The Ramp Made of Clipboards- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

A brittle rattle from the pharmacy’s label printer echoed under the fluorescent panels. A speckled pigeon chick burst from behind the machine, its blue-grey wings beating the linoleum until a brief shiver wracked its small body.

Sara, number eighty-four clutched in one hand, watched the chick pace beneath the cool, silver light that accentuated every dropped feather. Condensation dripped from an overhead vent, falling in a light indoor shower and leaving pale dots on the bird’s back. The digital display slid from seventy-nine to eighty, and still the chick turned in pointless circles. Three clipboards lay abandoned on a form-filling table; each carried a steel-grey logo that seemed to embellish the matte plastic surface. Sara gathered one clipboard and set it flat as a low step. The chick hopped, gained a little height, then slipped down again. A second clipboard joined the first, raising the edge by another slender centimetre; the bird fluttered but failed to reach the sill. If a third layer stayed firm, the ledge would finally meet its claws, so she eased the last board into position. For an instant nothing moved, then the clipboards flexed together and formed a single, shallow ramp.

The chick stared at the new incline, its round eyes holding a timeless sheen. With a quick thrust it climbed the three steps at once, landed on the narrow sill, and squeezed through the gap just as the pharmacist slid the window open to inspect the jammed printer. A faint streak of grey powder, shaped like two small arrows, remained on the top clipboard.

藥局標籤機發出尖銳的碰撞聲，迴盪在螢光燈下。 一隻斑點鴿雛從機器後面衝出，藍灰色的翅膀拍打著塑膠地板，直到一陣顫抖傳遍牠細小的身軀。

Sara 手裡捏著八十四號票，看著鴿雛在冷冽銀光下踱步，每片掉落的羽毛都被放大得分外清楚。冷氣口凝結的水珠落下，像室內小雨，在鳥背上留下淡淡斑點。電子號碼從七十九跳到八十，鴿雛仍在原地打轉。填表桌上丟著三塊寫字板；每塊板子上鋼灰色的圖樣為霧面塑膠增添一層裝飾感。Sara 拿起第一塊板子，平放成矮階。鴿雛跳上去，高了一點，卻又滑落。第二塊板子疊上去，又抬高幾公釐；牠撲動翅膀，仍碰不到窗台。如果第三層能穩住，邊緣就剛好碰到牠的爪子，於是她把最後一塊板子輕推到位。片刻靜止後，三塊板子一起微微下彎，變成淺斜坡。

鴿雛盯著新的斜面，圓圓的眼裡透出難以計時的光澤。牠猛力一衝，一口氣爬過三層階梯，落到窄窗台上，在藥師拉開窗檢查卡紙時鑽了出去。最上層寫字板上留下兩道灰色粉痕，像一對小箭頭。