Gil worked at the school for eleven years. On exam mornings, he did the same things in the same order.
吉尔在这所学校工作了十一年。考试的早晨，他总是按同样的顺序做同样的事。
He arrived at six. He opened the big maths room. He moved thirty desks into six straight rows.
他六点到校，打开大数学教室，把三十张课桌摆成笔直的六排。
He put a number on each desk. He counted the pencils in the cupboard. He cleaned the board until it shone.
他在每张课桌上放一个号码，清点柜子里的铅笔，把黑板擦得发亮。
Last, he walked along the lockers in the hall. There were thirteen of them, all painted green. He touched each door with one finger.
最后，他沿着走廊里的储物柜走一遍。一共十三个，全都漆成绿色。他用一根手指碰一碰每扇柜门。
Locker thirteen was always the last one. Its door was bent, and its lock was broken. Nobody used it. Students joked about it. They said thirteen was a bad number.
十三号柜永远是最后一个。它的门是歪的，锁也坏了。没有人用它。学生们拿它开玩笑，说十三是个不吉利的数字。
Gil pushed that door twice and walked away. It was his small habit. It made the morning feel safe.
吉尔把那扇门推两下，然后走开。这是他的小习惯。它让这个早晨显得安稳。
On this morning, the door did not move.
这天早上，门推不动了。
Gil stopped. He pushed again. The door stayed shut. A new silver lock hung on it. It had four small wheels with numbers.
吉尔停住了。他又推了一下。门依然关着。上面挂着一把新的银色锁，有四个带数字的小转轮。
Then he heard a sound. Tick, tick, tick. It was soft and steady, like a small clock.
接着他听到一个声音。嘀嗒，嘀嗒，嘀嗒。声音轻轻的，很平稳，像一只小钟。
"That is strange," he said to the empty hall.
“真奇怪。”他对着空荡荡的走廊说。
He bent down and put his ear to the door. The ticking was clear now. It came from inside the locker.
他弯下腰，把耳朵贴在门上。现在嘀嗒声很清楚了。它来自柜子里面。
He looked at his watch. It was six forty. The students arrived at eight. He did not know the number for the new lock.
他看了看手表。六点四十。学生们八点到。他不知道这把新锁的密码。
Gil went to the office and looked in the key drawer. There was no key and no number. He came back and tried some numbers: his birthday, the school phone. Nothing happened.
吉尔去办公室，翻了翻放钥匙的抽屉。没有钥匙，也没有密码。他回来试了几组数字：他的生日，学校的电话。什么也没发生。
He told himself to stay calm. It was only a locker. Maybe someone played a joke. People did silly things before exams.
他告诉自己要冷静。这只是一个储物柜。也许是有人在开玩笑。人们在考试前总会干些傻事。
At seven thirty, a woman came through the front door. She was about forty. She held a plastic folder. Her hands shook a little.
七点半，一位女士从前门走进来。她四十岁左右，拿着一个塑料文件夹，双手微微发抖。
"Is this the maths exam?" she asked.
“这里是数学考试吗？”她问。
"Yes," said Gil. "You are early."
“是的，”吉尔说，“你来得很早。”
"I am always early when I am afraid," she said. "My name is Laila."
“我一害怕就总是来得很早，”她说，“我叫莱拉。”
She told him she studied in the evening course. She left school at sixteen. Now she wanted a better job at the bank. This was her third try at the exam.
她告诉他，她在读夜校课程。她十六岁就离开了学校。现在她想在银行找一份更好的工作。这是她第三次参加这门考试。
"I hope this time is lucky," Gil said. Then he felt silly. It was not much to say.
“希望这次能走运。”吉尔说。说完他又觉得自己很傻。这话说得实在没什么分量。
Laila smiled anyway. She took a paper from her folder. "A letter came yesterday," she said. "It tells me to put my bag in locker thirteen."
莱拉还是笑了。她从文件夹里拿出一张纸。“昨天收到一封信，”她说，“信上让我把包放进十三号储物柜。”
Gil stared at her. "Locker thirteen is broken," he said. "The school did not send that letter."
吉尔盯着她。“十三号柜是坏的，”他说，“学校没有寄过那封信。”
"It has a number on it," said Laila. "One, nine, four, two."
“上面有一个密码，”莱拉说，“一，九，四，二。”
They walked to the hall together. The ticking went on. Laila heard it too. Her eyes grew wide.
他们一起走到走廊里。嘀嗒声还在继续。莱拉也听到了。她的眼睛睁得大大的。
"Is that normal?" she asked.
“这正常吗？”她问。
"No," said Gil. "Nothing about this morning is normal."
“不正常，”吉尔说，“今天早上没有一件事是正常的。”
He turned the small silver wheels. One, nine, four, two. The lock opened with a click.
他转动那些小小的银色转轮。一，九，四，二。锁咔嗒一声开了。
Gil pulled the door. It opened easily, with no noise at all. That was the strangest part. For eleven years, that door always screamed.
吉尔拉开门。它轻易地开了，一点声音也没有。这才是最怪的地方。十一年来，那扇门总是吱呀尖叫。
Inside stood an old brass clock. It sat on a folded blue cloth. Its hands showed seven forty. It ticked loudly in the small, dark space.
里面放着一只旧黄铜钟。它搁在一块折起的蓝布上。指针指着七点四十。在那狭小黑暗的空间里，它嘀嗒作响，声音很大。
Nothing else was there. There was no note and no name.
里面没有别的东西。没有字条，也没有名字。
"Who put this here?" Laila whispered.
“是谁把这个放在这里的？”莱拉低声说。
"I do not know," said Gil. "But the letter is yours. So your bag goes in."
“我不知道，”吉尔说，“但那封信是给你的。所以你的包要放进去。”
Laila put her bag next to the clock. "It feels like a lucky charm," she said, with a weak laugh.
莱拉把包放在钟旁边。“感觉像个护身符。”她说着，虚弱地笑了笑。
Gil did not answer. He closed the door. The lock stayed open in his hand. He put it in his pocket.
吉尔没有回答。他关上门。那把锁留在了他手里。他把它放进口袋。
At eight, the students came in. They sat at the numbered desks. Gil gave out the papers. He checked the big clock on the wall. The exam lasted two hours.
八点，学生们进来了。他们在编了号的课桌前坐下。吉尔分发试卷。他看了看墙上的大钟。考试持续两个小时。
Laila sat in row three. For the first ten minutes, she did not write anything. She chewed her pen and looked at the page. Gil stood at the back and watched her.
莱拉坐在第三排。最初的十分钟，她什么也没写。她咬着笔，看着试卷。吉尔站在后面看着她。
Then something changed. She took a breath, bent her head, and began to write. Her pen moved slowly at first. Then it moved fast.
然后有什么改变了。她吸了一口气，低下头，开始写字。起初她的笔动得很慢。后来就快了起来。
Gil let his shoulders drop. He did not know why it mattered so much to him. He did not even know her.
吉尔松了一口气，肩膀放松下来。他不知道为什么这对他那么重要。他甚至并不认识她。
At nine, a young man dropped his pencil. The sound was loud in the silent room. Everyone looked up for a second. Then they went back to work.
九点，一个年轻人的铅笔掉了。在寂静的教室里，那声音很响。每个人都抬头看了一秒钟。然后又埋头做题。
At twenty to ten, Gil walked quietly into the hall. He needed to know if the ticking was still there. He stood by locker thirteen and listened.
九点四十，吉尔悄悄走到走廊里。他需要知道嘀嗒声是不是还在。他站在十三号柜旁边，仔细听。
It was there. Tick, tick, tick. It sounded closer than before. It sounded almost like a heart.
它还在。嘀嗒，嘀嗒，嘀嗒。听起来比之前更近了。听起来几乎像一颗心跳。
He went back into the room and checked the wall clock. Twenty minutes left. He walked along the rows and said nothing.
他回到教室，看了看墙上的钟。还剩二十分钟。他沿着一排排课桌走过，什么也没说。
At ten o'clock, he called, "Pens down, please."
十点整，他喊道：“请放下笔。”
Papers moved. Chairs scraped. People stood up and stretched their arms. Some of them laughed in a tired way. Some of them walked out fast.
试卷翻动。椅子刮地。人们站起来，伸展手臂。有些人疲惫地笑了笑。有些人快步走了出去。
Laila gave him her paper. Her face looked calm.
莱拉把试卷交给他。她的脸色很平静。
"I knew most of them," she said. "I really did."
“大部分我都会做，”她说，“真的。”
"Good," said Gil. "Come. Let us get your bag."
“很好，”吉尔说，“来吧，去拿你的包。”
They went to the hall. The ticking was gone. The silence was so complete that both of them stopped walking.
他们走到走廊里。嘀嗒声消失了。寂静来得那么彻底，两个人都停住了脚步。
Gil opened the door. It was the old door again, loud and bent. It screamed as it always did.
吉尔打开门。它又变回了那扇旧门，又吵又歪。它像往常一样尖叫起来。
The brass clock sat on the blue cloth. Its hands showed ten o'clock. It did not tick at all.
黄铜钟搁在蓝布上。指针指着十点。它一点也不再嘀嗒了。
Laila took her bag. She looked at the clock for a long time. "Thank you," she said, but she did not say to whom.
莱拉拿起她的包。她看了那只钟很久。“谢谢你。”她说，但她没有说是对谁说的。
She walked out of the school and into the bright morning. Gil watched her go.
她走出学校，走进明亮的早晨。吉尔看着她离开。
Then he went back to the hall. He picked up the clock. It was warm, like a cup of coffee. He turned it over in his hands. He found no name on it.
然后他回到走廊。他拿起那只钟。它是温的，像一杯咖啡。他把它在手里翻转过来。上面找不到任何名字。
He put it back on the cloth. He closed the door, and it did not scream. He stood very still and listened.
他把它放回布上。他关上门，门没有尖叫。他一动不动地站着，听着。
Tick.
嘀嗒。
It started again, though nobody touched it. Gil did not put the lock back on. He stood in the empty hall and listened a little longer.
它又响了起来，尽管没有人碰它。吉尔没有把锁挂回去。他站在空荡荡的走廊里，又多听了一会儿。
