The Foam Inside the Paper Tray- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The paper tray sat half-open, but the green start light kept pulsing beside it. A sheet of glossy stock peeked from the gap, its edge slightly crimped like a bent coin rim.

Maeve pinched the cool plastic cover and tried to slide it forward. The mechanism refused, so she curled her fingers deeper, feeling the tray’s uneven mould lines bite against her knuckles. A tabby cat from reception padded across the corridor carpet and paused, tail flicking against the meeting-room doorframe. Behind the cat, a slow pilgrimage of colleagues formed, each holding folders that brushed against sleeves with a dry hiss. Without a word, Maeve crouched lower, letting her palm plunge into the cramped slot. Paper powder coated her skin, and a hidden spring scraped her wrist. She withdrew, shook off the chalky dust, and took a longer grasp at the jammed stack, this time tilting the bundle toward the ceiling panels. The bundle shifted yet stayed locked, so she slung her messenger bag onto a chair for extra space and knelt again.

A tiny round shape rolled forward, bumping her thumb. Maeve’s earlier suspicion—that a stapled corner caused the jam—crumbled at once. She lifted the object: a foam ball striped in orange yarn, slightly damp from toner mist. The tray walls, now freed, slid with a soft glide. The tabby stretched, nose brushing Maeve’s elbow, then nipped the toy from her palm and trotted toward the break room. Sheets finally fed through the rollers; warm pages spilled onto the output shelf, edges curling as they cooled. Maeve stacked the prints, noticed a faint paw print smudged across the top copy, and placed the marked page on the corner table.

紙匣半開著，然而旁邊的綠色啟動燈依舊一閃一閃。從縫隙探出的亮面紙像被折過的硬幣邊緣一樣微微皺起。

梅芙捏住冰涼的塑膠蓋，想把它往外抽。機構並不理會，她只好把手指伸得更深，感覺托盤粗糙的模線壓住指節。接待區的虎斑貓踩過走廊地毯，在會議室門框旁停下，尾巴拍了拍木邊。貓後面，拿著資料夾的同事們排成一條緩慢的朝聖隊伍，紙角劃過衣袖發出乾燥的沙沙聲。梅芙不說一句話，再次蹲低，讓手掌沉進狹窄的槽裡。紙粉覆上皮膚，隱藏的彈簧刮過手腕。她縮手，抖落白粉，重新抓住卡紙，這次把整疊向天花板方向傾起。紙疊動了一下卻仍卡住，她把肩背包甩到椅子上騰出空間，再次跪下。

一顆小球滾了出來，碰到她的大拇指。她原先懷疑是訂書針造成卡紙，這下全然推翻。她拾起那物：一顆用橘色紗線纏成的泡棉球，還帶點碳粉的微濕。托盤隨即順滑滑回定位。虎斑貓伸展身子，鼻尖碰到梅芙的手肘，接著叼起玩具朝茶水間走去。列印機終於送紙出去；溫熱的頁面落在出紙架上，邊角在冷卻中微翹。梅芙把打印件整齊堆好，看見最上面那張有淡淡的貓掌印，便將那頁放到角落桌面上。