雙語暢銷書·怦然心動 Chapter 13　怦然心動

Chapter 13

怦然心動

那次晚餐之后，朱莉在學(xué)校對我很客氣，這正是我所痛恨的。生氣都比客氣更好。

就連狂熱都比……客氣更好。對她來說，我就像個陌生人，上帝啊，這讓我非常困擾。極其、極其的困擾。

然后輪到拍賣會的事情，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正在陷入更大的麻煩。

拍賣會是“推進者俱樂部”假裝用來為學(xué)校籌款的方式。他們堅稱被選中是一種榮譽，但鬼才相信呢！

基本情況是這樣的，他們會強行扣留二十個男生，他們每人自帶美妙的野餐食品，當(dāng)著全校學(xué)生的面，由女生競標(biāo)與之共進午餐的權(quán)利。

猜猜今年誰是那二十人之一。

你以為媽媽們會說，嘿，你們不能把我兒子拿去拍賣，那你就錯了。她們反而很驕傲自己的兒子被選為“午餐籃男孩”。

沒錯，朋友，那就是他們給你起的名字。一年一度的校慶活動上，你總能聽到這樣的話：“今天午餐時間，所有新入選的‘籃子男孩’請到多功能廳參加籌備會議。所有‘籃子男孩’必須參加。”

很快就沒人叫你的真名了。別人只把你和其他十九個傻瓜看作“籃子男孩”。

當(dāng)然，我媽媽非常投入，她給我的籃子里裝滿了各色食品，以確保我得到最高的出價。我解釋說，自己根本不想進入梅菲爾德初級中學(xué)的“籃子男孩”名人堂，而且說真的，籃子放了什么根本不是重點。姑娘們才不是為了那個籃子競標(biāo)呢。你親身經(jīng)歷過，就知道那是個人肉市場。

“你在學(xué)校吃頓午飯，這件事就結(jié)束了。那不是人肉市場，布萊斯。那是種榮譽！再說，也許真有好心的姑娘為你出價，你還能交到一個新朋友呢！”

媽媽們就這樣出賣了我們。

然后是加利特，他悄悄地告訴我，雪莉·斯道爾斯已經(jīng)和米奇·麥克森分手了，她、米蘭達·休姆斯和珍妮·阿特金森之間為了競投我展開了一場激烈的斗爭?！案鐐儍海　彼嬖V我說，“全校最熱門的兩個妞兒。我對天發(fā)誓，雪莉是因為你才拋棄了米奇。是夏麗爾親口告訴我的，八卦女王夏麗爾?！彼蛭衣冻鲡C的笑容，“我嘛，我支持胖妞珍妮。做一個‘籃子男孩’，你活該得到這樣的待遇。”

我讓他閉嘴，不過他說得對。我的運氣用完了，也許我是活該被胖妞珍妮纏上。我能想象得出來——身高一米八的胖姑娘吃完我?guī)У娜课绮褪称?，然后跟著我到處跑。珍妮是全校唯一一個能扣籃的女孩。當(dāng)她落地的時候，整個場地都在震動。要是她沒有那些……你明白……女生的特征，她完全可以剃掉頭發(fā)，加入NBA（美國男籃職業(yè)聯(lián)賽）。

真的，沒人懷疑過。

她的父母滿足她的每一個要求。傳說，為了她，他們把家里的車庫改造成了一個全尺寸的籃球場。

這意味著，在“籃子男孩”的游戲中，她對我也是穩(wěn)操勝券了。

除非，除非雪莉或者米蘭達出了更高的價錢。但我怎么能保證呢？

我的大腦飛速運轉(zhuǎn)，想制訂一個計劃，最后我發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有一個可行的方法。

同時討好她們倆。

第一天實施我的計劃，我覺得自己無比卑鄙。我并沒有做什么太糟糕的事。我只是，嗯，表示了友好。雖然我不知道雪莉和米蘭達是否看出了我的意圖，但加利特看出來了。

“哥們兒！”星期四的時候，他對我說，“我能看穿你的小把戲，兄弟?！?/p>

“你在說什么？”

“別否認(rèn)了，哥們兒。你在同時對付她們倆。”他湊過來，在我耳邊說，“不管你是不是‘籃子男孩’，我都佩服你?！?/p>

“閉嘴，哥們兒?！?/p>

“真的！八卦女王說，今天的體育課上，她倆廝打起來了?！?/p>

我必須了解這件事：“那么……胖妞珍妮呢？”

他聳聳肩：“不清楚。不過我們明天就知道了，對不對，哥們兒？”

星期五，媽媽把我和我那傻乎乎的超大號野餐籃一起送到學(xué)校，由于所有“籃子男孩”都要盛裝打扮，我系了一條讓人窒息的領(lǐng)帶，穿了西褲和禮服鞋，感覺自己是個十足的傻瓜。

當(dāng)我走過甬道的時候，學(xué)生們吹著口哨，朝我喊：“哦，寶貝！”這時胖妞珍妮超過我，一步便邁上三個臺階。

“哦，布萊斯，”她回過頭說，“你看起來……很美味。”

上帝?。∥遗懿竭M入教室，那是全體“籃子男孩”集合的地方，進門的那一刻，我感覺好多了，我的身邊圍繞著其他傻瓜，他們似乎真心高興看到我的出現(xiàn)?！班?，羅斯基”；“喲，哥們兒”；“這樣難道不是很蠢嗎”；“你怎么不坐校車，兄弟”——這群同病相憐的人哪。

推進者俱樂部主席麥克盧爾夫人走進教室，就是她把我們?nèi)Φ竭@里的?！芭?，上帝??！”她說，“你們看上去全都那么帥！”

沒有一句話提到我們的籃子，也不想事先往里面看一眼。不，她唯一關(guān)心的是，那些小妞餓了。

人肉市場？

一點兒也沒錯！

“別緊張，孩子們，”麥克盧爾夫人說，“你們會度過美妙的一天！”她拿出一張名單，讓我們排成一列。我們被編上號碼，籃子也被編上號碼。出于她的愚蠢要求，我們填寫了一張卡片。等到她把我們整頓完畢，保證我們知道該做什么不該做什么，已經(jīng)錯過了第一堂課和第二堂課的一半多?！昂昧耍壬鷤?，”她說，“把你們的籃子留在原地，然后去……現(xiàn)在幾點了？還在上第二堂課？”她看了看表，“是的，第二堂。”

“要是老師跟我們要假條怎么辦？”某位聰明的“籃子男孩”問。

“你們的老師手里有個名單。如果他們有問題，告訴他們，你們的領(lǐng)結(jié)就是假條。當(dāng)每個人都完成拍賣之后，我在這里等著你們。明白了嗎？那就快行動吧！”

我們抱怨著，然后走回教室。我敢保證，整個上午，我們二十個人里沒有一個人聽進去了老師講的內(nèi)容。假如你的脖子上纏著套索、腳趾被擠得生疼，屋子里坐滿了一群準(zhǔn)備獵捕你的白癡，你怎么能聽得進去？

任何一個提出這種傻瓜傳統(tǒng)的人，都該被塞進籃子，扔進河里，連勺子都不準(zhǔn)拿。

我是九號“籃子男孩”。這意味著我要在籃球館的舞臺上站很久，等待幾乎一半的男孩被拍賣掉。最少十元起拍。如果沒人競標(biāo)，私下里總有一個老師被安排好為你出價。

是的，朋友，你有無數(shù)種被羞辱的可能。

一些媽媽也出現(xiàn)了，她們站在一邊，帶著攝像機或照相機，坐立不安，向兒子揮手，基本上跟她們的兒子看上去一樣蠢。我應(yīng)該想到的。媽媽請了一個小時的假，也出現(xiàn)在人群中。

提姆·派羅是五號“籃子男孩”，他媽媽真的為他競標(biāo)了。沒開玩笑。她上躥下跳，喊著“二十！我給你二十元！”上帝，這真是終生難忘。幸運的是，凱莉·特洛特為他叫了二十二元五角，讓他免于內(nèi)疚地因為“媽媽的乖寶貝”而困擾——這是世上少有的比成為“籃子男孩”更糟的事。

凱萊布·休斯是下一個拍賣品，他為俱樂部拍得了十一元五角。然后是查得·奧蒙德，我敢說麥克盧爾夫人把他帶上去的時候他都快尿褲子了。她宣讀他的卡片，捏捏他的臉，然后迅速地拍出了十五元。

這時，我和拍賣臺只隔著瓊恩·楚洛克。我對他籃子裝了什么東西、有什么愛好、喜歡什么運動不感興趣。我忙著在人群中尋找胖妞珍妮，胳肢窩里濕了一片。

麥克盧爾夫人透過麥克風(fēng)喊道：“有出十元的嗎？”我等了一分鐘，卻沒有人說出“十元！”誰也沒有說話?！皝戆?，快上吧！這午餐很好吃呢。草莓撻，嗯……”麥克盧爾夫人走到后面，宣讀瓊恩·楚洛克那張卡片上寫的菜單。

多么尷尬?。∵@比成為“媽媽的寶貝”還要更糟。比跟胖妞珍妮共進午餐還要糟！如果沒人想跟他共進午餐，為什么會選他當(dāng)上“籃子男孩”呢？

人群右側(cè)傳來聲音：“十元！”

“十元？有人出十元嗎？”麥克盧爾夫人露出緊張的笑容。

“十二！”從同一片區(qū)域傳出另一個聲音。

第一個聲音又喊道：“十五！”忽然，我認(rèn)出那個聲音的主人了。

朱莉安娜·貝克。

我掃視著人群，最后看到她高高地?fù)]著手，興奮之情溢于言表。

“十六！”另一個聲音說。

安靜片刻，朱莉的聲音再次響起：“十八！”

“十八！”麥克盧爾夫人喊道，她看上去快要因為解脫而暈倒了。她頓了一下，然后說，“十八元一次……十八元兩次……成交！十八元。”

賣給朱莉？我完全沒想到她會參與午餐競拍。任何一個人的午餐。

瓊恩走回隊伍當(dāng)中。我知道是該我走上去的時候了，可我一步也挪不動。像是有人在我肚子上狠狠打了一拳。朱莉喜歡瓊恩嗎？這是不是她最近這么……這么……客氣的原因？因為再也不在乎我了？她從來都在那里，等著被我躲開，而現(xiàn)在我甚至就像不存在一樣。

“上前一步，布萊斯。來呀，別害羞！”

麥克·阿比尼多輕輕地推了我一把：“該你受罪了。上去吧！”

就像走向斷頭臺一樣。我站在前面，滿身大汗，聽俱樂部女王檢查我的午餐，并逐條宣讀我的興趣愛好。她還沒說完，雪莉·斯道爾斯就喊道：“十元！”

“什么？”麥克盧爾夫人說。

“我出十元！”

“哦，”她把字條放下，笑了，“好吧，我聽到有人出價十元！”

“二十！”米蘭達·休姆斯站在人群正中央喊道。

“二十五！”又是雪莉。

我搜索胖妞珍妮的身影，祈禱她生病回家了或是遇到別的問題，這時雪莉和米蘭達正在五元五元地加價?！叭?！”

“三十五！”

“四十！”

我找到她了。她站在米蘭達身后二十碼的地方，正在用牙齒清理她的指甲油。

“四十五！”

“五十！”

“五十二。”

“五十二？”俱樂部女王打斷她們，“哇，競爭很激烈！看看籃子就知道，這很值得——”

“六十！”

“六十二！”雪莉喊。

米蘭達慌忙向朋友借錢，這時麥克盧爾喊：“一次！”但珍妮站了起來，喘著粗氣說：“一百元！”

一百元。只聽觀眾們倒吸一口涼氣，所有人都轉(zhuǎn)過身，盯著珍妮。

“好！”麥克盧爾夫人笑了，“一百元！毫無疑問，這是有史以來的最高紀(jì)錄。也是對推進者俱樂部的慷慨饋贈！”

我好想把她推下舞臺。我已經(jīng)被宣判了。這將是終生難忘的經(jīng)歷。

臺下一片騷亂，忽然，雪莉和米蘭達站在一起喊道：“一百二十二……塊五！我們出一百二十二塊五！”

“一百二十二元零五角？”我想俱樂部女王快要跳起波爾卡舞了，“你們合并了彼此的資源，想跟這位優(yōu)秀的小伙子共進午餐？”

“是的！”她們叫道，然后把目光投向珍妮。人人都在看著珍妮。珍妮只是聳聳肩，然后繼續(xù)摳她的指甲去了。

“好吧，就這樣！一百二十二元零五角一次……一百二十二元零五角兩次……成交，這兩位美麗的年輕姑娘以一百二十二元零五角的價格創(chuàng)造了前所未有的紀(jì)錄！”

“哥們兒！”我退回隊列之后，麥克對我耳語，“雪莉和米蘭達兩個人？這讓我怎么追得上？”

他甚至都沒有接近這個數(shù)字。他被泰瑞·諾里斯以十六元成交，余下的大多數(shù)人都拍出了四十元。結(jié)束的時候，每個男生都跟我說：“哥們兒！你真厲害……創(chuàng)造紀(jì)錄！”但我一點兒都不覺得自己厲害，我已經(jīng)筋疲力盡了。

媽媽走過來給我一個擁吻，就像我得了金牌似的，低聲說“我的小寶貝”，然后咔嗒咔嗒踩著高跟鞋回去上班了。

我又累又尷尬，然后就被雪莉和米蘭達拽進了多功能廳。推進者俱樂部在多功能廳擺了一些供兩人使用的小桌子，用明暗不同的粉色、藍色和黃色裝飾著，到處都是氣球和飄帶。我覺得自己就像只復(fù)活節(jié)的兔子，雙手抓著愚蠢的“籃子男孩”的午餐，被米蘭達拉住一只胳膊，雪莉抱緊另外一只。

他們把最大的一張桌子給了我們，又多拿來一把椅子，當(dāng)我們都坐下后，麥克盧爾夫人說：“男孩和女孩們，我想我不需要提醒你們，接下來的課可以不用上了。享受你們的午餐，享受你們的友誼……慢慢吃，放松點兒，再次感謝你們對推進者俱樂部的支持。沒有你們，就沒有今天的我們！”

于是，我坐在那里，跟全校最搶手的兩個姑娘一起共進午餐。我是那個遭到全校男生妒忌的人。

老兄，我都痛苦死了。

我是說，這兩個姑娘也許很漂亮，但她們聊起胖妞珍妮的時候，那些話真是令人發(fā)指。米蘭達說道：“她在想些什么？她還以為你盼著約她出去呢，是不是，布萊斯？”

好吧，沒錯，是這樣。可是把它說出來本身就是錯的?！奥犞?，我們能不能聊點別的？”

“沒問題，比如說？”

“無所謂，什么都行。你們這個暑假打算去哪兒玩？”

米蘭達先開口：“我們要坐游輪去墨西哥的蔚藍海岸，停靠在每一個好玩的港口，購物什么的，”她沖我眨了眨眼，“我可以給你帶點禮物回來……”

雪莉挪了一下椅子，說：“我們要去湖邊玩。我爸爸在那里有座小木屋，在那兒你能曬出一身最美麗的古銅色。你還記得我去年開學(xué)時的樣子嗎？那時候我，嗯，很黑。我想再來一次，不過這回我要制定一張時間表，這樣就能把每一寸皮膚都曬到?！彼┛┬χf，“別告訴我媽媽，好嗎？否則她肯定會阻止我！”

從這時開始，她們?yōu)槊篮诘膯栴}爭執(zhí)起來。米蘭達告訴雪莉，去年開學(xué)的時候她根本沒注意到她曬黑了，而曬太陽最好的地方是在游輪甲板上。雪莉告訴米蘭達，任何一個長著雀斑的人都不可能真正曬黑，由于米蘭達全身都有雀斑，坐游輪肯定是一種浪費。我吞下屬于我那三分之一的午餐，環(huán)視著房間，試圖讓她們的對話從耳邊流過。

然后，我看到了朱莉。她和我隔著兩張桌子，正對著我的方向，可她并沒有看我。她看著瓊恩，她的眼睛閃閃發(fā)光，她在笑。

我的心跳慢了一拍。她在笑什么？他們在聊什么？她坐在那兒，怎么那么……美？

我覺得自己漸漸失去了控制。這感覺很奇怪，就像不能控制自己的肢體一樣。我一直覺得瓊恩很酷，但現(xiàn)在我只想走過去，把他扔出屋子。

雪莉抓住我的胳膊：“布萊斯，你還好嗎？你看起來……我不知道……像著了魔似的?！?/p>

“什么？哦?！蔽以囍隽藗€深呼吸?！澳阍诳词裁?？”米蘭達問。她倆都從我肩膀上面看過去，然后聳聳肩，繼續(xù)挑揀著食物。

可我不能自已地再次看了過去。內(nèi)心深處，我聽見外公在對我說：“你現(xiàn)在作出的選擇將會影響你的一生。作出正確的選擇……”

作出正確的選擇……

作出正確的選擇……

作出正確的選擇……

米蘭達再一次搖晃我的胳膊，問道：“布萊斯？你聽見我說話了嗎？我問你今年暑假打算干點什么？”

“我不知道。”我堅持不住了。

“嘿，也許你可以跟我們在湖邊住一段時間！”雪莉建議道。

這真是一種折磨。我想大聲尖叫，閉嘴！讓我一個人待一會兒！我想從這棟房子里跑出去，一直跑，一直跑，直到我沒有知覺為止。

“午餐很美味，布萊斯?！泵滋m達的聲音飄在我耳邊，“布萊斯？你聽見我說話了嗎？這真是一頓豐盛的午餐?！?/p>

一句簡單的謝謝就足夠了。但我能用簡單的謝謝來回答她嗎？

不能。我轉(zhuǎn)向她說：“除了食物、美黑和頭發(fā)，我們能不能談點別的？”

她朝我露出一個傲慢的微笑：“好吧，那么，你到底想聊點什么？”

我沖她眨眨眼，再沖雪莉眨眨眼：“永動機怎么樣？知道永動機嗎？”

“永……什么？”

米蘭達笑了起來。

“怎么了？”我問她，“什么事這么高興？”

她盯著我看了一分鐘，然后吃吃地笑著：“我不敢相信自己竟然競拍到一個知識分子。”

“嘿……我很聰明的！”

“真的嗎？”米蘭達笑著問，“你連‘知識分子’這個詞都拼不出來吧？”

“他很聰明，米蘭達。”

“哦，別再拍他馬屁了，雪莉。你想說你是為了追求他的頭腦？上帝，看你這樣討好他，我真想吐！”

“討好？你再說一遍？”

“你聽見我說了。反正他不會邀請你參加畢業(yè)舞會的，所以還是放棄吧，你說呢？”

這次午餐到此為止。媽媽做的一片蘋果撻碾碎在米蘭達的頭發(fā)里，剩下的牧場風(fēng)味醬涂在雪莉的頭發(fā)上。

麥克盧爾夫人還來不及說“看在推進者的分兒上，你們在干嗎”，她倆就在地上滾作一團，抓花了對方的臉。

趁這個機會，我離開座位，朝朱莉走去。我抓住她的手說：“我必須跟你談?wù)?。?/p>

她從椅子上欠起身：“什么？怎么了，布萊斯？她們?yōu)槭裁创蚣埽俊?/p>

“抱歉，我們離開一會兒，好嗎，瓊恩？”我拉著她離開桌子，但是沒有地方可去。拉著她的手，我根本無法思考。于是，我停在屋子的正中間，看著她?？粗哪?。我想摸摸她的臉頰，看看那是什么感覺。我想摸摸她的頭發(fā)，它看起來難以置信地柔順。

“布萊斯，”她輕聲說，“出什么事了？”

我開口問她的時候，幾乎要窒息了：“你喜歡他？”

“我……你是說瓊恩？”

“是的！”

“哦，當(dāng)然。他是個好人，而且——”

“不，你喜歡他嗎？”我的心臟快要跳出胸膛了，我拉起她的另一只手，等待她的答案。

“嗯，不是。我是說，不是那種……”

不是！她說不是！我不管此刻我身在何處，也不管有誰在看。我想要，我不得不親吻她。我傾身向前，閉上眼睛，然后……

她從我身邊掙脫了。

突然間，屋子里死一般的沉寂。米蘭達和雪莉透過她們濕滑的頭發(fā)瞪著我，人人都在看著，就好像我是個短路的機器人，我只是站在那兒，試圖閉上嘴巴，恢復(fù)平時的樣子。

麥克盧爾夫人扶著我的肩膀，帶我回到座位上，對我說：“你坐下，待在這兒！”然后她把米蘭達和雪莉拖出去，教訓(xùn)了一頓，讓她們在她找門衛(wèi)來收拾這堆爛攤子之前各自找個浴室清理干凈。

我一個人坐在那里，根本沒考慮過掩飾自己。我只想和她在一起，和她說話，再一次拉著她的手。

吻她。

放學(xué)之前，我試著跟她說話，但每次不等我走近，她就躲開了。

最后一節(jié)課的下課鈴響了起來，她消失了。

我到處找她，但她就是不見蹤影。

不過，加利特還在。他追上我說：“哥們兒！告訴我這不是真的！”

我什么也沒說。我朝自行車棚走去，希望能在那兒找到朱莉。

“哦，上帝……是真的！”

“別來煩我，加利特?！?/p>

“你有機會跟學(xué)校里最搶手的兩個妞混在一起，卻為了朱莉放棄了她倆？”

“你不明白?！?/p>

“你說得對，哥們兒。我一點兒也不明白。你真的試圖去吻她？我不敢相信。我們說的是朱莉安娜·貝克嗎？你噩夢般的鄰居？那個討厭的萬事通？雞屎寶貝？”

我冷冷地停下來，推了他一把。只是兩只手掐住他，然后推了他一把：“那是很久以前的事，哥們兒。少來這一套！”

加利特舉起雙手投降，但朝我湊過來：“哥們兒，你對她動心了，你知道嗎？”

“讓開點，行不行？”

他攔住我的去路：“我不相信！兩個小時以前，你還是那個獨一無二的人！‘那個人’！全校學(xué)生都愿意跪拜你！現(xiàn)在，看看你自己吧。你就像，嗯，一個社會公害?！彼p哼一聲，“還有，哥們兒，事實上，如果你還是這副德行，我不想繼續(xù)跟你做朋友了?！?/p>

我指著他的鼻子說：“很好！你知道嗎？我也不想！”

我把他推到一邊，跑了。

我是走回家的。穿著擠腳的皮鞋，臟碟子在黏糊糊的野餐籃里叮當(dāng)作響，“籃子男孩”一路跋涉回到了家。

而我的內(nèi)心世界正進行著一場激烈的斗爭。過去的布萊斯想要回到從前，想和加利特一起閑扯，想把朱莉安娜·貝克繼續(xù)恨下去。

想成為“那個人”。

但在我的潛意識里，過去的布萊斯已經(jīng)死了，我已經(jīng)無法回頭。對加利特、雪莉、米蘭達，以及任何一個不了解我的人。朱莉和他們不一樣，但這么多年過去了，我已經(jīng)不在乎這些了。

我喜歡這樣。

我喜歡她。

每次我看到她，她似乎都變得更漂亮，她仿佛散發(fā)著光彩。我指的不是像一百瓦的燈泡那樣發(fā)光，她只是具有了同樣的溫暖。也許是因為爬樹，也許是因為給小雞唱歌，也許是因為敲著木樁，夢想著永動機，我不知道。我知道，和她相比，雪莉和米蘭達都顯得太……普通了。

我從來沒有過這樣的感覺，從來沒有。承認(rèn)它，而不是隱瞞它，讓我感到自己充滿力量與幸福。我脫掉鞋襪，把它們也放進籃子，光腳向家里跑去，領(lǐng)帶搭在我的肩膀上，我忽然明白了加利特那天晚上說的一句話——我心動了。

徹徹底底地心動了。

走在我家那條街，我發(fā)現(xiàn)她的自行車靠在路旁。她在家！

我一直按著門鈴，時間長得讓我以為它壞掉了。

沒有人開門。

我捶打著大門。

沒有人開門。

我回到家，撥通了電話，很久很久以后，終于，她媽媽接了起來?！安既R斯？不，我很抱歉。她不想和你說話，”她輕聲說，“給她一點兒時間，好嗎？”

我給了她將近一個小時的時間。然后，我穿過馬路：“求你了，貝克太太。我非要見到她不可！”

“她把自己鎖在房間里不愿出來，親愛的。你可以試試明天再給她打電話?！?/p>

明天？我等不到明天！于是，我在她家附近逡巡著，爬上圍欄，敲著她房間的窗戶：“朱莉！朱莉，拜托。我必須要見到你?！?/p>

她的窗簾緊閉，但后門打開了，貝克太太走出來，把我轟走了。

到家以后，外公已經(jīng)等在門口：“布萊斯，怎么了？你在貝克家那里跑來跑去，還爬上人家的圍欄……就像火燒屁股似的！”

我脫口而出：“我不相信！我就是不相信！她不愿意跟我說話！”

他把我領(lǐng)進門廳，說：“誰不愿意跟你說話？”

“朱莉！”

他沉吟著：“她是不是……生你的氣？”

“我不知道！”

“她有沒有對你生氣的理由？”

“沒有！有！我是說，我不知道！”

“好吧，發(fā)生什么事了？”

“我試著親她來著！當(dāng)著一屋子人的面，當(dāng)時我正跟雪莉和米蘭達在一起，作為那個傻乎乎的‘籃子男孩’陪她們吃午餐，然后我試著去親她了！”

慢慢地，他的臉上浮出一個笑容：“你這么做了？”

“我就像著了魔似的。我控制不??！但是她把我推開了，還……”我透過窗戶望著貝克家的房子，“現(xiàn)在她不肯跟我說話了！”

外公開口了，聲音很輕很輕：“也許她以為這只是一時沖動？”

“可我不是一時沖動！”

“不是嗎？”

“不，我是說……”我轉(zhuǎn)向他，“都是從那篇該死的報道開始的。我不知道……從那時開始，我就變得很奇怪。她的樣子變了，她的聲音變了，對我來說她甚至變了一個人！”我盯著窗外，“她……她只是變得不一樣了?！?/p>

外公站在我身后，和我一起望著對街?！安?，布萊斯?！彼p聲說。

“她跟原來一樣，是你變了。”他拍拍我的肩膀，在我耳邊說道，“還有，孩子，從現(xiàn)在開始，你再也不是過去的你了。”

也許外公為此感到高興，可我就慘了。我吃不下飯，看不進電視，幾乎什么事都做不成。

于是，我早早爬到床上，卻也睡不著。我從窗戶盯著她家的房子，已經(jīng)看了好幾個小時了。我看過天空，也數(shù)過羊。但是，我就是忍不住后悔自己這些年來竟然這么傻。

現(xiàn)在，我怎么才能讓她聽我說話呢？只要她愿意，我可以去丈量那棵巨大的無花果樹，從樹根到樹梢；我可以喊她的名字，讓聲音飛過屋頂，讓全世界都聽到。

因為我對爬樹是那么地一竅不通，所以我認(rèn)定這說明我愿意做一切事情，換來她跟我說話；上帝，我愿意跟著她爬進沾滿雞屎的雞籠，假如這能奏效；我愿意永遠只騎自行車上學(xué)，穿過崎嶇的道路，假如這能讓我跟她在一起。

做點什么。我一定要做點什么，讓她知道我變了。做點什么向她證明我覺悟了。

但是做什么呢？我怎么做才能讓她知道，我不是她以為的那樣？我怎么才能抹去我之前所做的一切，從頭再來？

也許我做不到。也許這根本就不可能做到。不過，如果說我從朱莉安娜·貝克身上學(xué)到什么東西，那就是，我必須全心全意地去嘗試。

不管結(jié)果如何，我知道外公說對了一件事。

我再也不是過去的我了。

Chapter 13

Flipped

BRYCE

After the dinner Juli was nice to me at school. Which I hated. Mad was better than nice. Gaga was better than ... nice. It was like I was a stranger to her, and man, it bugged me. Bugged me big-time.

Then the auction happened, and I found myself with even bigger problems.

The auction is this bogus way the Booster Club raises money for the school. They insist it's an honor to be chosen, but bull-stinkin'-loney to that! Bottom line is, twenty guys get shanghaied. They have to come up with fancy picnic lunches and then be humiliated in front of the whole school while girls bid to have lunch with them.

Guess who made this year's top twenty.

You'd think mothers would say, Hey, there's no way you're going to auction my son off to the highest bidder, but no. Instead, they're all flattered that their son's been elected a basket boy.

Yes, my friend, that's what they call you. Over the P.A. you hear stuff like, "There will be an organizational meeting of the newly elected basket boys in the MPR at lunch today. All basket boys must attend."

Pretty soon you've completely lost your name. You and nineteen other saps are known simply as Basket Boy.

My mom, of course, was into it, coming up with all sorts of stuff to put in my basket so I'd get the highest bid. I tried to explain that I didn't want to be in Mayfield Junior High's Basket Boy Hall of Fame, and that really, what was in the basket didn't matter. It wasn't like girls were bidding on the basket. When you got right down to it, this was a meat market.

You eat lunch on campus and that's the end of it. It is hardly a meat market, Bryce. It's an honor! Besides, maybe someone really nice will bid on you and you'll make a new friend!

Mothers can be in such denial.

And then Garrett bends my ear with the news that Shelly Stalls is breaking up with Mitch Michaelson, and that she, Miranda Humes, and Jenny Atkinson are starting some bidding war over me. "Dude!" he tells me. "The two hottest chicks on campus. And I swear to god, man, Shelly's dumped Mitch because of you. I heard it direct from Shagreer, and dude, Shagreer the Ear knows all." He throws me this nasty grin and says, "Me, I'm rooting for Jumbo Jenny. It would serve you right for being such a basket boy."

I told him to shut up, but he was right. With the way my luck was running, I'd probably get stuck with Jumbo Jenny. I could just see it —six feet of beefy babe downing both halves of my lunch and then coming after me. Jenny's the only girl or guy on campus who can dunk a basketball. The whole gym shakes when she lands. And since she's got no, you know... female parabolas, the girl could shave her head and make it in the NBA. Seriously. No one would ever suspect.

Her parents give her anything she wants, too. Rumor has it they converted their garage into a full-on basketball court just for her.

Which meant that in the game of the basket boys, I was as good as slam-dunked.

Unless, unless Shelly or Miranda was high bidder. But how could I make sure that happened? My brain went into overdrive, constructing a plan, and in the end I decided that there was only one sensible course of action.

Kiss up to both of them.

Halfway through my first day of doing this, I felt like a skunk. Not that I was being gross about it or anything. I was just, you know, friendly. And even though Shelly and Miranda didn't seem to smell a thing, Garrett did.

Dude! he says to me on Thursday. "I can see your game, man."

What are you talking about?

Don't deny it, dude. You're working them both. He comes up and whispers in my ear, "Basket boy or not, I'm in awe."

Shut up, man.

Seriously! The Ear says they were, like, clawing each other in P.E. today.

I had to know. "What about ... Jumbo Jenny?"

He shrugs. "Haven't heard. But we'll find out tomorrow, won't we, dude?"

My mother dropped me off at school on Friday with my stupid oversized picnic basket, and since all basket boys have to dress up, I was choking in a tie and feeling completely dweeb like in slacks and dress shoes.

Kids whistled and shouted, "Oooh, baby!"as I headed up the walkway, and then Jumbo Jenny passed me, taking the front steps three at a time. "Wow, Bryce," she said over her shoulder. "You look...delicious."

Oh, man! I practically ran to the classroom where all the basket boys were supposed to meet, and the minute I walked in, I felt better. I was surrounded by other dweebs, who seemed genuinely happy to see me. "Hey, Loski"; "Yo, dude"; "Doesn't this suck eggs?"; "Why didn't you take the bus, man?"

Misery loves company.

Then Mrs. McClure, the president of the Boosters, the lady who lassoed us all, hoofs it through the door. "Oh, my!" she says. "You all look so handsome!"

Not one word about our baskets. Not one little sneak peek inside. No, for all she cared, those puppies were empty.

Meat market?

You better believe it!

Don't be so nervous, boys, Mrs. McClure was saying. "You're going to have a wonderful day!" She pulls out a list of names and starts ordering us into line. We get numbers; our baskets get numbers; we fill out three-by-five cards to her insane specifications; and by the time she's got us all organized and is sure we know what to do and what not to do, we've missed all of first and most of second period. "Okay, gentlemen," she says. "Leave your baskets where they are and go to... where are we now? Still in second?" She looks at the clock. "Right. Second."

What about passes? some sensible basket boy asked.

Your teachers have a list. But if they say anything, tell them I say your neckties are your passes. I'll meet you back here when everyone's dismissed for the auction. Got it? Don't dawdle!

We grumbled, Yeah, yeah, and headed to class. And I can tell you this, not one of the twenty of us listened to a word any of our teachers said that morning. How can you listen with a noose around your neck, pinched toes, and a room full of idiots thinking it's open season on basket boys? Whoever started this stupid tradition ought to be crammed into a basket and tossed downstream without a serving spoon.

I was basket boy number nine. Which meant I had to stand there on the stage in the gym while nearly half the guys got auctioned off. Minimum bid, ten bucks. And if nobody bid, the secret was a teacher

was assigned to bid on you.

Yes, my friend, the possibilities for mortification were infinite.

Some of the moms showed up and stood off to the side with their camcorders and zoom lenses, fidgeting and waving and basically actingas dweeby as their sons looked. I should know. My mom took an hour off work to be one of them.

Tim Pello was basket boy number five, and his mom actually bid on him. No kidding. She jumped up and down, yelling, "Twenty! I'll give you twenty!" Man, that'll brand you for life. Lucky for Tim, Kelly Trott came up with twenty-two fifty and saved his sorry self from everlasting torture as a mama's boy — one of the few fates worse than basket boy.

Caleb Hughes was up next, and he fetched the Boosters all of eleven fifty. Then came Chad Ormonde, who I swear was ready to pee his pants when Mrs. McClure made him step forward. She read his card, pinched his cheeks, and raked in fifteen even.

At this point what stood between me and the auction block was Jon Trulock. And I wasn't exactly interested in what he had in his basket or what his hobbies and favorite sports were. I was too busy scanning the crowd for Jumbo Jenny, sweating my pitsoff.

Mrs. McClure calls into the microphone, "Do I hear ten?" and it took me a minute to tune in to the fact that no one said "Ten!" No one said anything. "Come on, out there! The lunch is delicious. Strawberry tarts, um ..." And Mrs. McClure goes back to reading off the three-by-five about Jon Trulock's lunch.

Talk about embarrassing! This was worse than being a mama's boy. Worse than lunch with Jumbo Jenny! How'd he get voted basket boy if nobody wanted to have lunch with him?

Then off to the right of the crowd I hear, "Ten!"

Ten? Did I hear ten? Mrs. McClure says with a fluttery smile. "Twelve!" came a different voice from the same area. The first voice came back with "Fifteen!" and all of a sudden I recognized whose voice it was.

Juli Baker's.

I searched through the crowd and found her, hand waving in the air, that look all over her face.

Sixteen! came the other voice.

There was a pause, but then Juli shoots back with "Eighteen!"

Eighteen! cries Mrs. McClure, who looks like she's about to collapse from relief. She pauses, then says, "Eighteen going once ... Eighteen going twice ... Sold! For eighteen dollars."

To Juli? She was the last person I expected to bid on a lunch. Anybody's lunch.

Jon staggered back into line. And I knew I was supposed to step forward, but I couldn't budge. I felt like I'd been slugged in the stomach. Did Juli like Jon? Is that why she'd been so... so... nice lately? Because she didn't care about me anymore? All my life she'd been there, waiting to be avoided, and now it was like I didn't even exist.

Step up, Bryce. Come on, don't be shy!

Mike Abenido shoved me a little and said, "Your turn for torture. Get up there!"

It felt like walking the plank. I just stood up fronts weating bullets while the Booster queen dissected my lunch and started running through my list of favorites. Before she's even finished, though, Shelly Stalls calls out, "Ten!"

What's that? says Mrs. McClure.

I'll give you ten!

Oh, she laughs as she puts down her notes. "Well, I guess I hear ten!"

Twenty! calls Miranda Humes from dead center.

Twenty-five! It's Shelly again.

I'm looking around for Jumbo Jenny, praying she's gone home sick or something, while Shelly and Miranda go up by fives. "Thirty!"

Thirty-five!

Forty!

Then I spot her. She's about twenty feet behind Miranda, cleaning her fingernails with her teeth.

Forty-five!

Fifty!

Fifty-two.

Fifty-two? interrupts the Booster queen. "Well, this has been lively! And from the looks of this basket, well worth the —"

Sixty!

Sixty-two! calls Shelly.

Miranda scrambles around trying to beg money off her friends as Mrs. McClure calls, "Going once!" But then Jenny stands up and bellows, "A hundred!"

A hundred. There's a collective gasp, and then the entire student body turns and stares at Jenny.

Well! laughs Mrs. McClure. "We have a hundred! That is certainly an all-time record. And such agenerous donation to the Boosters!"

I wanted to boost her, right off the stage. I was doomed. This was something I would never live down.

Then there's this big commotion, and all of a sudden Shelly and Miranda are standing right next to each other calling, "One-twenty-two... fifty! We'll give you one-twenty-two fifty!"

One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents? I thought the Booster queen was gonna polka. "You're pooling your resources to have lunch with this fine young man?"

Yeah! they call, then look over Jenny's way. Everybody looks over Jenny's way.

Jenny just shrugs and goes back to cleaning a nail.

Well, then! One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents going once... One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents going twice...Sold to those two beautiful young ladies for an all-time record of one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents!

Dude! Mike whispered when I got back in line. "Shelly and Miranda? How am I supposed to follow that?"

He didn't even come close. He got Terry Norris for sixteen bucks, and the most anyone else got was forty. And when it was over, all the guys told me, "Dude! You are, like, the man... Score!" but I didn't feel like the man. I felt wiped out.

My mom came up and gave me a hug and a kiss like I'd won a gold medal or something, then whispered, "My little baby," and clickity-clicked off in her high heels, back to work.

So I was wiped out, embarrassed, and then practically dragged to the multi-purpose room by Shelly and Miranda.

The Boosters had outfitted the MPR with little tables for two, all decorated in shades of pink and blue and yellow, with balloons and streamers everywhere. I felt like the Easter bunny with my stupid basket boy lunch clutched in both hands while Miranda held on to one arm and Shelly latched on to the other.

They gave us the biggest table and whisked in an extra chair, and when everyone was seated, Mrs. McClure said, "Boys and girls? I don't think I need to remind you that you are excused from class for the rest of the day. Enjoy your lunches, enjoy your friendships... Take your time, relax, and thanks again for supporting your Boosters. We wouldn't be us without you!"

So there I was, with the two hottest girls on campus, having lunch.I was "the man," the envy of every other guy in school.

Buddy, I was miserable.

I mean, these two girls may be gorgeous, but what was coming out of their mouths about Jumbo Jenny was embarrassingly ugly. Miranda works herself up to, "What was she thinking? Like you would ever want to go out with her, right, Bryce?"

Well, yeah. That was right. But it seemed really wrong to say so. "Look, can we talk about something else?"

Sure. Like what?

I don't care. Anything else. You guys going anywhere this summer?

Miranda shoots off first. "We're taking a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We're supposed to stop in all these cool ports and shop and stuff." She flutters her eyelids at me and says, "I could bring you something back..."

Shelly scoots her chair in a little and says, "We're going up to the lake. My dad has a cabin there, and you can get the most outrageous tan.

Do you remember what I looked like at the beginning of this year? I was, like, black. I'm going to do that again, only this time I've got a schedule all worked out so that it's even every where." She giggles and says, "Don't tell my mom, okay? She would have a ka-nip!"

And this, my friend, i