Mateo Before the Bell- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Mateo stepped into the old canteen that borders the town park. The wooden tables, once smooth, have been scratched by years of lunches. Ivy ropes hang like a quiet jungle from the ceiling beams. A faded buffalo fills one wall; sunlight has bleached most lines, yet the heavy outline still waits. Mateo has brought a small paint box, a sandwich that smells appetizing, and a folded napkin. He intends to capture the wall before the afternoon bell rings. He places the sandwich on a bench and offers a grateful nod toward the wide window. Wind slips through cracked glass and rattles loose pages that have already grown yellow at the corners.

A sharp gust steals the napkin and flips it toward the ceiling. At the same moment, a thick cloud slides over the sun and drains color from the wall. Flying fabric hides his view, and dim light blurs the buffalo’s outline. Mateo quickly alters his plan to keep working. He darts after the drifting napkin and traps it against a chair leg. Then he spreads it flat beneath the sandwich as an impromptu weight. Light still lags, so he drags a metal table that has rusted into the floor. Screeching legs scrape away dust, and a fresh stripe of red appears where grey paint had lingered. His brush traces the vivid path, line after line, until the cloud moves on. When the bell rings, pages close over the new sketch and sunlight rests on calm tables.

馬特奧走進位於鎮上公園邊的舊餐廳。木桌曾經光滑，如今因多年的用餐而佈滿刮痕。常春藤像寧靜的叢林般垂掛在橫梁上。牆上一頭褪色的水牛仍能看見，陽光雖沖淡了大部分線條，厚重的輪廓仍停在原處。馬特奧帶來一盒小顏料、一份散發誘人香氣的三明治，以及一張摺好的餐巾。他打算在下午鐘聲響起前把這面牆畫下。他把三明治放在長凳上，向寬大的窗戶點了點頭致意，然後打開畫冊。風穿過破裂的玻璃，吹動已泛黃的紙張。

突然一陣強風捲走餐巾，把它掀向天花板；同時厚雲遮住太陽，牆上的顏色瞬間變暗。飛舞的布料遮住視線，昏暗的光線讓水牛的輪廓模糊。馬特奧立刻改變計畫。他衝向飄動的餐巾，把它壓在椅腳下，然後攤平在三明治下當臨時重物。光線仍不足，他又拖動一張已生鏽的金屬桌。桌腳發出刺耳聲，塵土落下，原本灰暗的顏料下突然露出一抹鮮紅。他沿著那條鮮明色帶快速揮筆，直到雲層移開。鐘聲響起時，畫冊闔上，陽光再度靜靜落在桌面。