Gong ( 远去的友情)

 

           Sixth grade. Middle school. Be cool. Those were the only thoughts on my mind as I walked into class the first day of sixth grade. I looked around at the sea of unfamiliar faces and shivered. Everyone had a friend to sit next to, but I didn’t, so I found a random empty seat and crumpled into the chair. I had moved to Terman from Noble Elementary in San Jose, so I was utterly alone in this new environment. The kid sitting next to me was Mexican with short hair that stood straight out across his forehead. He had dark brown eyes and a rather round face. He wore one of those jackets a skater or jockey would wear, but he had an aura of friendliness. For the first few days, we didn’t talk much, only asking one another for help on the class work if we needed any. On the second or third week of school, the teacher had us play a math game with our table partner. It was then that I got to know this kid who, until then, had been nothing more than “the kid who sits next to me in math and science.” His name was Luis. Luis Galicia. We began to laugh as the game progressed, laughing and making jokes as if we’d been friends for ages. That day at lunch, he led me to the stage in the E wing so I could hang with him and his friends. His “homeboys” were not the best group to hang out with. They swore and picked on each other. But I was desperate for friends back then, so I stuck with the group. Hey, it was better than wandering around campus everyday with nothing to do. Even so, they sort of made fun of me. They called me a nerd because I had glasses and because I had good grades. They taught me about things I shouldn’t have learned until sex ed in seventh grade. Yeah, I made the wrong choice of friends, but they were friends all the same.

            After science camp, I befriended another boy by the name of Shazer. He was a much better guy then those other gangster wanna-be’s. I’ll admit; I sort of pushed him around at first, just because he was different. He was skinny and would sometimes fall on his back when somebody confronted him. But his kindness and innocence eventually influenced me, and I changed into a better person. He continues to have this influence on me, and I’m always in high spirits when I have my one-on-one chats with him.

           I tried to convince Luis that his group of “friends” was bad news, and that he should join me and Shazer. “No way, I don’t want to be a bunch of weirdoes like you guys,” was his response. I knew it was a joke, because that’s just how we teenagers joke around: we insult each other. He would stick up for his group, and I don’t know why. They were obviously not the best lot to hang out with at school. But no matter what, Luis was my friend, and I knew he was a good person, even if the rest of his friends weren’t. Because I decided to hang out with Shazer, Luis and I slowly drifted farther and farther apart. We never totally forgot each other though. We would say “hi” in the hallways and we would occasionally have a talk during brunch. We were complete opposites in terms of social standards, him with the popular guys, and I was with Shazer and the so-called “weirdoes.” Luis soon became nothing more than “the guy I used to hang with.” I almost forgot him. After seventh grade, he moved away. Where? I don’t know. I didn’t even notice he was gone until one of his former friends reminded me about a month into eighth grade. I became extremely depressed for a while, though I tried not to show it at school. I felt as if I should have gotten to know him better. I didn’t even get a chance to say a good-bye. He was the one who brought me out of the pit of loneliness when I was new to the school, and for that, I will always remember him. I hope he knows how thankful I am. 

 

海云的译文:                                 远去的友情 

 

六年级、中学、酷毙了,这些字眼在我第一天走进六年级教室时在我脑中闪耀。我环顾四周一片陌生面孔的海洋, 情不自禁心中抖颤。每个人都有朋友坐在一起,唯独我没有。我随便找了张空椅子把自己塞了进去。我从圣何西的努博小学转进特蒙中学,在这个新的环境里,我感到无比得孤独!坐在我旁边的小孩是个墨西哥人,短短的头发直直的竖立在他的前额之上,他的圆脸庞上有一对深褐色的眼睛。他穿着那种滑冰或是赛马的人才会穿的夹克衫,身上散发出一种亲切友好的光彩。 

开头的几天,我们没有交谈,仅仅是在课堂上需要时相互帮助。 开学后的第二和第三个星期,老师要求我们和邻座的同学玩一种数学游戏。 我直到那时才得以认识至此仍是“那个在数学课和科学课上坐在我旁边的小孩”。他的名字叫路易斯, 全名:路易斯.加里夏。随着游戏的进展,我们开始一起大笑,像认识多年的老友般地相互调侃。那天午饭的时候,他带着我到E楼边的舞台那里,把我介绍给了他的朋友们。他的“家乡男孩们”并不是最好的交友群体,他们相互咒骂,相互挑衅,但那会儿我太想交朋友了,所以我和他们粘在一起。嗨,那总比每天无所事事一个人到处在校园里游荡得好。即使这样,他们仍会取笑我。他们叫我“书呆子”(或讨厌虫)因为我带着眼镜,因为我的功课比他们好。他们教我一些我当时不应该学直到七年级性知识课里才学的东西。没错,我选择了不好的朋友,但是,他们那时就是我的朋友。 

参加了科学营之后,我交了个新朋友“杉泽”,他比那些个黑帮预备队员们好多了。我必须承认,开始的时候我有点欺负他,主要是因为他与众不同。他很瘦,有的时候当有人侵犯他时, 他常常退缩。但是他的善良和纯真最终影响了我也改变了我。至今他仍影响着我,每次当只有他和我聊天的时候,我总是觉得精神振奋!  

我试过劝说路易斯他的那些朋友们没有太好的“名声”,他应该加入我和杉泽。“没门儿!我才不要成为像你们那样的怪胎呢。”他这样回应我。 我知道他开玩笑,就像很多青少年相互之间调侃一样, 就像他们常互相用言语侮辱对方一样。他仍然和那个小团体混在一起,我不懂为什么。他们很显然在学校里不是受欢迎的一群。 但无论如何,路易斯是我的朋友, 即使他那些狐朋狗友都不好,我仍相信他是个好人。 

因为我决定常和杉泽一起玩,路易斯和我渐行渐远。但我们从没有彻底忘了对方,在学校午餐时,我们有时会在长长的走道上迎面相撞,我们会相互打招呼,偶尔也会站住聊上两句。用这个社会的标准来看,我们是两个完全不同的人。他和一群所谓的“合潮流”的人在一起,我和杉泽则是被他们称作“怪胎”的人。路易斯很快对我就成了“我曾经一起玩”的人,我几乎忘了他。七年级时,他搬走了。搬去了哪里?我不知道。我甚至没有注意到他的离去这件事,直到他以前的一个朋友在我上了八年级一个多月以后告诉我这件事。我非常沮丧!虽然在学校我不想别人看出我的不开心而掩饰得很好。我觉得如果我能多了解他一些就好了, 我甚至没有机会和他说再见。他是那个把刚到这所学校的我从孤独的黑洞里拉出来的人. 就是仅仅为这个因素,我也会永远记着他。我真希望他能知道我心里是多么地感激他!

 

(海云:      儿子的一篇作文, 让我湿了眼眶。

他的文章题目是《Gone》,有点《Gone with Wind(飘)》的味道,更让我想起鲁迅的一篇文章《伤逝》,虽然内容与这两篇名著毫无关联,他写的是一个十三岁的少年对一份渐行渐远的友情的追念,也是一个正在成长中的孩子对人生中情感的错从复杂最初的感悟。 我很高兴得看到他小小年纪已经知道辨别是非,并且能舍取自如,对他最后发出的感叹,我心有震颤,感觉他心智的成熟度在我想象之上。

 

三年前,儿子十岁,小学毕业。我们把他从圣何西的一个普通学区转到现在居住的全美前一百名好学校的初中部。那时,儿子知道进的是顶尖学校,又兴奋又担心,担心自己的优势不在,更担心他这边没有朋友。进学校的第一个星期,他每天回到家,吃完晚饭,就说困了上床睡觉了。我着实为他担心了一阵!幸好第二个星期他就恢复常态,慢慢地,他告诉我有了一个新朋友,是个西班牙裔的同学。不久在学校的课后作业俱乐部,又结识了另一个朋友。这两个新朋友,使得儿子不再觉得孤独。再后来,儿子提到这两个新朋友功课不太好,慢慢地,儿子有了其他新的朋友。儿子那会儿刚刚配了一副眼镜,开始带着还挺好的,后来说有人因为他功课好又带着眼睛,叫他“Nerd”(书呆子),正好有朋友提起现在有种隐形校正眼睛, 晚上睡觉时带上,白天取下,视力可达正常,儿子于是要求配这种校正眼镜, 从那以后,他再没有带过近视玻璃眼镜上学。

 

三年了,儿子的变化有目共睹,正在发育的他长得高高大大的,他不仅是学校铜管乐队里的担当第一萨克斯风手,更可以在网球场上与朋友“厮杀”成一片,自信心的建立花了他整个初中的年月,以至于今天有点过了,弄得前一阶段我们担心他早恋,担心过早的分散精力影响他的学业。几次谈话下来,儿子能认真倾听我们的意见,当然他也有他自己的看法。三年初中即将在这个夏天结束,至今,他的成绩单全部都是令人欣慰的A. 再读到他近阶段写得几篇作文,我意识到他的成熟度比我们想象得高得多。也许,做父母的,总有点杞人忧天,自己的孩子,虽说我们总是自认为很了解,其实,他们这一代人与我们这代人从小生活环境的差别,或多或少都会造成两代人之间的意识鸿沟。生长发育中的孩子,除了需要父母的照顾和引导,更需要父母的理解、关心和爱!也许,很多时候,我们可以退一步,安静地站在一边,给孩子一定的空间和信任,我们便可以发现那成长中的惊喜!)






一休 (2012-01-14 01:08:25)

一定要给孩子留空间。。。时不常偷窥是必要的。 小帅哥感情细腻,这点随他妈。中英文都好看,感动!  

仲夏百合 (2012-01-14 05:10:51)

海云, 你儿子的文笔了得! 受你的影响很大吧。谢谢分享。

老随 (2012-01-14 08:21:51)

文轩的二代都很棒啊!为海云开心!

俞静 (2012-04-10 16:46:43)

祝福。