The volleyball tournament at the Eastfield Sports Hall began at ten o'clock. By half past eight, Dina had dropped a box of whistles and lost a roll of tape. She had also walked into a glass door.
东野体育馆的排球赛十点开始。到八点半，迪娜已经打翻了一盒哨子，丢了一卷胶带，还撞上了一扇玻璃门。
She was fifteen, and this was her first day as a volunteer. Her job was simple. She had to help Tala, the organiser, and do exactly what Tala said.
她十五岁，这是她当志愿者的第一天。她的任务很简单：帮助组织者塔拉，塔拉说什么她就做什么。
Tala was sixteen and carried a clipboard everywhere. She kept a pen behind each ear. She walked fast and talked even faster.
塔拉十六岁，走到哪儿都拿着一块写字板，两只耳朵后面各夹一支笔。她走得快，说得更快。
"Court Two," Tala said, without slowing down. "The net has a hole. Fix it before the first match."
“二号场，”塔拉头也不回地说。“球网有个洞。第一场比赛之前把它补好。”
"Fix it?" Dina asked. "How?"
“补好？”迪娜问。“怎么补？”
"I don't know. You're clever. Just fix it." Tala was already ten steps away, shouting at a boy about a missing scoreboard.
“我不知道。你很聪明。反正补好它就行。”塔拉已经走出十步远，正冲着一个男孩嚷嚷记分牌不见了的事。
Dina stood alone on Court Two and looked up. The net hung across the middle of the court, white and tight. She walked along it slowly and checked the top, the bottom, and both ends.
迪娜独自站在二号场上，抬头看去。球网横挂在球场正中，白白的，绷得很紧。她沿着它慢慢走，检查了上沿、下沿和两端。
At last she found it. Near the left pole, one square of the mesh had a tiny rip. It was about the size of a coin.
最后她找到了。靠近左边的网柱，有一格网眼上有一道很小的裂口，大约只有一枚硬币那么大。
"That is a very small hole," she told the empty hall. "But if a ball hits it, the whole net might come apart."
“这个洞非常小，”她对着空荡荡的大厅说。“可是如果球打在上面，整张网都可能散掉。”
She found a roll of fishing line in the equipment room and a needle in her bag. For twenty minutes she sat on the floor and sewed. Her stitches looked like a spider had written a long letter. When she finished, the hole was gone, but the net had a lumpy scar.
她在器材室里找到一卷钓鱼线，包里有一根针。她坐在地上缝了二十分钟。她的针脚像是一只蜘蛛写下的一封长信。缝完后，洞没了，可网上留下了一道疙疙瘩瘩的疤。
Dina stepped back and frowned. A boy carrying chairs stopped and looked at her work.
迪娜退后一步，皱起眉头。一个搬椅子的男孩停下来，看了看她的成果。
"That looks like a bandage," he said, and he walked on.
“看着像块创可贴，”他说完就走了。
The words stayed in her head. A tournament net should look perfect. The referees would notice the scar, and the players would laugh. Tala had said to fix the problem, and a bandage was not a fix.
这句话留在了她脑子里。比赛用的球网应该看起来完美无缺。裁判会注意到那道疤，选手们会笑话。塔拉说要解决问题，而创可贴不算解决。
She decided to find a spare net. The caretaker was drinking juice in the corridor. He was a tall man with a ring of keys on his belt.
她决定去找一张备用球网。管理员正在走廊里喝果汁。他是个高个子男人，腰带上挂着一大串钥匙。
"A spare net?" he said. "Yes, there is one in the back store. But it's heavy, and it needs three people and a ladder."
“备用球网？”他说。“有，在后面的储藏室里。不过很沉，得要三个人和一架梯子。”
"I can find three people," Dina said. She had no idea where she would find them. She only knew that Tala had given her a job, and she wanted to finish it.
“我能找到三个人，”迪娜说。她根本不知道上哪儿去找。她只知道塔拉交给了她一件事，而她想把它做完。
In the hall she found two tall boys from a visiting club. A girl beside them was eating an apple. They looked bright-eyed and idle, and they agreed to help. The caretaker gave them the ladder and a look that said he expected trouble.
在大厅里，她找到了来访俱乐部的两个高个子男孩。他们旁边有个女孩在啃苹果。他们眼睛亮亮的，闲着没事，答应帮忙。管理员给了他们梯子，还递了一个眼神，意思是他预料会出乱子。
The spare net was in a long, dusty bag. It weighed more than all four of them together. They carried it down the corridor like a very large, very sleepy animal.
备用球网装在一只又长又满是灰尘的袋子里。它比他们四个人加起来还重。他们把它抬过走廊，像抬着一头庞大而昏昏欲睡的动物。
"What is wrong with the old net?" one of the boys asked.
“旧网出什么毛病了？”其中一个男孩问。
"It has a hole," Dina said. "A small one. But I want everything to be perfect."
“它有个洞，”迪娜说。“很小。但我想让一切都完美。”
"Then I hope the new one is perfect," the girl said. She bit her apple. "It smells like a basement."
“那我希望新的是完美的，”女孩说。她咬了一口苹果。“它闻起来像地下室。”
They opened the bag on Court Two, and the net slid out in one long, knotted wave. It was tangled around itself in a dozen places. The boys pulled one end, and the girl pulled the other. Somehow the net wrapped around all three of them at once.
他们在二号场上打开袋子，球网哗地滑出来，像一道长长的、打着结的波浪。它在十几个地方缠成了一团。男孩们拉着一头，女孩拉着另一头。不知怎么的，那张网同时把他们三个人都裹住了。
"Don't move," Dina said.
“别动，”迪娜说。
"I'm not moving," the taller boy said. "The net is moving me."
“我没动，”个子更高的男孩说。“是网在动我。”
It took ten minutes to free them. By then the hall was filling up. Players in bright shirts walked past the court. A few of them stopped to stare at the people trapped in the mesh.
花了十分钟才把他们解救出来。这时大厅里的人越来越多。穿着鲜艳球衣的选手从场边走过。有几个停下来，盯着被困在网眼里的人看。
Dina climbed the ladder and unhooked the old net from the left pole. The boys held the new one ready. Everything went wrong at the same moment.
迪娜爬上梯子，把旧网从左边的网柱上摘下来。男孩们举着新网准备好了。一切都在同一时刻出了岔子。
A volleyball rolled across the floor and hit the ladder. Then another ball rolled past, and another. A fourth one bounced off the girl's shoe. Soon there were balls under the benches and balls beside the doors. One ball spun quietly near the water fountain.
一只排球滚过地板，撞上了梯子。接着又滚来一只，又一只。第四只从女孩的鞋上弹开。很快，长凳底下、门边到处都是球。有一只球在饮水机旁安静地打着转。
"Where are all these balls coming from?" the girl asked.
“这些球都是从哪儿来的？”女孩问。
"Somebody was careless," Dina said from the top of the ladder. "I will pick them up in a minute."
“有人太粗心了，”迪娜在梯子顶上说。“我待会儿就捡起来。”
She did not look down. She was holding the old net in one hand and the new one in the other. She was also, she realised, very high above the floor.
她没有往下看。她一只手拿着旧网，另一只手拿着新网。她还意识到，自己离地面非常高。
"Dina!"
“迪娜！”
The voice cut across the hall. Tala was marching towards Court Two, and her clipboard was held like a shield. Behind her walked the caretaker, who looked almost happy.
那声音划过整个大厅。塔拉正大步走向二号场，写字板举得像一面盾牌。她身后跟着管理员，他看上去几乎很开心。
"What are you doing to my court?" Tala asked.
“你在对我的球场干什么？”塔拉问。
"I am fixing the net," Dina said. "Like you told me. The old one had a hole, and my stitches looked bad, so I got a better one."
“我在补网，”迪娜说。“就像你吩咐的。旧网有个洞，我的针脚又难看，所以我找了个更好的。”
Tala looked hard at her. Then she looked at the old net, which hung from Dina's hand like a sleepy flag. Then she looked at the stitches. Then she looked at the two boys and the girl. They were still half wrapped in the spare net.
塔拉狠狠地看着她。然后她看了看那张旧网，它像一面昏昏欲睡的旗子，从迪娜手里垂下来。然后她看了看针脚。然后她看了看那两个男孩和那个女孩，他们还有一半裹在备用网里。
"Dina," she said slowly, "which net did you think I meant?"
“迪娜，”她慢慢地说，“你以为我说的是哪张网？”
"This net. The one on Court Two."
“这张网。二号场上的这张。”
Tala closed her eyes. Then she opened her bag, which was lying on a bench, and pulled out a long mesh sack. It was the kind that holds volleyballs. The bottom of it was open, and a few loose threads hung from the hole.
塔拉闭上了眼睛。然后她打开放在长凳上的包，抽出一只长长的网兜。就是那种装排球的。它的底是开着的，几缕散线从洞口垂下来。
"This net," Tala said. "The ball net. Everyone in our club calls it the net. I thought you knew that."
“这张网，”塔拉说。“装球的网兜。我们俱乐部里的人都管它叫‘网’。我以为你知道。”
"Nobody told me," Dina said.
“没人告诉过我，”迪娜说。
"I told you on the phone last week."
“我上星期在电话里告诉过你。”
"You said 'bring the net,'" Dina said. "I thought you meant the one for the court."
“你说的是‘把网带来’，”迪娜说。“我以为你指的是球场上用的那张。”
For a moment nobody spoke. Then Tala started to laugh. It began as a small noise, like a hiccup. It grew until she had to sit down on the bench. The caretaker laughed too, and then the boys, and then even the girl with the apple.
一时间谁也没出声。接着塔拉笑了起来。一开始是一声小小的动静，像打嗝。后来越来越响，她不得不坐到长凳上。管理员也笑了，接着是男孩们，最后连那个啃苹果的女孩也笑了。
"I am sorry," Tala said, wiping her eyes. "It was my mistake. I should have said the ball net. But your stitches are very, very brave."
“对不起，”塔拉擦着眼睛说。“是我的错。我应该说装球的网兜。不过你的针脚，非常非常勇敢。”
"They look like a bandage," Dina said.
“它们看着像创可贴，”迪娜说。
"They look like a bandage with confidence," Tala said.
“像一块很有自信的创可贴，”塔拉说。
Dina climbed down. She felt her face relax, and she began to laugh as well. Together they untangled the helpers and put the spare net back in its dusty bag. Then they hung the old net again with its lumpy scar. The caretaker said it was the most interesting net in the building.
迪娜爬下梯子。她感到脸上松弛下来，也跟着笑了。她们一起把那几个帮手解救出来，把备用网放回那只落满灰的袋子里。然后她们把旧网重新挂了上去，带着那道疙疙瘩瘩的疤。管理员说，这是整座楼里最有意思的一张网。
At a quarter to ten, the first players walked onto the courts. A referee checked the net, touched the scar, and nodded. "Good strong repair," he said. Dina decided not to tell him how long it had taken.
九点四十五分，第一批选手走上了球场。一位裁判检查了球网，摸了摸那道疤，点点头。“修得结实，”他说。迪娜决定不告诉他这花了多久。
Tala picked up the broken ball net and turned it upside down. A single volleyball fell out and rolled slowly across the floor. She watched it go. Then she looked at Dina, who was standing beside a bench with three balls in her arms.
塔拉拿起那只破了的网兜，把它倒过来。一只排球掉出来，慢慢地滚过地板。她看着它滚远。然后她看向迪娜，迪娜正站在一条长凳旁，怀里抱着三只球。
"Dina," Tala asked, "how many balls did we start with this morning?"
“迪娜，”塔拉问，“我们今天早上一开始有多少只球？”
