The sports hall is already loud at nine in the morning. Shoes squeak on the floor. Someone drops a ball, and everyone jumps.
体育馆里早上九点就已经很吵了。鞋子在地板上吱吱作响。有人掉了球，所有人都吓了一跳。
Beatriz stands next to the ticket machine at the front door. It is old, gray and tall. It has a coin slot, a green light and a wide mouth. Everyone calls it Old Hum, because it hums when it works.
贝亚特丽丝站在前门的售票机旁边。它又老，又灰，又高。它有一个投币口、一盏绿灯和一张宽阔的嘴。大家都叫它“老嗡”，因为它工作的时候会发出嗡嗡声。
A small label is stuck on its side. The letters are almost gone. Beatriz can only read four words. "Change is a gift."
它的侧面贴着一张小标签。字迹几乎磨光了。贝亚特丽丝只能认出四个词。“找零就是一份礼物。”
Ulises runs in from the car park with a box of pens. "The first match starts at ten," he says. "The head referee wants twenty team tickets before that. No ticket, no court."
乌利塞斯拿着一盒笔从停车场跑进来。“第一场比赛十点开始，”他说，“主裁判要在那之前拿到二十张球队票。没有票，不许上场。”
"I know," says Beatriz. "Twenty teams. And each ticket costs one silver coin."
“我知道，”贝亚特丽丝说，“二十支球队。每张票一枚银币。”
"Then let us start."
“那我们开始吧。”
Beatriz has a bag of silver coins and two heavy gold ones. A gold coin is worth five silver. The gold ones are only for big problems. She does not plan to use them.
贝亚特丽丝有一袋银币和两枚沉甸甸的金币。一枚金币值五枚银币。金币只用于大问题。她不打算用它们。
She drops a silver coin into the slot. The green light blinks. Old Hum gives a low, happy sound. Then a ticket slides out. It takes a whole minute.
她把一枚银币投进投币口。绿灯闪了闪。老嗡发出低沉而愉快的声音。然后一张票滑了出来。它花了整整一分钟。
"One minute for one ticket," says Ulises. He looks at the clock on the wall. "Twenty tickets take twenty minutes. It is nine forty."
“一张票一分钟，”乌利塞斯说。他看了看墙上的钟。“二十张票要二十分钟。现在是九点四十。”
"So we have just enough time," says Beatriz. "If nothing goes wrong."
“所以我们的时间刚刚够，”贝亚特丽丝说，“只要不出岔子。”
Of course, something goes wrong.
当然，岔子还是出了。
On the next try, Beatriz feeds in a gold coin by mistake. Her hand is quick. The coins look the same in the dim light. She sees it too late.
下一次，贝亚特丽丝错把一枚金币塞了进去。她的手太快了。在昏暗的光线里，这些硬币看起来一模一样。等她发现时已经晚了。
"Oh no," she says.
“糟了。”她说。
Old Hum hums longer than before. The green light turns warm gold. Then the tray at the bottom fills with paper. Not one ticket. Nine tickets. They glow a little, like small lanterns.
老嗡嗡嗡响了比之前更长的时间。绿灯变成了温暖的金色。然后底部的托盘里装满了纸。不是一张票。是九张票。它们微微发着光，像小灯笼。
Ulises stares at them. "Wrong change," he says. "A gold coin buys five tickets. It gave you nine."
乌利塞斯盯着它们。“找错零了，”他说，“一枚金币能买五张票。它却给了你九张。”
"That is not wrong change," says Beatriz. "That is the right ticket, with the change in tickets."
“这不是找错零，”贝亚特丽丝说，“这是对的票，找零是用票来找的。”
"That is wrong," says Ulises. "The machine must give coins, not tickets. Someone will be angry."
“这就是错的，”乌利塞斯说，“机器应该找硬币，不是票。会有人生气的。”
He tries to fix it. He opens a small door at the back. He taps the metal with a pen. He asks the machine nicely, then he asks it sharply. Old Hum only hums.
他试着修理。他打开背面的一扇小门。他用笔敲打金属。他先好声好气地问机器，然后又厉声质问它。老嗡只是嗡嗡地响。
A father with a sports bag comes to the door. "Is the line open?" he asks. "My daughter's team needs a ticket."
一位拿着运动包的父亲来到门口。“排队开始了吗？”他问，“我女儿的球队需要一张票。”
"Ten minutes," says Ulises. His voice is high. "Please wait."
“十分钟，”乌利塞斯说。他的声音很尖。“请稍等。”
Beatriz picks up the nine glowing tickets. They are warm in her hand. She counts them again. They are real tickets, with a team number on each one.
贝亚特丽丝拿起那九张发光的票。它们在她手里是温热的。她又数了一遍。它们是真正的票，每一张上面都有球队编号。
"Ulises," she says. "Do we need the tickets?"
“乌利塞斯，”她说，“我们需要这些票吗？”
"Yes, but we need them from a normal machine."
“需要，但我们需要从正常的机器里出来的票。”
"No. We need tickets. Any tickets." She turns the first one over. "These work at the court. I read the number. It looks like the first ticket."
“不。我们需要的是票。随便什么票。”她把第一张翻过来。“这些在球场上能用。我读了号码。看起来跟第一张票一样。”
"I do not like this," says Ulises.
“我不喜欢这样。”乌利塞斯说。
"I do not like it either. But we have only fifteen minutes."
“我也不喜欢。但我们只剩十五分钟了。”
Ulises looks at the clock. It says nine forty-five. He looks at the machine. He looks at the nine tickets in her hand.
乌利塞斯看了看钟。上面是九点四十五分。他看看机器。他又看看她手里的九张票。
He breathes out. "Fine. What do we do?"
他呼出一口气。“好吧。我们怎么办？”
"We try something," says Beatriz.
“我们试试看。”贝亚特丽丝说。
She counts on her fingers. "We need twenty tickets. We have one from the first try. Add nine, and we have ten."
她掰着手指算。“我们需要二十张票。第一次试出来一张。再加九张，就是十张。”
"Another gold coin gives nine more," says Ulises slowly. "That is nineteen. Then one silver coin gives the last one."
“再来一枚金币又能得九张，”乌利塞斯慢慢地说，“那就是十九张。然后一枚银币给出最后一张。”
"Two tries and a small one. Three minutes, not twenty." She holds out her hand. "Where is the second gold coin?"
“两次大的，一次小的。三分钟，而不是二十分钟。”她伸出手。“第二枚金币在哪儿？”
Ulises finds it in the bag. Her heart beats fast. She drops it in the slot.
乌利塞斯在袋子里找到了它。她的心跳得很快。她把它投进了投币口。
The green light turns gold again. Old Hum hums so deep that the floor shakes a little. A boy near the door looks up from his phone. A line begins to form behind them.
绿灯又变成了金色。老嗡发出的嗡嗡声那么低沉，连地板都微微震动。门边的一个男孩从手机上抬起头来。他们身后开始排起了队。
One minute. Two.
一分钟。两分钟。
Then nine more glowing tickets slide into the tray. Beatriz holds them to her chest. The machine seems to sigh, like a friend who finally smiles.
然后又有九张发光的票滑进了托盘。贝亚特丽丝把它们抱在胸前。机器似乎叹了一口气，像一个朋友终于露出了笑容。
"Silver coin," she says.
“银币。”她说。
Ulises gives her one. She puts it in the slot. A single ticket appears at last.
乌利塞斯递给她一枚。她把它投进投币口。终于，一张票出现了。
At nine forty-nine she has twenty tickets. She puts them in one neat pile.
九点四十九分，她拿到了二十张票。她把它们整整齐齐地叠成一摞。
"The captains are in the main hall," says Ulises. He is already running. "I take the first ten. You take the rest."
“队长们都在主厅里，”乌利塞斯说。他已经在跑了。“前十张我来送。剩下的你送。”
"Go!" says Beatriz.
“去吧！”贝亚特丽丝说。
She runs the other way, down the long floor. Her shoes squeak loudly. In the hall the teams stand in two lines. The head referee stands between them. He holds his whistle in his hand.
她朝另一个方向跑去，沿着长长的地板。她的鞋子吱吱作响。大厅里，球队排成两列站着。主裁判站在他们中间。他手里握着哨子。
Ten captains hold up their hands as Ulises gives out tickets. Beatriz moves from team to team and gives out hers. Each captain looks at the glowing paper and smiles in surprise.
乌利塞斯发票的时候，十位队长举起了手。贝亚特丽丝在各支球队之间穿梭，发出她手里的票。每位队长看着那发光的纸，都惊讶地笑了。
Last in line stands a girl with a ball under her arm. Beatriz gives her the twentieth ticket. It is still warm.
队伍最后站着一个胳膊下夹着球的女孩。贝亚特丽丝把第二十张票递给她。它还是温的。
She looks up at the clock. It says ten.
她抬头看了看钟。上面是十点。
The head referee lifts his whistle. Beatriz runs back to the front door. "Thank you," she whispers. She drops one last silver coin into Old Hum's slot. It pays for the extra tickets.
主裁判举起了哨子。贝亚特丽丝跑回前门。“谢谢你。”她低声说。她把最后一枚银币投进老嗡的投币口。这是为多出来的票付的钱。
