19-11-25 【英语美文】第一个爱，情窦初开，青涩《七年级》Seventh Grade

SeventhGrade

ByGary Soto

1.     On thefirst day of school, Victor stood in line half an hour to finally be able to list his elective; French. He already spoke Spanish and English, but hethought someday he might travel to France, where it was cool and not so scorching hot like in his hometown. Besides, Teresa, a girl he had liked since they were in school together,was taking French too. With any luck they would be in the same class. Teresa isgoing to be my girl this year, he promised himself as he left the gym full ofstudents in their new fall clothes. She was cute. And good in math, too, Victorthought as he walked down the hall to his homeroom.

2.     He raninto his friend, Michael Torres, by the water fountain. “How come you’re making a face?” asked Victor. “I ain’tmaking a face. This is my face.” Michael said his face had changed during thesummer. He had read a magazine and noticed that the male models all had thesame look on their faces. They would stand, one arm around a beautiful woman,and scowl. They would sit at thepool, their rippled stomachs darkwith shadow, and scowl. They would sit at dinner tables, cool drinks in theirhands, and scowl, “I think it works,” Michael said. “Belinda Reyes walked by awhile ago and looked at me,” he said. Victor didn’t say anything, though hethought his friend looked pretty strange.

3.     Theytalked about recent movies, baseball, their parents, and the horrors of picking grapes in order tobuy their fall clothes. “What classes are you taking?” Michael said, scowling.“French. How ‘bout you?” “Spanish. I ain’t so good at it, even if I’mMexican." “I’m not either, but I’m better at it than math, that’s forsure.”

4.     A bell propelled students to theirhomerooms. The two friends went their ways, Victor thinking, man, that’s weird.Michael thinks making a face makes him handsome. On the way to his homeroom,Victor tried a scowl. He felt foolish, until out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl looking at him.  Umm, hethought, maybe it does work. He scowled with greater conviction, and continued practicing this on the way to his firstFrench class.

5.     Theywere among the last students to arrive in class, so all the good desks in theback had already been taken. Victor was forced to sit near the front, a fewdesks away from Teresa, while Mr. Bueller wrote French words on the chalkboard. The bell rang, and Mr.Bueller said, “Bonjour.” “Bonjour,” braved a few students. “Bonjour” Victor whispered. He wondered if Teresa heard him.Mr. Bueller said that if the students studied hard, at the end of the year theycould go to France and be understood by the populace. One kid raised his handand asked, “‘What’s ‘populace’?” "The people, the people of France.”

6.     Mr.Bueller asked if anyone knew French. Victor raised his hand, wanting to impress Teresa. The teacher beamed and said, “Tres bien. Parlez-vous francais?” Victor didn’t know what to say. The room grew silent. Victor felt alleyes staring at him. He tried to bluff his way out by making noises that sounded French. “La me vave me con legrandma,” he said uncertainly. Mr. Bueller, wrinkling his face in curiosity,asked him to speak up.

7.     Great rosebushes of red bloomed on Victor’s cheeks. A river of nervous sweat ran down his palms. He felt awful. Teresa sat a fewdesks away, no doubt thinking he was a fool. Without looking at Mr. Bueller,Victor mumbled, ‘Frenchie oh wewe gee in September.” Mr. Bueller understoodthat the boy didn’t know French and turned away. He walked to the blackboardand pointed to the words on the board with his steel-edged ruler. "Le bateau,” he sang. “Le bateau,” thestudents repeated. "Le bateau est sur l’eau,” he sang. “Le bateau est surl’eau.”

8.     Victorwas too weak from failure to join the class. He stared at the board and wishedhe had taken Spanish, not French. Better yet, he wished he could start his lifeover. He had never been so embarrassed. The bell sounded and Victor shot out ofthe room, avoiding the stares of the other kids, but had to return for his mathbook. He looked sheepishly at theteacher, who was erasing the board, then widened his eyes in terror at Teresa who stood in front of him. “I didn’t know you knewFrench,” she said. “That was good.”

9.     Mr.Bueller looked at Victor, and Victor looked back. Oh please, don’t sayanything, Victor pleaded with hiseyes. I’ll wash your car, mow yourlawn, walk your dog-- anything! I'll be your best student, and I’ll clean yourerasers after school. Mr. Bueller shuffled through the papers on his desk, Hesmiled and hummed as he sat down to work. He remembered his college years whenhe dated a girlfriend in borrowed cars. She thought he was rich because eachtime he picked her up he had a different car. It was fun until he had spent allhis money on her and had to write home to his parents because he was broke.

10.  Victor couldn’t stand to look at Teresa. Hewas sweaty with shame. “Yeah, well, I pickedup a few things from movies and books and stuff like that.” They left theclass together. Teresa asked him if he would help her with her French.  "Sure, anytime,” Victor said. “I won’tbe bothering you, will I?” "Oh no, I like being bothered.” “Bonjour,”Teresa said, leaving him outside her next class.  She smiled and pushed wisps of hair from her face.

11.  "Yeah, right, bonjour,” Victor said.He turned and headed to his class. The rosebuds of shame on his face became bouquets of love. Teresa is a greatgirl, he thought. And Mr. Bueller is a good guy. He raced to the publiclibrary, where he checked out threeFrench textbooks.

Hewas going to like seventh grade.