Bark Wedge Under the Screen- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Finn slid the meeting-room cart across the laminate floor, its rubber wheels humming under the load. The oval table felt cool against his forearms as he laid the projector on it and tugged the pull-down screen; the textured vinyl slithered, then stopped halfway. He knelt beside the supply drawer, digging past smooth remotes and a wooden yarnspinner that someone had forgotten after a lunch-hour craft session. He brushed aside loose notepads; the drawer’s interior held dry marker dust that clung to his knuckles. The adapter cable lay beneath, looped tight, and a faint rubber odor rose when he lifted it. His grasp tightened; the plastic sheath pressed his fingers while he tried to unwind each stubborn coil. Half a metre free at last, he heard the receptionist call his name over the ceiling speaker, followed by a sharp phone buzz. The courier could not wait. With the cable still snaking from the drawer, he straightened and strode toward reception.

Finn returned minutes later, signing slip in hand. The ceiling lights hummed, yet the scene had shifted. The screen had rolled itself upward; only the metal bar dangled, vibrating gently. Worse, the half-unwound cable had slipped from the drawer, rolled off the table, and now lay pinned beneath a swivelling chair wheel. Beside it, a cup of water sat overturned; cold droplets crawled across his printed slides, the wet edges lifting in tiny frolic under the air-conditioner draft. He slid the chair aside, lifted the damp pages, and fanned them. The screen refused to stay down, so he wedged a thin slice of bark — once a rustic coaster — into the housing slot. The vinyl held. Bending low, he coaxed the trapped cable free, then aligned the projector toward the now-steady screen. On the floor above, Pia tapped a jammed printer tray; as she waited, another ribbon of paper curled quietly onto the carpet.

芬恩推著會議室的小推車滑過層壓地板，橡膠輪在載重下發出低沉嗡聲。他把投影機放到橢圓桌面，前臂貼著冰涼的貼面，並拉下投影布；帶紋理的乙烯墜落一半便停住。他蹲在備品抽屜旁，撥開光滑遙控器與某人午休手作留下的木製織線器。筆記本散開，他的指節沾上乾燥墨粉。轉接線藏在下面，緊緊盤繞，他抬起時聞到微弱橡膠味。手指收緊，塑殼擠壓掌心，他努力將纏結一圈圈鬆開。終於放出半公尺時，天花板喇叭喊出他的名字，隨後一聲尖銳震動；快遞員等不了。線仍拖出抽屜，他站直身子，邁向接待處。

幾分鐘後，芬恩簽完單據回到房裡。天花燈持續低鳴，景象卻變了：投影布彈回上方，只剩金屬橫桿輕顫。更糟的是，半鬆的線滑落桌面，被旋轉椅輪壓住。旁邊的水杯傾覆，冰涼水珠爬過印刷講義，濕邊在空調氣流下微微翻舞。芬恩推開椅子，捧起濕紙，扇動晾乾。布簾屢次下滑，他取來原作杯墊用的薄木皮，塞進卡槽。乙烯終於服貼。他俯身輕拔卡住的線，再把投影機對準已穩的布面。樓上一層，琵雅拍著卡紙的印表機匣，等待間，另一條紙帶靜靜捲向地毯。