The Expectation 心潮澎湃
(Chet has had a fight with Mr. Loski about Juli's retarded uncle and said something that really upset Mrs. Loski.)
Chet: Sorry about that.
Bryce: Why is Mom so upset?
Chet: Because...but for the grace of God...your mother could be standing in Mr. Baker's shoes.
Bryce: Did her brother have the 8)cord wrapped around his neck too?
Chet: You did. Luckily, the doctor who delivered you was 9)on the ball and got it 10)untangled...but it easily could've gone the other way. Wanna go for a walk?
Bryce: Huh?
Chet: I find it helps clear the mind.
Bryce: What would they have done with me?
Chet: You can't 11)dwell on something that might've been, Bryce.
Bryce: Yeah, but the way my dad was talking, sounds like he would've thrown me in a 12)nuthouse or something.
Chet: No, no. Now, that's not fair. You can't 13)condemn him for something he hasn't done. This is where that tree was, wasn't it?
Bryce: Yeah.
Chet: Must've been a spectacular view. She's quite a girl. Some of us get dipped in flat...some in14)satin...some in gloss. But every once in a while...you find someone who's 15)iridescent. And when you do...nothing will ever compare.
[Bryce Narrating]
Flat, glossy, iridescent? What the hell did that mean? Juli Baker had always just seemed plain to me. Until now. (Reading The Mayfield Times) And the way she talked about what it felt like to be up in that tree...to be held above the earth, brushed by the wind. Who in junior high talks like that? This weird feeling started taking over in the pit of my stomach...and I didn't like it.
(Garrett chases Bryce out of the dining room.)
Garrett: What's the matter with you?
Bryce: Leave me alone, Garrett.
Garrett: You get a date with the finest girl on campus and you blow it for Juli.
Bryce: You wouldn't understand!
Garrett: I completely don't understand! We're talking about Juli Baker here. The nightmare neighbor, the know-it-all 16)nuisance. The coop-poop babe.
Bryce: Shut up!
Garrett: Hey, have you flipped? What's the matter with you? You know what, if you're gonna be like this, I don't need the association.
Bryce: Well, good, because neither do I.
Garrett: Yeah, neither do I!
[Bryce Narrating]
As I walked home with the dirty dishes clanking inside my picnic basket...all I could think of was Juli. And I realized Garrett was right about one thing: I had flipped. Completely.
（切特为了茱莉有智障的叔叔和洛斯奇先生吵了一架，并且说了一些让洛斯奇太太很难过的话。）
切特：抱歉我刚才说的。
布莱斯：为什么妈妈那么难过？
切特：因为……幸亏上天眷顾……你妈也差点像贝克先生一样。
布莱斯：我妈的弟弟出生时也被脐带缠住了脖子吗？
切特：是你。幸运的是给你接生的医生眼明手快及时解开了脐带……但是稍不留神就可能是别的样子了。要出去走走吗？
布莱斯：啊？
切特：出去走走，醒醒脑。
布莱斯：如果我真脑瘫了，他们会怎么对我？
切特：你不能总想着那些曾有可能的事情，布莱斯。
布莱斯：对，但听我爸刚才说话的语气，好像他会把我送去疯人院什么的。
切特：不，不会的。这不公平。你不能因为那些他并没做过的事情而指责你父亲。就是那棵梧桐树吧，对不？
布莱斯：对。
切特：上面的风景一定很壮丽！她是个不错的女孩。我们中有些人浅薄……有些人金玉其外，徒有虚表。不过总有时候，你会遇到一个彩虹般绚丽的人。当你遇到这个人后，就会觉得其他一切都无可比拟。
[布莱斯自述]
浅薄？虚表？绚丽？这究竟是什么意思啊？我一直觉得茱莉·贝克很平凡啊。直到这一刻。（读《梅菲尔德时报》）她谈到在树上的感觉……“问鼎世界，轻风拂脸”，哪个初中生会这么说啊？这奇怪的感觉开始充斥我的胃……我不喜欢这种感觉。
（加勒特追着布莱斯冲出学校食堂。）
加勒特：你有什么毛病啊？
布莱斯：别烦我，加勒特。
加勒特：你可以和全校最漂亮的女生约会，但你却为了茱莉把这个约会搞砸了。
布莱斯：你不会懂的！
加勒特：我完全搞不懂！我们说的可是茱莉·贝克啊！那个我们社区的噩梦！自以为无所不知的讨人嫌的家伙。鸡粪小姐。
布莱斯：闭嘴!
加勒特：嘿，你对她动心了？你怎么回事？你得明白，你要是这样，我可不要跟你做朋友！
布莱斯：嗯，好，因为我也不想跟你做朋友了！
加勒特：好啊，我也一样！
[布莱斯自述]
我提着野餐篮子回家，里面的脏碟子叮当作响，我脑子里想的全是茱莉。我明白到，加勒特总算说对了一件事：我对茱莉动心了，彻彻底底地动心了。