br
7、yce? Youre here. 很显然it was clear:即使在学校 也无法逃脱她的魔掌School would not be a sanctuary. 嘿 布莱斯 你女朋友呢? Hey, Bryce, wheres your girlfriend? 枉我一世英名啊I was branded for life. 嘿 布莱斯 你咋不向她求婚呢? Hey, Bryce, why dont you ask her to marry you? 布莱斯和朱莉爬上树梢Bryce and Juli sitting in a tree卿卿我我甜如蜜K-l-S-S-l-N-G搬来镇上的第一年简直就是场灾
8、难My first year in town was a disaster. 瞧那小两口呀Look at them. 接下来的三年也不尽如人意And the next three werent much better. 就这么捱到了六年级 我总算不再坐以待毙But finally, in the sixth grade, I took action. 想到了一个大狠招I hatched the plan. 雪利Sherry. 雪利 等一下Sherry, wait up. 嗨 布莱斯Hi, Bryce. Heh. 我向雪利?斯道尔斯展开攻势I asked out Sherry Stalls. 我
9、想问你愿不愿意. . . I was wondering if you wanted to go这个招数的绝妙之处在于To full appreciate the brilliance of this plan雪利?斯道尔斯是朱莉的眼中钉you have to understand that Juli hated Sherry Stalls但我始终想不通其中的缘由though I never understood why. 雪利长发飘飘 为人和善Sherry was nice, friendly and she had a lot of hair. 我妈之前一直不让我打耳洞 后来我拼命求她At
10、 first, my mother wouldnt let me get my ears pierced, but I begged我原本一心指望 只要和雪利吃吃饭The idea was that Sherry would eat with me散散步 就能让朱莉知难而退maybe wed walk around together, and hopefully Juli would lose interest. 她还是不允许我岁前打耳洞But I still cant get the hoops till Im . 太可惜了Oh, thats a shame. 米娜妮也想打耳洞So Mela
11、nie wanted to get her ears pierced,但她老妈也不是省油的灯but of course her mother said no. 她就在家大发雷霆 So she threw a fit 把约翰尼?马蒂斯的精选辑给砸了and smashed her Johnny Mathis Greatest Hits album结果就被禁足了and she got grounded,连我的睡衣派对都来不了so now she cant come to my pajama sleepover party. 事情进展相当顺利Things were unfolding quite ni
12、cely. 你的科学实验打算怎么做? What are you doing for your science project? 直到我所谓的挚友加利特?埃恩德That is, until my supposed best friend, Garrett Einbinder开始打起了雪利的主意took an interest in Sherry himself. 我想展示各种护发素I was thinking of showing how split ends react 如何修复头发分叉with different hair conditioners. 太棒了Thats fascinating
13、. 俗话说得好 重色必轻友 加利特这个叛徒Loyalty gave way to desire and Garrett, the turncoat向雪利全盘托出我的计划told Sherry what I was up to. 混蛋Jerk. 她自然很是生气She didnt take it well. 至于朱莉Word got back to Juli, 她自然又开始对我故技重施and pretty soon she started up with the goo-goo eyes again. 而且还变本加厉Only this time it was worse. 居然开始嗅我She st
14、arted sniffing me. 你没听错 她居然用鼻子嗅我Thats right, sniffing me. 搞什么飞机啊? What was that all about? 我只能期望来年能摆脱魔掌My only consolation was that next year would be different. 但愿升入初中后Junior high, bigger school. 不用再和她同班 Maybe wed be in different classes 彻底结束我的噩梦and it would finally, finally be over. 见到布莱斯?罗斯基的第一眼
15、我便怦然心动了The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. 他的双眸让我如痴如醉It was those eyes, something in those dazzling eyes. 我们一起推吧? You wanna push this one together? 那时候他们刚搬到我家隔壁His family had just moved into the neighborhood我过去帮他们搬东西and Id gone over to help them. 我在车里刚呆了分钟 Id been in the van all of two minut
16、es 他老爸就让她去帮他妈妈when his dad sent him off to help his mom. 我知道他并不想离开I could see he didnt wanna go. 于是我追上前去 So I chased after him to see 问他能不能先玩一会再进屋if we could play a little before he got trapped inside. 接着他便用力握着我的手The next thing I know, hes holding my hand与我深情凝视and looking right into my eyes. 那一刹那 我的
17、心停止了跳动My heart stopped. 这一刻到来了吗? Was this it? 是时候迎来我的初吻了吗? Would this be my first kiss? 没想到他妈妈却出来了 你好呀But then his mother came out. Well, hello. 他感到无比羞愧 脸都红了And he was so embarrassed, his cheeks turned completely red. 那晚我躺在床上 不停幻想初吻的场景I went to bed that night thinking of the kiss that might have bee
18、n. 我知道他对我动心了 I mean, it was clear he had feelings for me, 只是怯于表达爱意but he was just too shy to show them. 妈妈说过男孩子都会这样My mother said boys were like that. 我决定帮他克服心中的恐惧 So I decided to help him out. 布莱斯? 你也在这啊Bryce? Youre here. 我会竭尽所能帮他彻底释放自我I would give him plenty of opportunity to get over his shyness.
19、 六年级那年 我学着有所收敛By the sixth grade, Id learned to control myself. 没想到半路却杀出个雪利?斯道尔斯Then Sherry Stalls entered the picture. 雪利?斯道尔斯就是一人尽可夫的长舌妇Sherry Stalls was nothing but a whiny, gossipy, backstabbing flirt. 头发长见识短All hair and no substance. 而且她竟然. . . And there she was和布莱斯十指紧扣 那可是我家布莱斯holding hands wi
20、th Bryce. My Bryce. 我的初吻白马王子The one who was walking around with my first kiss. 我决定对她视而不见 依照布莱斯的品性My solution was to ignore her. I knew a boy of Bryces caliber总有一天能意识到雪利有多浅薄无知would eventually see through a shallow conniver like Sherry Stalls. 如我所料 他俩一周后便分手了It took all of a week. They broke up at rece
21、ss. 她也不看看自己几斤几两She didnt take it well. 自从布莱斯摆脱了朱莉的魔掌 Now that Bryce was out of Sherrys evil clutches, 对我也变得更为友善he started being nicer to me. 嗨 朱莉 嗨 布莱斯Hi, Juli. Hi, Bryce. 他如此腼腆可人He was so shy and so cute他的发丝间弥漫着西瓜的香氛and his hair, it smelled like watermelon. 我简直如痴如醉I couldnt get enough of it. 整整一年我都
22、沉浸在这迷人的芬芳里I spent the whole year secretly sniffing watermelon期盼着何时能迎来我的初吻and wondering if I was ever going to get my kiss. 升入初一后 生活开始有所改观Seventh grade brought changes, all right. 但最大的变化并非学校But the biggest one didnt happen at school. 而是出现在家中It happened at home. 外公搬来与我们同住My grandfather came to live wi
23、th us. 妈妈说他是过于思念外婆 才会如此迷惘Mom said he stared like that because he missed Grandma. 但他怎么可能对我推心置腹呢That was not something Grandpa would ever talk about with me. 其实他在我面前总是沉默寡言As a matter of fact, he never talked about much of anything with me. 直到朱莉的名字登上了当地报纸That is, until Juli appeared in the local newspa
24、per. 布莱斯 能和你聊聊吗? 有事吗? Oh, Bryce. May I speak with you? What? 坐吧 孩子Have a seat, son. 跟我说说你的朋友朱莉?贝克吧Tell me about your friend Juli Baker. 其实朱莉算不上是我朋友Juli. Shes not exactly my friend. 为什么呢? Oh. Whys that? 你怎么突然问这个? Why do you wanna know? 朱莉?贝克登上梅菲尔德时报Now, Juli Baker did not wind up in The Mayfield Time
25、s可不是因为她天赋异禀for being an eighth-grade Einstein. 而是因为她赖在无花果树上No, she got front-page coverage because she refused 死活不肯下来to climb out of a sycamore tree. 朱莉?贝克和那棵白痴无花果树Juli Baker and that stupid sycamore tree. 她认为那棵树She always thought it was Gods gift 是上帝对我们的恩赐to our little corner of the universe. 嘿 布莱斯
26、 过来和我们一起爬树不? Hey, Bryce. Wanna come climb the tree with me and my brothers? 不了 谢谢No, thanks. 布莱斯 快上来嘛 很好玩的Bryce. Come up here. Its fun. 可以看到全世界呢 我没空You can see everything. I cant. 我爸爸让我帮他去修. . . My dad needs me to help him fix修东西a thing. 拉倒吧Thats all I needed. 我才不要和朱莉?贝克一起爬树呢Climb up a tree with Jul
27、i Baker. 我可不想重温二年级的噩梦Id be dragged right back into the second grade. 布莱斯和朱莉爬上树梢Bryce and Juli sitting in a tree. 我宁可下半辈子吃青豆度日Why dont you just make me eat lima beans for the rest of my life. 还有三个街区就来了Its three blocks away. 只剩两个喽Two blocks. 还有最后一个One block away. 还真把自己当回事 最受不了她这种人了Like thats valuable
28、information. I hate it when she does that. 真希望校车哪天能罢工I like to think theres at least a chance the bus wont show. 这棵树在晨曦中显得尤为美丽 你说对么? I think the tree looks particularly beautiful in this light. Dont you? 如果你所谓的美丽是指奇丑无比 If by beautiful you mean unbelievably ugly, 那我绝对赞成then, yes, I would agree. 你眼神不太
29、好吧 我真同情你Youre just visually challenged. I feel sorry for you. 眼神不太好? Visually challenged? 眼神不太好? Visually challenged? 她家不也是街坊邻里的笑柄么 This from the girl who lived in a house 居然敢这么说我? that was the joke of the neighborhood? 灌木爬满了窗台 门前杂草丛生They had bushes growing over windows and weeds all over the place.
30、 我老爸为此很是不爽It bugged my dad bigtime. 哟 快瞧瞧Oh, there he is. 砌墙工当自己是大画家呢 The bricklayer who thinks hes a painter. 嫌那破车不够寒碜 That trucks not ugly enough in real life? 还得画幅画裱起来? Hes gotta make a painting of it? 人家的风景画可是集市上的抢手货No, he does landscapes. Sells them at the county fair. 大家都夸赞他呢People say theyre
31、beautiful. 风景画? 要我说吧Landscapes? Let me tell you something. 他要是能把院子拾掇拾掇The world would have more beauty in it这个世界一定会更加美好if hed do a little landscaping on that piece of crap he calls a yard. 我真同情他老婆 嫁了这么个幻想家I feel bad for his wife. She married a dreamer. 梦想与现实间的冲突 总得有一个人来承受Because of that, one of the
32、two of them will always be unhappy. 没错 可为啥要殃及无辜呢? Yeah, fine. But why do we have to be unhappy? 和朱莉?贝克成天赖在树上相比As annoying as the yard was to my dad她家那院子其实也不见得有多惹人生厌it was nothing compared to how annoying Juli Baker was in that tree. 还有三个街区哦Three blocks away. 每天早上我们都不得不忍受Every morning we had to liste
33、n to the sound她极为啰嗦的交通播报of her blow-by-blow traffic report. 还有两个了Two blocks. 到喽There you go. 为什么要叫三个臭皮匠呢? Why do they call it The Three Stooges? 明明有五个人啊 什么? I mean, theres five of them. What? 你看啊 莫伊 拉里 克里 谢普和卷毛乔伊Well, yeah, theres Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp and Curly Joe. 可每场戏却只有三个人 是啊Yeah, but they o
34、nly have three at a time. Yeah. 我讨厌卷毛乔伊 他哪算得上臭皮匠呢You know, I hate Curly Joe. I mean, he shouldnt even be a Stooge. 姑娘 我可要报警了Listen, girl, Im this close to calling the police. 你侵犯私人土地 妨碍施工You are trespassing and obstructing progress on a contracted job. 怎么了? 你最好自己下来Whats going on? Either you come dow
35、n要不我们就砍树了 你们赶紧上来吧or were gonna cut you down. You guys, come up here with me. 咱们人一多他们就不敢砍了They wont cut it down if were all up here. 车来了 朱莉真是疯了Bus, bus, bus. Juli was frantic. 他们想把树给砍了They wanted to cut down her tree. 真不明白那无比畸形的树I couldnt understand why that mutant tangle of gnarly branches在她心里怎么就那么重
36、要 布莱斯 求你了meant so much to her. Bryce, please. 我很同情她 别管她I felt bad for her. Leave her. 但我可不至于为此旷课But I wasnt about to cut school over it. 走吧 哥们儿Come on, bro. 你为什么不把她当朋友呢 布莱斯? Why isnt she your friend, Bryce? 等你真正了解朱莉就明白了Youd have to know Juli. 我倒真想认识她Well, Id like to. 为什么? Why? 这姑娘挺有骨气的That girl has
37、an iron backbone. 要不你抽空请她来家里玩? Why dont you invite her over sometime? 有骨气? An iron backbone? 她那是一根筋Shes just stubborn而且还很自以为是and shes pushy beyond belief. 是这样吗? Is that so? 她从二年级起就老是缠着我And shes been stalking me since the second grade. 这种女孩可是可遇不可求的Well, a girl like that doesnt live next door to every
38、one. 谁遇上谁倒霉Lucky them. 看看这个Read this. 放下心中的成见Without prejudice. 我才没兴趣去了解朱莉?贝克Like I needed to know anything more about Juli Baker. 第二天早上朱莉没去等校车Juli wasnt at the bus stop the next morning. 第三天也不见她出现Or the morning after that. 不知道她怎么来学校的She was at school, but youd never know it. 小乔伊? 他那妆也太浓了 他不显老啊Littl
39、e Joe? Hes got so much makeup on He doesnt age. 我告诉自己应该感到庆幸I told myself I should be glad about it. 这不就是我日期夜盼的吗? I mean, isnt that what Id always wanted? 但我仍替她感到难过But still, I felt bad for her. 我想跟她说声对不起 但是一想 还是算了I was gonna tell her I was sorry, but then I thought, hey, no我可真不希望thats the last thing
40、 I needed:让朱莉?贝克以为我在想她Juli Baker thinking I missed her. 我知道你为什么喜欢这里I see why you like to come out here. 那你能开导开导你老妈不? Would you mind explaining it to your mother? 我喜欢看着爸爸作画I loved to watch my father paint. 更喜欢在他画画时和他聊天Or really, I loved to hear him talk while he painted. 这样能让我更了解他I learned a lot abou
41、t my dad that way. 他和我无话不谈He told me all sorts of things比如他怎样得到第一份工作 like how he got his first job delivering hay他多么渴望能完成学业and how hed wished hed finished college. 有一天 他出人意料地问我Then one day he surprised me. 你和布莱斯?罗斯基是怎么回事? Whats going on with you and, uh, Bryce Loski? 什么怎么回事啊? 没什么呀What do you mean? N
42、othing. 那好吧Oh, okay. 是我想多了My mistake. 你怎么会这么想? Why would you even think that? 其实也没什么No reason. 只是你成天Just that you都把他挂在嘴边talk about him all the time. 我有吗? I do? 我也不知道I dont know. 也许我被他的双眼所吸引吧I guess its something about his eyes. 还有他迷人的微笑Or maybe his smile. 那他人怎么样? But what about him? 什么? 你得考虑画的整体效果Wh
43、at? You have to look at the whole landscape. 什么意思? What does that mean? 一幅画绝非简单拼凑就能完成A painting is more than the sum of its parts. 一头牛只是一头牛A cow by itself is just a cow. 草地也只长满了青草和花朵A meadow by itself is just grass, flowers. 阳光照进大树的枝桠 亦不过缕缕薄光And the sun peeking through the trees is just a beam of li
44、ght. 但你若能将它们衔接拼凑But you put them all together却能收获意想不到的成果and it can be magic. 我对他的话一知半解 直到一天下午I didnt really understand what he was saying until one afternoon我爬上无花果树的枝头when I was up in the sycamore tree. 试图去捡风筝I was rescuing a kite. 它挂得很高 我从没爬过这么高It was a long way up, higher than Id ever been. 但我发现爬得
45、越高 眼前的景象便愈发迷人And the higher I got, the more amazed I was by the view. 沁人心脾的微风迎面扑来I began to notice how wonderful the breeze smelled. 夹杂着阳光和野草的芬芳Like sunshine and wild grass. 我忍不住大口呼吸I couldnt stop breathing it in让肺里溢满甜美醉人的气息filling my lungs with the sweetest smell Id ever known. 嘿 我的风筝被你找到了Hey, you
46、found my kite. 布莱斯 你真该上来看看Bryce, you should come up here. 太美了Its so beautiful. 不行 我扭伤了. . . I cant. I sprained my, um我出疹子了I have a rash. 从那一刻起 我彻底爱上了这里From that moment on, that became my spot. 我可以坐上好几个钟头 静静欣赏这世界I could sit there for hours, just looking out at the world. 落日时而泛着微醺的紫红Some days the suns
47、ets would be purple and pink. 时而迸发出橙色的余晖And some days they were a blazing orange瞬间布满天边的晚霞setting fire to the clouds on the horizon. 在如此瑰丽的景象中It was during one of those sunsets that my fathers idea我终于慢慢有所领悟of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts爸爸所说的整体胜于全部moved from my head to my heart. 有时我会起个大早 只为去看日出Some days I would get there extra early to watch the sunrise. 一天清晨 我在心里兀自揣度One morning I was maki
