Ella Before the Upload- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Ella set her laptop on a narrow study table. Late afternoon light slid across the wooden floor. A striped cat settled beside the touchpad, whiskers twitching at the moving cursor. She has promised to share her science sketches with the class network before dinner. Her notebook lay open, filled with drawings of beetles she had collected during recess. A thin green folder guarded the photos that matched each sketch. The smell of pencil shavings mingled with faint ripe-apple aroma from a nearby bowl. Chalk dust floated in still air, while distant traffic hummed beyond the window.

Ella clicked the upload button, yet the network froze after two spinning circles. At that moment the cat marched over the keys and closed the window. A blank screen surprised her, then a new folder popped up with random marks. The photos had been saved automatically during the crash, which puzzled her. She began to collect the files, dragging each one into proper order. A thick field guide slid under the laptop, blocking the cat’s next advance. Another wireless signal from upstairs has appeared and the transfer crawled forward. The bar reached its end; her shoulders dropped, and the cat dozed beside warm plastic.

艾拉把筆電放在狹窄的書桌上。午後的陽光滑過木地板。條紋貓趴在觸控板旁，看到移動的游標便抖動鬍鬚。她曾答應在晚餐前把自然課的素描傳到班級網路，所以時間逼得她不得不加快。她的筆記本攤開，上面滿是課間收集到的甲蟲畫稿。一本薄薄的綠色資料夾守著與每張畫對應的照片。鉛筆屑的氣味與熟蘋果的淡甜香交織在靜止的空氣裡。粉筆灰懸在半空，遠處車流在窗外發出低鳴。

艾拉按下上傳鍵，然而網路在兩圈旋轉後停住。就在此刻，貓踩過鍵盤，把視窗關掉。空白畫面閃了一下，接著一個亂碼的新資料夾跳了出來。照片竟在當機時被自動保存，只是順序被打亂。她開始重新整理檔案，將每一張拖回正確位置。一本厚重的野外手冊被她塞到筆電底下，擋住貓的下一步。樓上的無線訊號出現，上傳進度條慢慢向前。進度條終於跑完，她的肩膀微微放鬆，貓蜷在溫熱的機殼旁睡著。