After the Band Rebounded- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Kira jerked a thin rubber strip across the pegboard, then let it snap against a wooden dowel. A grey cat crouched on a low stool, tail twitching at the sudden twang. Pine scent mixed with the faint ring of metal shavings as sunlight slanted through the high window. The stretched band flung a small marble down a narrow track; the marble rebounded, struck a carved monkey toy, and the toy flipped forward on its elastic hinge. Its curved arm bumped a stick that sagged on two soft springs, and the stick tipped a tin disk onto the floor with a dry clang.

Dust still drifted when Kira knotted a wider band, its surface glistening under the beam. She hooked one end to the leaning stick the first chain had left exposed. The band stretched farther, humming, and she released it. The sudden rebound pushed the stick back; the tin disk slid across the plank and nudged a box of tiny playground models. A miniature slide toppled, revealing a breathtaking swirl of colored beads inside. One bright bead rolled out, bounced once, and stopped beside the cat’s paw; the cat tapped it, sending it under the worktable. The commotion shook a loose connection between two thin dowels in the unfinished frame, and the top rail now flexed whenever the table vibrated. Kira tried sliding a wedge into the joint, but the springs below kept vibrating, and the dowels refused to align. She pressed the joint once more, thumbs whitening. The loose beam quivered in its slot and stayed crooked.

琪拉把一條細橡皮帶猛地拉過釘板，然後讓它彈回木栓。灰色貓咪蹲在矮凳上，尾巴因突如其來的嗡響不停抽動。松木的氣味與金屬屑的微弱叮聲交織，斜射的陽光穿過高窗。被拉緊的皮帶將一顆小彈珠拋向狹窄軌道；彈珠反彈後擊中一隻木雕小猴，玩具在彈性鉸鏈上前翻。彎曲的小臂撞到兩條軟彈簧承托的木棒，木棒傾斜，把一片錫片叮一聲送到地板。

塵埃仍在飄散時，琪拉又打結一條較寬的皮帶，陽光下表面閃閃發亮。她把一端掛到先前被撞鬆的木棒上。皮帶拉得更長，發出嗡響，她隨即放手。突如其來的回彈把木棒推回；錫片滑過木板，撞到一盒迷你遊樂場模型。一座袖珍溜滑梯倒下，露出裡面令人屏息的彩珠旋渦。一顆亮珠滾出，彈一下，停在貓爪旁；貓輕拍，珠子又鑽入工作桌下。吵鬧晃動了未完成框架裡兩根細木栓的鬆脫接點，桌子每震動，頂橫桿便跟著彎曲。琪拉想把楔子塞進接縫，然而下方彈簧不斷顫動，木栓始終對不上。她再次用拇指壓緊接縫，指節發白。鬆動的橫桿在槽內顫抖，依舊歪斜。