Chapter 23

Dameon had hazel eyes with a little black dot in the middle of each of them. The dots were called pupils. So was Dameon. He was a pupil in Mrs. Jewls's class.

Mrs. Jewls was about to show the class a movie. She turned out the lights. When it was dark, Dameon's pupils got bigger.

"Dameon," said Mrs. Jewls, "run downstairs and ask Louis if he'd like to see the movie with us."

Dameon ran down the thirty flights of stairs to the playground. He stepped outside as Louis was hooking¹ up a tetherball.
90"Hey, Louis," Dameon called. "Do you want to see a movie in Mrs. Jewls's class?"
Louis rubbed his chin². "What movie?" he asked.

Dameon shrugged³ his shoulders. "I don't know," he said. "I'll be right back."

Dameon ran all the way back up the stairs to the thirtieth story.

"Louis wants to know, what movie?" said Dameon.

"Does he want to know the name of the movie or what the movie is about?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"I don't know," said Dameon. "I'll ask him."

Dameon raced back down the stairs and out to the playground.

"Louis, do you want to know the name of the movie or what the movie is about?" he asked.

"The name," said Louis.

"Okay," said Dameon.

Dameon hurried back up the thirty flights of stairs. He took the steps two at a time.

"He wants to know the name," said Dameon.

"Turtles,"said Mrs. Jewls.

Dameon turned around, took a deep breath⁴, then ran back down the stairs.

"Turtles,''Dameon told Louis.

"Hey, that might be good," said Louis. "What's it about?"

"I'm not sure," said Dameon. "I'll find out."

Dameon raced back up the stairs. But first he stopped to take a drink of water.

"What's it about, Mrs. Jewls?" asked Dameon.

"Turtles," said Mrs. Jewls.

Dameon rushed back down the stairs to tell Louis.
91"Turtles," said Dameon.
"No, thanks," said Louis. "I don't like turtles. They are too slow."

Dameon lowered⁵ his head and slowly walked up the thirty flights of stairs. His legs were sore, he could hardly breathe, and his side ached⁶.

By the time he got to Mrs. Jewls's class, the movie was over.

"All right, class," said Mrs. Jewls. "I want everybody to take out a piece of paper and a pencil and write something about turtles."

Dameon had missed the movie, but he still could have written something about turtles: "Turtles are too slow." But now he couldn't find his pencil. It just wasn't his day.

"What's the matter, Dameon?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"I can't find my pencil," said Dameon.

"Class, Dameon's pencil is missing," Mrs. Jewls announced. "What did it look like, Dameon?" she asked.

"It was long and yellow," said Dameon. "It had a black point at one end and a red eraser at the other."

"I found it," said Todd, "here, by the blackboard."

"Yes, that's it," said Dameon.

"No, there it is, in the corner by the waste basket," said "Crabapple."

"Hmmm, maybe that's it," said Dameon.

"Here it is," said John. "It's been in my desk the whole time."

"No, here it is in my hand," said Joe.

"I found it," said Rondi.

"Here it is," said Allison.

"I have it," laughed D.J.
92"I found it," said Myron.
"Which one is yours, Dameon?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

Dameon studied each pencil. "They all look like mine," he said.

Fortunately, at that moment, Louis walked into the classroom. He handed Dameon a pencil.

"You dropped this when you were telling me about the movie," said Louis.

"Thanks," said Dameon.

"Okay, class," said Mrs. Jewls. "So that we have no more mix-ups, I want everybody to write his name on his pencil."

Dameon spent the rest of the day trying to write his name on his pencil.

Dameon's pencil couldn't write on itself. It was just like his beautiful hazel eyes with the black dots in the middle. They could see everything except themselves.

1 hooking   

钩住，吊住，挂住( hook的现在分词 )； 弯成钩形； 钓（鱼）； 打曲线球，踢弧线球

参考例句：

• Gel formation requires hooking various chains together. 凝胶的形成需要把不同的链钩链在一起。
• Companies send him all over the world hooking up these complex systems. 公司派他到世界各地去连接这些复杂的系统。

2 chin   

n.下巴，下颚，不气馁，不灰心

参考例句：

• You've got some egg on your chin.你的下巴上沾着一点鸡蛋。
• He hurried on with his shaving,cutting his chin twice.他急急忙忙地剃胡子，把下巴割破了两次。

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。

5 lowered   

v.（使）降低， （使）跌落( lower的过去式和过去分词 )；削弱；削减；减少

参考例句：

• Every evening at sunset the flag was lowered. 每天傍晚日落时都要降旗。
• She lowered her eyelids, then sprang them open. 她低垂着眼睑，然后突然睁开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ached   

v.渴望( ache的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I talked till my jaws ached, trying to bring him around. 我劝了他半天，嘴皮都快磨破了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His heart ached for her love. 他渴望得到她的爱。 来自《简明英汉词典》