Zeke arrived at the driving test centre an hour early. He had been awake since five, and his stomach felt like a washing machine. His test was at ten. It was only nine now.
泽克比预定时间早了一个小时到驾驶考试中心。他从五点起就没睡着，胃里像有一台洗衣机在转。他的考试在十点。现在才九点。
He sat on a low wall and watched the learner cars roll in and out. Every driver looked calm. Every driver looked like a person who had never stalled an engine in their life.
他坐在一堵矮墙上，看着练习车开进开出。每个司机都显得很镇定。每个司机看上去都像一辈子没熄过火的人。
"Stop it," Zeke told himself. "You have practised for six months."
“别这样，”泽克对自己说，“你已经练了六个月了。”
Then something small caught his eye. It lay on the tarmac beside the wall, and it was no bigger than a walnut. Zeke picked it up. It was a tiny cactus in a plastic pot the size of an egg cup. Under the pot, a little magnet was stuck on with tape.
这时有个小东西吸引了他的目光。它躺在墙边的柏油路面上，不比核桃大。泽克把它捡了起来。那是一株小小的仙人掌，种在一只蛋杯大小的塑料盆里。盆底用胶带粘着一块小磁铁。
"Where did you come from?" he asked.
“你是从哪儿来的？”他问。
The cactus said nothing, but the magnet told him a lot. People put magnets like that on car dashboards. Somebody had lost a lucky charm on the worst possible day. Zeke knew exactly how that felt, and it gave him something to do besides worry.
仙人掌什么也没说，可那块磁铁却告诉了他很多。人们会把这样的磁铁装在汽车仪表盘上。有人在最糟糕的一天弄丢了自己的幸运符。泽克太清楚那是什么滋味了，这让他除了发愁之外有了点事做。
He walked to the kiosk at the entrance. A man in a yellow jacket sat there, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.
他走到入口的岗亭。一个穿黄夹克的男人坐在那里，喝着咖啡，看着报纸。
"Excuse me," said Zeke. "Did anyone report a lost cactus?"
“打扰一下，”泽克说，“有人报失过一株仙人掌吗？”
"That is not mine," the man said. "I only know about cars. But the instructor with the silver hatchback has a lot of little things on her dashboard. She always parks by the bins."
“不是我的，”男人说，“我只懂汽车。不过那个开银色两厢车的教练，她仪表盘上有很多小玩意儿。她总是停在垃圾桶旁边。”
Zeke thanked him and crossed the car park. The silver hatchback stood next to the bins. A tall woman was wiping its windscreen.
泽克谢过他，穿过停车场。银色两厢车就停在垃圾桶旁。一位高个子女士正在擦它的挡风玻璃。
"Sorry to bother you," said Zeke. "Is this cactus yours?"
“抱歉打扰了，”泽克说，“这株仙人掌是您的吗？”
She leaned closer and smiled. "What a lovely little thing. No, mine is a plastic duck, and he is much louder." She pointed across the car park. "But I have seen one like it before. A young man was holding it in the waiting room last week. He was talking to it before his test."
她凑近看了看，笑了。“多可爱的小东西。不，我的是一只塑料鸭子，它吵多了。”她指向停车场另一头。“不过我以前见过这样的。上星期有个年轻人在候考室里捧着一个，考试前还对着它说话。”
"Ask in the waiting room," said the instructor.
“去候考室问问吧，”教练说。
So Zeke went into the waiting room. It was a plain room with plastic chairs, a vending machine and a poster about mirrors. Six people sat there, and all of them were staring at the floor.
于是泽克走进候考室。那是一间朴素的屋子，有塑料椅子、一台自动售货机和一张关于后视镜的海报。六个人坐在那里，个个盯着地板。
"Does anybody here own a cactus?" Zeke asked.
“这里有人养了仙人掌吗？”泽克问。
Nobody laughed. A girl in a green jumper looked up and sighed.
没有人笑。一个穿绿毛衣的女孩抬起头，叹了口气。
"It might be mine," she said. "Let me see it." She took the pot and turned it over in her hands. Then she shook her head. "No. Mine is bigger, and it has a pink flower." She gave it back. "But I think I know whose this is. I did my test yesterday, and I failed."
“可能是我的，”她说，“让我看看。”她接过花盆，在手里翻转。然后摇了摇头。“不是。我的更大，还开着粉红色的花。”她把它还给了他。“不过我想我知道这是谁的。我昨天考的试，没过。”
"I am sorry," said Zeke.
“我很遗憾，”泽克说。
"It's fine." She shrugged. "Anyway, the examiner had a cactus on his dashboard. It was tiny, like this one, and it was stuck on with a magnet. When I did the emergency stop, it flew off the dashboard and hit the window. He caught it and put it back. Then he wrote on his paper for a long time."
“没关系。”她耸耸肩。“反正考官的仪表盘上有一株仙人掌。小小的，就像这个，用磁铁吸着。我做紧急刹车的时候，它从仪表盘上飞出去，撞到了车窗上。他接住它，放了回去。然后他在纸上写了很久。”
"Do you remember his name?" asked Zeke.
“你还记得他的名字吗？”泽克问。
"Garrick," said the girl. "He is the one with the grey clipboard. He is very serious, but he was kind to me. He said that everyone is allowed one bad day."
“加里克，”女孩说，“就是拿灰色记事板的那个。他很严肃，但对我挺好。他说每个人都有权利糟糕一天。”
Zeke felt his heart jump. "Which examiner do you think I will get at ten?"
泽克感到心猛地一跳。“你觉得十点钟我会遇到哪位考官？”
"I cannot know that," she said. "But if the cactus is his, he will be happy to see it. Good luck."
“这我没法知道，”她说，“不过要是仙人掌是他的，他见了会高兴的。祝你好运。”
Zeke put the cactus into his pocket and went back outside. It was half past nine. He decided to walk around the car park to calm down. That was when the real trouble started.
泽克把仙人掌放进口袋，回到外面。已经九点半了。他决定在停车场里走一圈，让自己平静下来。真正的麻烦就是在那时开始的。
A delivery van came round the corner too fast. Zeke jumped back, and the cactus flew out of his pocket. It bounced twice and rolled across the tarmac, straight towards the van's front wheel.
一辆送货货车拐过街角，开得太快了。泽克往后一跳，仙人掌从口袋里飞了出去。它弹了两下，滚过柏油路面，径直滚向货车的前轮。
"No!" shouted Zeke.
“不！”泽克喊道。
He did not think. He ran and dropped to his knees, and he reached under the van just as the driver stopped. His fingers closed around the little pot. Something sharp pricked his thumb, but he did not care. He pulled his arm back and held the cactus above his head like a trophy.
他想都没想，冲过去扑倒在地，在司机刹住车的同时，把手伸到车底下。他的手指握住了那只小花盆。有什么尖尖的东西扎了他的拇指，但他毫不在意。他把手臂缩回来，把仙人掌像奖杯一样举过头顶。
The van driver opened his window. "I nearly drove over your arm!" he shouted.
货车司机摇下车窗。“我差点从你胳膊上压过去！”他喊道。
"Sorry," said Zeke. "I am rescuing a plant."
“对不起，”泽克说，“我在营救一株植物。”
The driver shook his head and drove away slowly. Zeke looked at the cactus. It was fine. Only a piece of tape had come off the magnet. He pressed it back down.
司机摇摇头，慢慢把车开走了。泽克看着仙人掌。它没事。只是磁铁上的一块胶带松开了。他把它按了回去。
At five to ten, a door opened on the far side of the building. A man in a dark coat came out, holding a grey clipboard and a car key. He had a serious face, and he walked like someone who had never been late in his life.
十点差五分的时候，大楼另一侧的一扇门开了。一个穿深色外套的男人走了出来，手里拿着灰色记事板和一把车钥匙。他一脸严肃，走路的样子像是一辈子没迟到过的人。
"Is Zeke here?" he called.
“泽克在吗？”他喊道。
"That's me," said Zeke. His voice came out very small.
“是我，”泽克说。他的声音小得可怜。
"I am Garrick. I will be your examiner today." The man looked at Zeke's dirty knees, and one eyebrow went up. "Are you ready?"
“我是加里克。今天由我担任你的考官。”男人看了看泽克沾满灰的膝盖，一条眉毛扬了起来。“准备好了吗？”
"Almost." Zeke pulled the cactus out of his pocket. "I think this is yours, sir. I found it on the ground this morning. I asked three people before I found out who owns it."
“差不多了。”泽克从口袋里拿出仙人掌。“我想这是您的，先生。今天早上我在地上捡到的。我问了三个人才知道它是谁的。”
Garrick stopped walking. For a moment his serious face changed completely. He took the cactus in both hands, as if it was a bird.
加里克停住了脚步。有那么一会儿，他严肃的脸完全变了。他用双手捧起仙人掌，像捧着一只小鸟。
"I have looked for this everywhere," he said. "It has sat on my dashboard for eleven years. It rolled away yesterday, and I thought it was gone for good." He looked up. "You went around the whole car park for this?"
“我到处找它，”他说，“它在我的仪表盘上待了十一年。昨天它滚丢了，我以为再也找不回来了。”他抬起头。“你为了它把整个停车场都找遍了？”
"I had time," said Zeke. "And I nearly lost it under a van. But it's safe now."
“我有时间，”泽克说，“而且我差点把它丢在货车底下。不过现在安全了。”
"Thank you," said Garrick. He cleared his throat and became serious again very quickly. "This does not change anything about your test, you understand. I mark only your driving."
“谢谢你，”加里克说。他清了清嗓子，很快又变得严肃起来。“你要明白，这不会改变你考试的任何事。我只给你的驾驶打分。”
"Of course," said Zeke.
“当然，”泽克说。
They walked to the test car together. Garrick pressed the magnet onto the dashboard, and he gave it a little pat. Zeke sat down and checked his mirrors twice. His hands were shaking. He looked at the cactus and thought about the van, and he felt braver.
他们一起走向考试用车。加里克把磁铁按在仪表盘上，还轻轻拍了拍它。泽克坐下，检查了两遍后视镜。他的手在发抖。他看了看仙人掌，想起了那辆货车，心里勇敢了一些。
The first ten minutes went well. Garrick wrote on his clipboard and said very little.
最初的十分钟很顺利。加里克在记事板上写着，话很少。
Then, on a quiet road, Garrick said, "Stop the car as quickly as you can, please."
然后，在一条安静的路上，加里克说：“请尽快把车停下来。”
Zeke pressed the brake hard. The car stopped in a straight line. The cactus did not move at all, because it was held firmly by its magnet. Zeke breathed out slowly.
泽克用力踩下刹车。车笔直地停住了。仙人掌纹丝不动，因为磁铁把它牢牢吸住了。泽克缓缓地吐出一口气。
"Good," said Garrick, and he wrote something down.
“很好，”加里克说，又写了点什么。
The rest of the test passed in a blur. At last the car rolled back into the test centre car park, and Garrick switched off the engine.
考试的其余部分在一片模糊中过去了。最后，车子滚回考试中心的停车场，加里克关掉了引擎。
For a long minute, the only sound was his pen on the paper.
整整一分钟，唯一的声音是他的笔在纸上划动。
"Well," said Garrick. "I am happy to tell you that you have passed."
“好了，”加里克说，“我很高兴地告诉你，你通过了。”
Zeke shouted so loudly that two pigeons flew off the wall. "Sorry, sir," he said.
泽克大喊了一声，吓得两只鸽子从墙上飞走。“对不起，先生，”他说。
"It's fine," said Garrick, and he almost smiled. "You drove carefully. I do not often see a candidate who rescues a plant before his test."
“没关系，”加里克说，几乎笑了出来。“你开得很谨慎。我不常见到在考试前先去营救一株植物的考生。”
Zeke laughed. He looked at the cactus on the dashboard and shook his head. "I think the cactus helped me."
泽克笑了。他看着仪表盘上的仙人掌，摇了摇头。“我想是仙人掌帮了我。”
"Of course," said Garrick. "It has been in this car for eleven years. It has never once said 'slow down' or 'watch that cyclist'. It is the best passenger I have ever had."
“当然，”加里克说，“它在这辆车里待了十一年。它从来没说过一次‘慢点’或‘当心那个骑车的’。它是我有过的最好的乘客。”
"Then it deserves a pass as well," said Zeke.
“那它也该得一个通过，”泽克说。
"No," said Garrick, and he gently turned the pot. "It is prickly, but it is fair."
“不行，”加里克说着，轻轻转了转花盆，“它是带刺的，但它是公正的。”
