Paper Skidding Through Sunlight- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

"Need the stapler?"

Stella slid her poster tube under her arm. A bright spot of late-morning sun lay across the corridor floor, forcing her to squint while she balanced the tube against her ribs. Bram knelt beside the bulletin board, one knee pressing into the polished tiles as he stacked hand-outs that described a spice-tasting project. The school’s resident ginger cat dozed on the warm windowsill above them, tail flicking now and then. A bell had already echoed down the stairwell, so the corridor stood almost empty except for the distant hum from the photocopier alcove. Both students eyed the single red stapler sitting on the notice-board ledge; Stella needed it to fix her art poster, Bram needed it to bind the pages that included his grandmother’s cookie recipe.

Stella reached first, but the stapler resisted with a gritty pause. Her wrist twisted; the hinge refused to close. Bram leaned closer, shoulders brushing hers, and turned the tool over. A bent staple had been wedged between the jaws, and its sharp edge scraped his thumb. The cat above raised its head, green eyes catching the fluorescent glow from the closet across the hall. A faint aroma of nutmeg drifted from Bram’s paper stack—crumbs from the test batch rattled in a plastic bag at his belt. If the stapler jammed again, their projects might miss the next bell. Stella steadied the stapler against her thigh while Bram pinched the stray metal free; the hinge loosened, yet both could feel time slipping through their calves, already tense from crouching.

Just as Stella lifted her poster, the cat sprang down, landing squarely on Bram’s neat pile. Sheets slid like playing cards, skating across the slick waxed floor. Both students lunged; their knees skidded, and their fingers splayed for balance. The stapler clattered but stayed intact. Stella’s forearm trapped several posters against the wall while Bram scooped scattered pages, legs braced wide to stop further drift. He was reaching beneath the radiator, fingers brushing a runaway sheet.

「需要釘書機？」

Stella 把海報筒夾在腋下。走廊地板上有一個午前陽光形成的亮斑，逼得她眯起眼睛，同時用肋骨固定海報筒。Bram 跪在布告欄旁，一膝壓在拋光瓷磚上，正把一疊介紹香料品嚐計畫的講義排好。學校常出沒的姜色貓咪在他們上方的窗台打盹，尾巴不時擺動。鐘聲早已在樓梯間迴盪，此刻走廊幾乎空無一人，只剩影印機凹間傳來的低低嗡鳴。兩名學生同時盯著布告欄架上的紅色釘書機；Stella 要用它固定美術海報，Bram 則想裝訂夾著祖母餅乾食譜的手冊。

Stella 先伸手，但釘書機卡住，動作嘎然停住。她轉動手腕，鉸鏈卻合不起來。Bram 靠得更近，肩膀碰到她，翻轉工具檢查。一枚彎掉的釘腳卡在夾口，尖端劃過他的拇指。窗台上的貓抬頭，綠眼反射走廊對面儲藏室燈管的微光。一股淡淡的肉荳蔻香從 Bram 的紙堆飄出——試作餅乾的碎屑在他的塑膠袋裡輕響。若釘書機再度卡住，他們的作品可能趕不上下一聲鐘。Stella 把釘書機抵在大腿上固定，Bram 捏出那截金屬；鉸鏈終於放鬆，但兩人小腿因長時間半蹲而開始緊繃。

正當 Stella 抬起海報，那隻貓縱身躍下，精準落在 Bram 排好的講義上。紙張像撲克牌般滑開，在打蠟地面上飄移。兩人同時撲向地面，膝蓋摩擦瓷磚，手指張開以維持平衡。釘書機砰然落地卻沒有散開。Stella 用前臂將幾張海報壓向牆面，Bram 則大步分腿，撿起四散的頁面，避免它們再滑走。他正伸手到暖氣片下，指尖已觸到那張逃跑的紙。