Quartz 4

Flipped

9 min read

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1QX4y1N7Qn

Some of us get dipped in flat1, some in satin, some in gloss2. “But every once in a while you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.” figurative
有人住高楼，有人在深沟，有人光万丈，有人一身锈，世人万千种，浮云莫去求，斯人若彩虹，遇上方知有。The phrase means that a person is like a rainbow, only when you encounter them can you appreciate their beauty and presence.

All I’ve ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to back off3 – you know, just give me some space.

It all started the summer before second grade when our moving van pulled into her neighborhood. And since we’re now about done with the eighth grade, that4, my friend5, makes6 more than half a decade of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.

She didn’t just barge into my life. She barged and shoved and wedged her way into my life. Did we invite her to get into our moving van and start climbing all over boxes? No! But that’s exactly what she did, taking over and showing off like only Juli Baker can.
My dad tried to stop her. “Hey!” he says as she’s catapulting herself on board7. “What are you doing? You’re getting mud everywhere!” So true, too. Her shoes were, like, caked with the stuff.
She didn’t hop out, though. Instead, she planted her rear end on the floor and started pushing a big box with her feet. “Don’t you want some help?” She glanced8 my way. “It sure looks like you need it.”
I didn’t like the implication. And even though my dad had been tossing9 me the same sort of look all week, I could tell – he didn’t like this girl either. “Hey! Don’t do that,” he warned her. “There are some really valuable things in that box.” “Oh. Well, how about this one?” She scoots over to a box labeled LENOX and looks my way again. “We should push it together!”
“No, no, no!” my dad says, then pulls her up by the arm. “Why don’t you run along home? Your mother’s probably wondering where you are.”

This was the beginning of my soon-to-become-Acute10 awareness that the girl cannot take a hint. Of any kind. Does she zip11 on home like a kid should when they’ve been invited to leave? No. She says, “Oh, my mom knows where I am. She said it was fine.” Then she points across the street and says, “We just live right over there.”

My father looks to where she’s pointing and mutters, “Oh boy.” Then he looks at me and winks as he says, “Bryce, isn’t it time for you to go inside and help your mother?”
I knew right off that this was a ditch play. And I didn’t think about it until later, but ditch wasn’t a play I’d run with my dad before.

Face it, pulling12 a ditch is not something discussed with dads. It’s like, against parental law to tell your kid it’s okay to ditch someone, no matter how annoying or muddy they might be.

But there he was, putting the play in motion13, and man, he didn’t have to wink twice. I smiled and said, “Sure thing!” then jumped off the liftgate and headed for my new front door.

I heard her coming after me but I couldn’t believe it. Maybe it just sounded like she was chasing me; maybe she was really going the other way. But before I got up the nerve14 to look, she blasted right past me, grabbing my arm and yanking me along.

figurative
This was too much. I planted15 myself and was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. I was making this big windmill motion16 to break away from her, but somehow on the downswing my hand wound up tangling into hers. I couldn’t believe it. There I was, holding the mud monkey’s hand!

I tried to shake her off17, but she just clamped on tight and yanked me along, saying, “C’mon!”18

My mom came out of the house and immediately got the world’s sappiest look on her face. “Well, hello,” she says to Juli.

“Hi!”

I’m still trying to pull free, but the girl’s got me in a death grip. My mom’s grinning, looking at our hands and my fiery red face. “And what’s your name, honey?”

“Julianna Baker. I live right over there,” she says, pointing with her unoccupied hand.

“Well, I see you’ve met my son,” she says, still grinning away.
“Uh-huh!”
Finally I break free and do the only manly thing available when you’re seven years old – I dive behind my mother.

dive
to move or jump quickly in a particular direction, especially to avoid sth, to try to catch a ball, etc.

Mom puts her arm around me and says, “Bryce, honey, why don’t you show Julianna around the house?”

I flash her help and warning signals with every part of my body, but she’s not receiving. Then she shakes me off and says, “Go on.”

to use a light to give sb a signal （向…）用光发出（信号）
~ sth (at sb)
Red lights flashed a warning at them.
红灯闪亮向他们发出警告。
~ sb (sth)
Red lights flashed them a warning.
红灯闪亮向他们发出警告。

Juli would’ve tramped right in if my mother hadn’t noticed her shoes and told her to take them off. And after those were off, my mom told her that her dirty socks had to go, too. Juli wasn’t embarrassed. Not a bit. She just peeled them off and left them in a crusty heap on our porch.

to remove a layer, covering, etc. from the surface of sth; to come off the surface of sth 剥掉；揭掉；剥落
Carefully peel away the lining paper.
小心剥掉衬着的那层纸。
The label will peel off if you soak it in water.
标签浸到水中就会脱落。

Quotes from movie

A painting is more than the sum of its parts.
I tried to be casual about it, but it didn’t take19.
It was actually worse having her mad at me than having her annoy me.
And standing right next to him across the line20 was my father.
Somehow the silence seemed to connect us in a way that words never could.
It takes some getting used to. They’re good people, though.
Is that the lamest cover-up or what?
Better late than never.

Footnotes

  1. very smooth, with no contrast between light and dark, and giving no impression of depth Acrylic paints can be used to create large, flat blocks of colour. ↩

  2. paint which, when dry, has a hard shiny surface ↩

  3. to move backwards away from someone, usually because you are frightened: ↩

  4. 主句的主语是that，指代整个since从句。that指代前文的句子，这在英语中很常见。If the man is only interested in your looks, that just shows how shallow he is. 如果男人只对你的外表感兴趣，那就说明他是多么肤浅。Kevin broke the glass, but he didn’t admit it and that was very annoying. 。I wish I could be there to celebrate your birthday with you, but that is impossible.  ↩

  5. 插入语 ↩

  6. to cause sth to exist, happen or be done ↩

  7. on a ship, aircraft or vehicle ↩

  8. If you glance at something or someone, you look at them very quickly and then look away again immediately. ↩

  9. throw ↩

  10. Planned or destined to have a specified position or quality in the near future. For example: her soon-to-be husband; a soon-to-be wealthy man ↩

  11. to move very quickly or to make sth move very quickly in the direction mentioned ↩

  12. = commit: to do sth wrong or illegal; He’s pulling some sort of trick on you. ↩

  13. When something, such as a plan or process, is in motion or has been set in motion or put in/into motion, it has begun and is proceeding.（使）开始，启动 They will be taking steps to set/put the divorce proceedings in motion. [=to begin the divorce proceedings] 他们将着手启动离婚诉讼程序。The plan has been put into motion. 这一计划已经启动。 ↩

  14. a way of behaving that other people think is rude or not appropriate; I don’t know how you have the nerve to show your face after what you said! 真不知道你说了那些话以后怎么还有脸露面！He’s got a nerve asking us for money! 他还觍着脸跟我们借钱！‘Then she demanded to see the manager!’ ’ What a nerve! ’ “她还要求见经理！” “真不要脸！” ↩

  15. to put something firmly and strongly in a particular place ↩

  16. a particular movement made usually with your hand or your head, especially to communicate something （为传递信息用手或头做的）动作 SYN gesture ↩

  17. to get away from sb who is chasing or following you ↩

  18. short form of come on ↩

  19. to have a particular feeling, opinion or attitude 产生（感觉）；持有（看法）；采取（态度）My parents always took an interest in my hobbies. 我父母总是关心重视我的爱好。 Don’t take offence (= be offended) at what I said. 我讲的话你别见怪。I took a dislike to him. 我对他产生了反感。He takes the view that children are responsible for their own actions. 他的观点是孩子应对自己的行为负责。 ↩

  20. 状语修饰 stand ↩

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