The Piece That Refused to Lie Flat- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The hallway clock ticked twice, then twice again, its dry rhythm folding into the hushed scrape of cardboard against the felt mat. Corbin’s palm pressed the cool, smooth back of a sky-blue piece, testing for dust, before he slid it toward the centre slope where his meadow corner was creeping toward Miles’s distant hill. Warm, almost stagnant air drifted from the window, and the colour of each fragment shifted as light changed; what looked pale green under the lamp blurred to grey at the edge. Hoping to prevent delay, Corbin trusted the warmer light, pushed the piece into position, and enjoyed the papery click that sounded like quick excitement. A fingertip check found nothing loose, so he turned to the sorting tray, unaware that the click had only sounded right.

A moment later, three neighbouring tabs sat slightly uneven, the new piece rocking under gentle pressure – thicker than its neighbours. Corbin lifted the cluster while Miles leaned back to stretch, choosing that brief pause as the safest timing so their elbows would not collide. He spread the remaining border pieces on the tray; its shallow plastic base slanted a few millimetres, and the lighter fragments slid to one side while the impostor, heavier with extra cardboard, stayed still. The fingertip test now proved invaluable: smooth top, tiny wobble, immediate rejection. Corbin waited again until Miles’s hands moved away, then pressed the thinner sky piece he had just uncovered into the gap; the surrounding edge lay flush at once. One loose fragment remained on the felt. He checked its thickness, counted its tabs, and, during the next quiet breath between clock ticks, guided it into the final opening where both corners met. The tray beside him showed bare plastic, its last scattering of pieces completely used.

走廊的時鐘連續兩下又兩下地滴答作響，乾澀的節奏與紙板在呢絨墊上輕輕摩擦的聲音融在一起。Corbin 的手掌貼在一塊冰涼光滑的天藍色拼圖背面，先擦去灰塵，再把它推向中央那個微微傾斜的區域；他的草地角落正慢慢靠近對面 Miles 的遠山。窗邊吹來幾乎不動的溫暖空氣，光線不斷變化，讓每塊碎片的顏色都有差異；在吊燈下看似淡綠的片段，在桌邊又變成灰綠。為了避免耽擱，Corbin 相信較暖的光，把碎片按進位置裡，聽見像短促興奮般的紙聲「喀噠」。指尖檢查沒有發現鬆動，他便轉身去取分色盤，並不知道那聲「喀噠」只是聽起來正確。

片刻後，三塊鄰接的卡榫微微不平，新放的那片在輕壓下晃動——比其他片厚。趁 Miles 向後伸懶腰的空檔，Corbin 抬起那串拼好的小區塊，避開兩人手肘碰撞。他把剩下的邊框碎片撒在盤上；盤底微微傾斜，較輕的碎片滑到一邊，而那塊較厚的異物卻留在原處。這時指尖測試變得極為珍貴：表面平滑、輕微晃動、立即淘汰。Corbin 再次等到 Miles 把手移開，才把剛找出的較薄天空片壓入空隙；周圍邊緣立刻齊平。呢絨上只剩最後一片，他檢查厚度、數好卡榫，在下一次時鐘滴答間，把它送進兩個角落相接的最後缺口。靠在他手肘旁的托盤露出光滑的塑膠底，最後的碎片已被全部用完。