Jessamy stands in the doorway of the Starlight Roller Rink. The hall glows pink and blue. A mirror ball turns above the floor. Fifty skaters roll round and round to loud music.
杰萨米站在星光轮滑场的门口。大厅里闪着粉红色和蓝色的光，一颗镜面球在地板上方旋转。五十名滑冰的人伴着响亮的音乐一圈又一圈地滑着。
She holds a violin case under one arm. Her friend Ulla waits at the rail in bright yellow skates. She waves both hands.
她腋下夹着一个小提琴盒。她的朋友乌拉穿着亮黄色的轮滑鞋，在栏杆边等着，双手高高挥舞。
"You're here!" Ulla shouts. "The big clock says seven forty. We have twenty minutes."
“你来了！”乌拉喊道，“大钟指着七点四十。我们只有二十分钟。”
"I know," says Jessamy. "I ran all the way."
“我知道，”杰萨米说，“我一路跑来的。”
At eight o'clock, the manager turns the lights low. Then everyone skates to one last song. This year, the last song has a live violin. Jessamy is the violinist. She knows the tune by heart. It took her a month to learn it.
八点整，经理会把灯调暗。然后所有人随着最后一首歌一起滑行。今年的最后一首歌有现场小提琴伴奏，小提琴手就是杰萨米。她把曲子背得滚瓜烂熟，花了整整一个月才学会。
She finds a quiet corner by the snack bar. She opens the case and takes out her violin. Then she stops. Something is wrong.
她在小吃吧旁边找了个安静的角落，打开琴盒，取出小提琴。然后她愣住了。出事了。
"Ulla," she says in a small voice. "Look."
“乌拉，”她用很小的声音说，“你看。”
The thinnest string is gone. It hangs in a curl from the top. Only three strings are left.
最细的那根弦不见了，卷成一圈挂在琴头上。只剩三根弦了。
"It snapped on the bus," says Jessamy. "The case was too tight. I did not check it."
“它在公交车上断了，”杰萨米说，“琴盒太紧了。我没检查。”
Ulla looks at the clock. Seven forty-two. "Do you have a new string?"
乌拉看了看钟。七点四十二。“你有新弦吗？”
"Yes. In my bag. I left it in locker sixty-one this morning, after rehearsal. The key is in my pocket." Jessamy points across the floor. The lockers are in a long room behind the far wall.
“有。在我的包里。今天早上排练完，我把包留在六十一号储物柜里了。钥匙在我口袋里。”杰萨米指着滑冰场的另一头。储物柜在远处那面墙后面的一条长房间里。
"Okay," says Ulla. "That is not so far."
“好，”乌拉说，“那也不算太远。”
It is far. The whole skating floor is between them and the lockers. All the skaters go in one direction, in one big circle. The rule is very clear. Nobody crosses the floor.
其实很远。整个滑冰场地就隔在她们和储物柜之间。所有滑冰的人朝同一个方向，转着一个大圈。规矩很明确：谁也不许穿过场地。
"I'll go around the edge," says Jessamy.
“我沿着边上走，”杰萨米说。
She puts the violin back in its case and holds it tight. Then she goes along the wall. At first it is easy. Then a group of children comes round in a long line. They hold hands and shout. Jessamy stops and waits.
她把小提琴放回琴盒，紧紧抱着，然后沿着墙边走。起初很容易。后来一群孩子排成长队滑了过来，手拉着手，大声喊叫。杰萨米停下来等着。
Then a boy falls in front of her. His friends laugh and help him up. It takes a whole minute. Jessamy looks at the clock over the DJ booth. Seven forty-seven.
接着一个男孩在她面前摔倒了。他的朋友们笑着把他扶起来，花了整整一分钟。杰萨米看了看DJ台上方的钟。七点四十七。
She gets past the children. Then she meets a group of slow couples in the corner. They spin and turn. Jessamy cannot get past them at all.
她挤过了那群孩子。然后在墙角遇上了一群慢悠悠的情侣，他们旋转着，打着圈。杰萨米怎么也过不去。
Ulla skates up beside her, fast and smooth. "This is too slow," she says. "We need another way."
乌拉又快又稳地滑到她身边。“这样太慢了，”她说，“我们得换条路。”
"There is no other way," says Jessamy. Her voice shakes. "The rink is a circle. The lockers are on the far side."
“没有别的路，”杰萨米说，声音在发抖，“滑冰场是个圆圈。储物柜在对面。”
Ulla thinks. She taps her chin. Her eyes go wide. "Wait. I work at the snack bar on Sundays. There is a back hall behind the kitchen!"
乌拉想了想，敲了敲下巴，两眼忽然睁大。“等等。我星期天在小吃吧打工。厨房后面有一条后走廊！”
"A back hall?"
“后走廊？”
"Yes! The workers use it to carry boxes of ice and cups. It goes all the way around behind the wall. It comes out right next to the lockers!"
“对！工作人员用它搬冰块和杯子的箱子。它绕着墙后面一直通过去，出口就在储物柜旁边！”
Jessamy stares at her. "Is it open?"
杰萨米盯着她。“开着吗？”
"Of course it is open. Come on!"
“当然开着。快来！”
Ulla pulls off her skates in two seconds. She runs in her socks across the tiles. Jessamy follows with the violin case. They push through the kitchen door. A cook looks up, surprised.
乌拉两秒钟就脱掉了轮滑鞋，只穿着袜子跑过瓷砖。杰萨米抱着琴盒跟在后面。她们推开厨房的门，一位厨师惊讶地抬起头。
"Sorry!" Ulla shouts. "Emergency!"
“对不起！”乌拉喊道，“有紧急情况！”
"Is it a fire?" the cook shouts back.
“着火了吗？”厨师喊回来。
"It's a violin!" says Jessamy, and they are gone.
“是小提琴！”杰萨米说，然后她们就不见了。
The back hall is narrow and cold. Boxes stand along the wall. One has the word "Ice" in big letters. The music of the rink is soft and far away now. Their feet slap on the floor. They run past a door, then another door, then a mop.
后走廊又窄又冷，墙边堆着箱子，有一个上面用大字写着“冰”。滑冰场的音乐此刻轻柔而遥远。她们的脚步啪嗒啪嗒打在地上。她们跑过一扇门，又一扇门，又一把拖把。
At the end of the hall, a green door is closed. Ulla pushes it with her shoulder. It opens, and they fall into the locker room. The smell of rubber and old shoes hits them.
走廊尽头，一扇绿门关着。乌拉用肩膀顶了一下，门开了，她们跌进了储物间。橡胶和旧鞋子的气味扑面而来。
"Sixty-one!" says Jessamy. She runs along the row. Ulla reads the numbers. "Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty. Here!"
“六十一！”杰萨米说着，沿着那一排跑过去。乌拉念着号码。“五十八，五十九，六十。在这儿！”
Jessamy opens the locker and pulls out her bag. Her hands shake. She finds the small paper bag of strings and tears it open. The new string is bright and thin.
杰萨米打开柜子，拎出她的包，手抖个不停。她找到装琴弦的小纸袋，一把撕开。新弦又亮又细。
She sits on a bench and starts. First she pulls the string through the hole in the peg. Then she turns the peg slowly. The string is long and loose. It goes up, up, and up.
她坐在长凳上开始上弦。先把弦穿过弦轴上的孔，再慢慢转动弦轴。弦又长又松，一圈一圈绷上去，越来越紧。
"What time is it?" Jessamy asks.
“几点了？”杰萨米问。
Ulla runs to a clock on the wall. "Seven fifty-six!"
乌拉跑到墙上的钟前。“七点五十六！”
"Four minutes," says Jessamy. She does not look up. "A new string always goes flat. I must tune it three times."
“四分钟，”杰萨米说，头也不抬，“新弦总是会走音变低。我得调三次。”
"Then do it fast," says Ulla. "I will hold the neck."
“那就快点调，”乌拉说，“我来扶着琴颈。”
Ulla holds the violin steady. Jessamy tightens the new string and plays the note. It is too low. She turns the peg and plays again. Now it is too high. Ulla bites her lip. Jessamy turns it back a little. Then the note rings clear and true.
乌拉把小提琴扶稳。杰萨米拧紧新弦，拉了一下音。太低了。她转动弦轴，又拉一下。这回太高了。乌拉咬着嘴唇。杰萨米把它拧回去一点，这时音符清澈而准确地响了起来。
"Good," says Jessamy. She stretches the string between two fingers, then tunes again. It is nearly perfect. Then she does it one last time.
“好，”杰萨米说。她用两根手指把弦拉开，再调一次，已经几乎完美。然后她又调了最后一遍。
"Seven fifty-nine," says Ulla. "Go, go, go!"
“七点五十九，”乌拉说，“快，快，快！”
They run back along the narrow hall. The boxes of ice flash by. Jessamy hears her own breath. They burst through the kitchen door. The cook sees them and lifts a spoon, like a flag.
她们沿着窄窄的走廊往回跑，一箱箱冰块从旁边一闪而过。杰萨米听见自己的喘息声。她们冲出厨房的门。厨师看到她们，举起一把勺子，像举着一面旗。
In the hall, the music stops. The lights go low. Fifty skaters stop in the dim glow and look up. The manager stands in the middle of the floor. He holds out a hand to Jessamy.
大厅里，音乐停了，灯光暗了下来。五十名滑冰的人在昏暗的光里停住，抬头望过来。经理站在场地中央，向杰萨米伸出一只手。
The big clock above the DJ booth shows eight o'clock exactly.
DJ台上方的大钟，正好指着八点整。
Jessamy walks to the middle of the floor in her shoes. Ulla follows in her socks on the shining wood. Jessamy steps into the soft light. She lifts the violin to her chin. She raises the bow and plays the first note.
杰萨米穿着鞋子走向场地中央。乌拉穿着袜子，踩着闪亮的木地板跟在后面。杰萨米走进柔和的灯光里，把小提琴抬到下巴下，举起琴弓，拉响了第一个音符。
