I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.
我知道自己不是一个普通的十岁小孩。
I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an Xbox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess.
我是说，当然了，我做的也是普通的事情。我吃冰淇淋，骑自行车，打球，我还有一款XBox。这些东西让我貌似很普通，应该是吧。
And I feel ordinary. Inside.
我感觉自己内心也挺普通的。
But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.
不过我知道，一个普通的孩子不会在操场上吓得别的普通孩子失声尖叫，四散逃开。我知道，一个普通的孩子无论去哪里，都不会被人一路盯着看。
If I found a magical lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all.
如果我得到一盏神灯，可以许一个愿望，我希望自己有一张压根没人会注意的普通脸。
I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look-away thing.
我希望在街上溜达的时候不会被人们留意到，接着又看着他们扭过脸去。
Here is what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.
我是这么想的：我不普通的唯一原因，是根本没有人这么认为。
But I’m kind of used to how I look by now. I know how to pretend I don’t I don't see the faces people make.
不过，现在我也算是习惯自己的样子了。我知道怎么假装没看见人们挤眉弄眼。
We’ve all gotten pretty good at that sort of thing: me, Mom and Dad, Via.
我们都很擅长这个：我，我妈，我爸，还有维娅。
Actually, I take that back: Via’s not so good at it. She can get really annoyed when people do something rude.
其实，我该收回这句话：维娅并不擅长这个。当人们失礼的时候，她会非常不爽。
My name is August, by the way.
顺便提一句，我叫奥古斯特。
I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.
我就不描述我的长相了。不管你是怎么想象的，情况都糟糕一倍。
Next week I start fifth grade. Since I’ve never been to a real school before, I am pretty much totally and completely petrified.
下周我开始上五年级。因为从来没有真正上过学，所以我整个人都提心吊胆的。
People think I haven’t gone to school because of the way I look, but it’s not that. It’s because of all the surgeries I’ve had. Twenty-seven since I was born.
大家以为我不上学是因为我的长相，其实不是。真实原因是我做过的所有那些手术，从出生到现在有27次了。
The bigger ones happened before I was even four years old, so I don’t remember those.
大手术都是在四岁以前做的，所以我都记不得了。
But I’ve had two or three surgeries every year since then (some big, and some small), and because I’m little for my age, and I have some other medical mysteries that doctors never really figured out, I used to get sick a lot.
但从那以后我每年都要动两三次手术（大的小的都有），因为我长得比实际年龄矮小，身上还带着一些医生永远理解不了的医学奥秘，所以我总是在生病。
That’s why my parents decided it was better if I didn’t go to school.
这也是父母决定我最好不去上学的原因。
I’m much stronger now, though.
好在，现在我壮实多了。
The last surgery I had was eight months ago, and I probably won’t have to have any more for another couple of years.
我上一次动手术是在八个月前，而且很可能未来几年内都不需要再动手术了。
Mom homeschools me.
妈妈在家教我。
She used to be a children’s-book illustrator. She draws really great fairies and mermaids.
她以前是童书插画家，她的仙女和美人鱼画得好极了。
Her boy stuff isn’t so hot, though.
不过，男孩子的东西她就画不好了。
She once tried to draw me a Darth Vader, but it ended up looking like some weird mushroom-shaped robot.
有一次，她试着给我画了一张黑武士，结果看起来像一个奇怪的蘑菇形状的机器人。
I haven’t seen her draw anything in a long time.
我已经很久没有看到她画什么了。
I think she’s too busy taking care of me and Via.
我想，照顾我和维娅就够她忙的了。
I can’t say I always wanted to go to school because that wouldn’t be exactly true.
我不能说自己一直都想去上学，事情不全是这样。
What I wanted was to go to school, but only if I could be like every other kid going to school. Have lots of friends and hang out after school and stuff like that.
我也想上学，前提是我能够跟别的那些上学的孩子一样，有很多的朋友啊，放学后一起闲逛啊，等等之类的。
Mom is beautiful, by the way. And Dad is handsome. Via is pretty. In case you were wondering.
顺便提一下，我妈很美，我爸很帅，维娅很漂亮。免得你胡思乱想。
Last spring we drove over to Christopher’s house in Bridgeport. It was a long drive home.
去年春天我们开车去克里斯托弗在布里奇波特的家，回家要开很久的车。
I fell asleep in the backseat like I always do. Via fell asleep, too.
我像往常一样在后座睡着了，维娅也睡了。
I don’t know how long I was sleeping, but when I woke up, there was a full moon outside the car window. It was a purple night, and we were driving on a highway full of cars.
我不知道睡了多久，醒来的时候，车窗外悬着一轮满月。那个夜晚是紫色的，我们行驶在一条车水马龙的公路上。
And then I heard Mom and Dad talking about me.
这时，我听到妈妈和爸爸正在谈论我。
“We can’t keep protecting him,” Mom whispered to Dad, who was driving.
“我们不能一直保护他，”妈妈低声跟正在开车的爸爸说。
“We can’t just pretend he’ s going to wake up tomorrow and this isn’t going to be his reality, because it is, Nate, and we have to help him learn to deal with it. We can’t just keep avoiding situations that . . .”
“我们不能只是假装他明天会醒过来，这不是他的现实，事情就是这样的，内特，我们要帮着他学会处理问题，而不是一味逃避那些情况……”
“So sending him off to middle school like a lamb to the slaughter . . . ,” Dad answered angrily, but he didn’t even finish his sentence because he saw me in the mirror looking up.
“那就把送他去中学，就像待宰的羔羊那样……”爸爸生气地说，但是他话没说完就打住了，因为他从后视镜里看到我正抬头张望。
“What’s a lamb to the slaughter?” I asked sleepily.
“什么叫待宰的羔羊？”我睡意朦胧地问。
“Go back to sleep, Auggie,” Dad said softly.
“接着睡觉啊，奥吉。”爸爸温和地说。
“Everyone will stare at me at school,” I said, suddenly crying.
“学校里所有人都会盯着我看的。”我说着，突然哭起来。
“Honey,” Mom said. She turned around in the front seat and put her hand on my hand.
“亲爱的，”妈妈从前座转过身，把手放在我手上说。
“You know if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. But we spoke to the principal there and told him about you and he really wants to meet you.”
“你知道的，如果你不想去，就可以不去。但是我们跟那里的校长谈过了，也跟他介绍了你的情况，他很想见你一面。”
“What did you tell him about me?”
“你怎么跟他介绍我的？”
“How funny you are, and how kind and smart. When I told him you read Dragon Rider when you were six, he was like, ‘Wow, I have to meet this kid.’ ”
“说你多么有趣，多么善良，并且多么聪明。当我告诉他你六岁就读《龙骑士》时，他都惊了，说：‘哇，那我得见见这孩子。’”
“Did you tell him anything else?” I said.
“你还告诉他别的什么了吗？”我问。
Mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.
妈妈冲我笑了。她的笑容就像是拥抱着我的怀抱。
“I told him about all your surgeries, and how brave you are,” she said.
“我跟他说起你所有的手术，还有你是多么勇敢。”她说。
“So he knows what I look like?” I asked.
“就是说他知道我长什么样了？”我问。
“Well, we brought pictures from last summer in Montauk,” Dad said.
“嗯，我们带上了去年夏天在蒙托克的照片，”爸爸说。
“We showed him pictures of the whole family. And that great shot of you holding that flounder on the boat!”
“我们给他看了全家福，还有那张很棒的照片，就是你站在船上抓着比目鱼的那张。”
“You were there, too?” I have to admit I felt a little disappointed that he was a part of this.
“你也去那里了？”我必须承认，对他参与这事我有点失望。
“We both talked to him, yes,” Dad said. “He’s a really nice man.”
“我们俩一起跟他谈的，”爸爸说，“他人非常好。”
“You would like him,” Mom added.
“你会喜欢他的。”妈妈补充道。
Suddenly it felt like they were on the same side.
突然之间，他们俩好像站到了一边。
“Wait, so when did you meet him?” I said.
“等一下，你们什么时候见的他？”我问。
“He took us on a tour of the school last year,” said Mom.
“他去年带我们参观了学校。”妈妈说。
“Last year?” I said. “So you’ve been thinking about this for a whole year and you didn’t tell me?”
“去年？”我说，“这么说，这件事你们考虑整整一年了，却没有告诉我？”
“We didn’t know if you’d even get in, Auggie,” answered Mom.
“我们不知道他们会不会录取你，奥吉，”妈妈回答道。
“It’s a very hard school to get into. There’s a whole admissions process. I didn’t see the point in telling you and having you get all worked up about it unnecessarily.”
“这所学校很难进，他们有一整套招生程序。我是觉得提前告诉你也没什么意义，反倒让你产生不必要的担心。”
“But you’re right, Auggie, we should’ve told you when we found out last month that you got in,” said Dad.
“不过你说得对，奥吉，上个月我们得知你被录取的时候就应该告诉你的。”爸爸说。
“In hindsight,” sighed Mom, “yes, I guess.”
“事后才想到，”妈妈叹道，“是啊，确实如此。”
“Did that lady who came to the house that time have something to do with this?” I said. “The one that gave me that test?”
“那一次到家里来的女士跟这件事有关系吗？”我说，“给我做测试的那个？”
“Yes, actually,” said Mom, looking guilty. “Yes.”
“是，的确。”妈妈看起来有点内疚。“是的。”
“You told me it was an IQ test,” I said.
“你说那是个智力测验。”我说。
“I know, well, that was a white lie,” she answered. “It was a test you needed to take to get into the school. You did very well on it, by the way.”
“我知道，嗯，那是一个善意的谎言，”她回答道，“那是你入学时需要进行的测验。对了，你考得非常好。”
“So you lied,” I said.
“所以你撒谎了。”我说。
“A white lie, but yes. Sorry,” she said, trying to smile, but when I didn’t smile back, she turned around in her seat and faced forward.
“一个善意的谎言，但，还是谎言，对不起。”她一边说着，一边试着朝我微笑，但见我没有好脸色，便转身坐好，面朝前方。
“What’s a lamb to the slaughter?” I said.
“什么叫待宰的羔羊？”我问。
Mom sighed and gave Daddy a “look.”
妈妈叹了口气，冲爸爸使了个眼色。
“I shouldn’t have said that,” Dad said, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“我不该那么说，”爸爸从后视镜里看着我说。
“It’s not true. Here’s the thing: Mommy and I love you so much we want to protect you any way we can. It’s just sometimes we want to do it in different ways.”
“不是那样的。是这样的：妈妈和爸爸都爱你，我们都想尽全力来保护你。只是，有时候我们的方式会不同。”
“I don’t want to go to school,” I answered, folding my arms.
“我不想去上学。”我抱着胳膊回答。
“It would be good for you, Auggie,” said Mom.
“上学对你有好处，奥吉。”妈妈说。
“Maybe I’ll go next year,” I answered, looking out the window.
“也许明年我会去。”我看着窗外回答。
“This year would be better, Auggie,” said Mom.
“今年更好的，奥吉，”妈妈说。
“You know why? Because you’ll be going into fifth grade, and that’s the first year of middle school—for everyone. You won’t be the only new kid.”
“你知道为什么吗？因为你要上五年级，也就是初中的第一年——所有学生都是第一年。这样你就不会是唯一的新生了。”
“I’ll be the only kid who looks like me,” I said.
“可长成我这样的小孩只有我一个。”我说。
“可长成我这样的小孩只有我一个。”我说。
“我不否认这对你来说是个巨大的挑战，你懂我意思的，”她回答道。
“But it’ll be good for you, Auggie. You’ll make lots of friends. And you’ll learn things you’d never learn with me.”
“但上学对你有好处，奥吉。你会交很多朋友。你也能学到很多从我这里永远学不到的东西。”
She turned in her seat again and looked at me.
她又从座椅上转了过来，看着我。
“I don’t want to go,” I said.
“我不想去。”我说。
“How about this? Can you at least meet Mr. Tushman before making up your mind?” Mom asked.
“这样好不好，在你做决定之前至少见一下图什曼先生？”妈妈问。
“Mr. Tushman?” I said.
“图什曼先生？”我说。
“He’s the principal,” answered Mom.
“他是校长。”妈妈回答道。
“Mr. Tush man?” I repeated.
“图什曼先生？”我又问。（注：“tush”有“屁股”的意思。）
“I know, right?” Dad answered, smiling and looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“就是说呢，对吧？”爸爸一边回答，一边从后视镜里看着我笑。
“Can you believe that name, Auggie? I mean, who on earth would ever agree to have a name like Mr. Tushman?”
“你敢相信有这种名字吗，奥吉？我是说，天底下谁会取名叫图什曼先生呢？”
I smiled even though I didn't want to let them see me smile.
尽管我很不想让他们看到我笑，我还是笑了。
Dad was the one person in the world who could make me laugh no matter how much I didn’t want to laugh.
在这个世界上，爸爸就是能让我开怀大笑的那个人，而且不管我情绪是多么低落。
Dad always made everyone laugh.
爸爸总是能让每个人开怀大笑。
“Auggie, you know, you should go to that school just so you can hear his name said over the loudspeaker!” Dad said excitedly.
“你知道吗，奥吉，你应该去一下那所学校，这样你就能听到他的名字在喇叭中响起了！”爸爸兴奋地说。
“Can you imagine how funny that would be? Hello, hello? Paging Mr. Tushman!”
“你能想象那会有多搞笑吗？喂，喂？呼叫图什曼先生！”
He was using a fake high, old-lady voice, “Hi, Mr. Tushman! I see you’re running a little behind today! Did your car get rear-ended again? What a bum rap!”
他装成一个老妇人，尖着嗓门高声说：“喂，图什曼先生！我看你今天迟到了！你的车又追尾了吗？真冤啊！”（注：“behind”有“屁股”的意思。）
I started laughing, not even because I thought he was being that funny but because I wasn’t in the mood to stay mad anymore.
我笑了起来，不是因为觉得有多好笑，而是因为我没有心情再生气了。
“It could be worse, though!” Dad continued in his normal voice. “Mommy and I had a professor in college called Miss Butt.”
“不过，还有更糟的呢！”爸爸继续用正常的声音说，“你妈和我上大学的时候有个教授叫巴特小姐。”（注：“butt”也是“屁股”的意思。）
Mom was laughing now, too.
这时妈妈也笑了起来。
“Is that for real?” I said.
“真的假的？”我问。
“Roberta Butt,” Mom answered, raising her hand as if to swear. “Bobbie Butt.”
“大名 ‘罗伯塔·巴特’，”妈妈举起手回答，像是在发誓，“我们都叫她 ‘博比·巴特’。”
“She had huge cheeks,” said Dad.
“她屁股很大。”爸爸说。（注：在英语中，“cheek”同时有“脸颊”和“半边屁股”的意思。）
“Nate!” said Mom.
“内特！”妈妈叫道。
“What? She had big cheeks is all I’m saying.”
“怎么了？我只不过说她屁股大。”
Mom laughed and shook her head at the same time.
妈妈一边大笑，一边摇头。
“Hey hey, I know!” said Dad excitedly. “Let’s fix them up on a blind date! Can you imagine? Miss Butt, meet Mr. Tushman. Mr. Tushman, here’s Miss Butt. They could get married and have a bunch of little Tushies.”
“嘿嘿，我想起来了！”爸爸激动地说，“我们撮合他们相亲吧！你们能想象吗？巴特小姐，这位是图什曼先生；图什曼先生，这是巴特小姐。他们可能会结婚，然后生一堆小图什。”
“Poor Mr. Tushman,” answered Mom, shaking her head. “Auggie hasn’t even met the man yet, Nate!”
“可怜的图什曼先生，”妈妈摇头回答，“内特，奥吉都还没见过这个人呢！”
“Who’s Mr. Tushman?” Via said groggily. She had just woken up.
“谁是图什曼先生？”维娅恍恍惚惚地问。她刚刚睡醒。
“He’s the principal of my new school,” I answered.
“他是我新学校的校长。”我回答道。