2015-11-25

【Aiden in English】

        No one enjoys having crutches. At least, that’s what I expect before this school year comes around. Everyone seems to have a pair so far, and it is becoming a trend at school.

        A year ago, it would not be cool at all to get crutches since the rooms so close together in my elementary school. Nowadays, middle school requires a few minutes to travel between classes. The only good thing I can see about having crutches is that you can leave class early to get to your next. As the classes go on, kids with injuries are beginning to leave earlier and earlier to skip class (I would too), but require a partner to take their backpack and stuff. The first sign of the trend appeared a few weeks ago when three kids all either sprained or broke their lower leg simultaneously. Coincidence, I think not! First, Collin was hit by a car. Of all the excuses, I would not recommend that one. Not only did it show that his parents did not teach him the basic rule of crossing the road. It tells me that this kid can’t be trusted to do anything. The next Friday, a friend of mine walked in with a pair of crutches. Apparently, he had an accident in gymnastics. So far, I wasn’t all that suspicious. It started to get out of hand when a few days later, however, a close friend of mine happened to trip on a crack and twisted his ankle. The good part is that he deserved it. The bad part is that he now bullies me with his crutches.

        The most recent was about three days ago, when another friend of mine Robbie was playing soccer. He didn’t tell me much, but he only used one crutch. Still, we had some of the same classes, which meant I had to help him get from point A to point B. An example would be that the teacher held us to the bell after band lessons, in which it took my friend and me five minutes to pack up. Our school’s system had a late pass, where late kids had an excuse, but must be signed by the teacher. Well, the band teacher misplaced the pass, and so I stood there for another five minutes. Now my friend was still there and everyone else disappeared. With no other way out of the situation, I carried his stuff to his room, then to mine. The time span was ten minutes to do so, and I became twenty minutes late for Math.

        Crutches are the new shoes: you have them means you’re cool. Well, I don’t want any, even if it means the road to fame. Although it would be nice to bully my lunch table mates for their food, it can really set a kid back in school.

【紅霞譯文】

        沒人喜歡拄拐，本學年期間希望它離我遠點。迄今為止，學校里好像人人拐杖在身，如若潮流一般勢不可擋。

        要是發生在一年前，大家恐怕從來不會認為這麼做酷勁十足，因為小學課堂與課堂之間距離很近，而如今初中每上完一門課起碼要花上幾分鐘時間才能走到下一科教室。在我看來，拄拐的唯一優勢無非可以提早下課以便趕往下一門教室。隨着課程推移，腿腳受傷的學生卻為了翹課（我也求之不得）而越來越早地離開課堂，但學校要求他們必須叫上一位同班同學，以便幫助背書包拎東西。幾個星期前似乎才開始時髦起來，當時有三位學生不約而同地扭傷或摔斷了小腿，巧合嘛，我倒覺得未必如此！首先，柯林被汽車撞了，其實無論想找什麼藉口，該招最不可取，誰家父母沒教子女過馬路常識，可以推斷這傢伙做事不靠譜。接下來周五，我朋友拄着一雙拐杖來到學校，顯然他因體育課發生的意外所致。瞧，我並不是對什麼都愛多想。然而沒過幾天，晦氣繼續蔓延，我哥們偏巧踩到地面裂縫，結果崴傷了腳踝。從好的方面來看，他可以吃一塹長一智；而從壞的方面來說，他藉機用拐杖欺負我。

        最近的一起意外大約發生在三天前，當時另一位朋友羅比正踢足球，他沒跟我細說經過，但事後手上多了一根拐杖，要知道我倆一起上幾門課，意味着我得幫他把東西從一個地方搬到另一個地方。具體地說，上完管樂課後，老師講個沒完直至下課鈴響起，而我倆尚需五分鐘的光景才能收拾妥當書包。學校規定合理遲到可以領取遲到許可卡，這個遲到許可卡必須由老師簽字畫押，可眼下管樂老師一時找不到許可卡片，讓我白白地又多等出五分鐘寶貴時間，現在我的朋友仍原地不動，其他同學卻早已不見蹤影。沒轍兒，我只好先把他的東西送到他將去的教室，然後再跑往我自己的教室，一來一去足足花上十分鐘，等進入數學課堂，我已遲到了廿分鐘。

        拐杖堪稱新式鞋款：武裝在身叫人神氣活現。是的，即使再招人眼目，我一點也不稀罕。雖說用它可以要挾同桌朋友進貢午餐食糧，但有它確實妨礙你在校生活。