2018-08-04 【Aiden in English】 I still remember walking into that summer camp without any hopes of having fun. A dreary, rainy day, with not an inkling of sunlight to be seen. Then, I picked up a yo-yo. I can’t say I was impressed or interested in having a long-term contract with the yo-yo culture, but what totally convinced me to join the yet-to-be-formed club was the people. It’s a sad day for all, although I can’t say it wasn’t fun. A master of his craft (if spinning Yo-Yo’s was a craft), an intriguing teacher (with too many ideas), and a good friend was leaving… for college. Not that bad, I know. But in the small world of high school, college really does seem like an entirely different universe. One with terrible ideals like jobs and chores and whatnot. However, with all seriousness, Eric Lang, for as “long” (“Lang” and “long” sound similar in English) as I could remember, was always a nice person to converse with, usually tossing your brain around with philosophy or different ways to spin a yo-yo. He’s patient enough to bear ten little kids nagging him at once, so I can confidently say he’s one of my more patient friends.
Today was a dedicated day for goodbyes, but we ended up on the Xbox all day. I mean, it was bound to happen. While the plan was to leave before dinner, I’m not the type to go on schedule, so the meet-up lasted far into the night. Really, no one really talked about the club. I just feel like there were too many bad memories. From embarrassing mistakes on stage to deadly four-foot midgets wielding yo-yos like maces, there is so much to forget. And perhaps that’s what bonded the club’s older members together. Experiences like that remind us all that Eric wasn’t as much a teacher, but more of just a guy putting an exotic talent to use. And that he was taking in a whole lot of pain while exercising this talent. He shared his ability with us, and now his time to share has come to a close. Regardless, I do think some of us didn’t really care as much about learning new tricks near the end of the last school year. Besides, everyone knew that this club wasn’t going to be the same without Eric at the core, so I think we tried to preserve what little time we had left. That essentially meant chatting while letting the students torment anyone sitting in the first-floor lobby. And we weren’t going to care, considering we had to deal with them for three years.
The current events were just to put aside our normal pains, and enjoy each other’s company for once in a while. That meant Monopoly, which we invested quite a bit of time into.
Now I can’t really imagine what next year’s club is going to be like, considering the skill gap between all possible teachers and students might have dwindled down to a sliver. It was only a week ago that I learned one of the other elder students decided to receive the mantle of responsibility from Eric, a mantle that also carried much pain and suffering, and embarrassment. While I may not be in the club anymore (thank goodness), there still are some things that I’ll miss, like Eric chasing down a bunch of the third graders. Will it outweigh the pain of practicing with the little kids? It’s pretty close.
【红霞译文】
我还记得当年走进那个夏令营时压根就没指望有什么好玩的，如同阴雨连绵的天气难得看到阳光一样。之后，我抖起空竹，谈不上对它有多感冒，甚至未对空竹文化日久生情抱过希望，但最终促使我加入刚刚成立的空竹俱乐部的理由是人为因素。
对所有人来说，这是一个悲伤的日子，尽管不等于说无聊。手技大师（假设抖空竹算作一种手技）是位有趣的老师（点子很多），这位好友马上要离开……上大学去了，我心里清楚没啥大不了的，但在高中的小世界里，大学看起来确实是一个完全不同的天地，人人得面对诸如职业、合作、规矩等可怕的现实，然而即便情势严峻，在我的记忆“长”河里，郎耶桁总是侃侃而谈（“郎”与“长”英文谐音），并且不是让你绞尽脑汁考虑哲学理念就是琢磨空竹不同套路；他脾气特好，竟然能容忍十个小不点同时大吵大嚷，我敢肯定他是本人比较有耐性的朋友之一。
今天特意为耶桁举办惜别会，结果大伙一整天都在玩Xbox游戏，说来情有可原。起先计划晚餐之前离开，可我本来就不是守时的人，一晃就耗到夜幕低垂。真的，根本没人提及俱乐部，我觉得里面牵扯太多伤筋动骨的回忆，从令人尴尬的舞台失误到四尺高侏儒手握狼牙棒玩命地挥舞空竹，还有不少情愿忘却的事情，也许这正是俱乐部老将们感同身受的东西，上述种种经历显示耶桁不只是传授知识的老师，更是身怀绝技的秀才，他跟我们切磋经验，如今这种交流渐近尾声，不管效果如何，我确实认为上学年结束之前有些哥们已无心学习新技巧。除此而外，谁都明白少了耶桁这根顶梁柱，空竹俱乐部不再像从前那样，所以大伙竭力珍惜剩下的时光，兑现的方式无外乎促膝交谈，让上课时坐在学校一楼大厅开小差的顽童好自为之，毕竟彼此摸打滚爬已有三年光景，我们不想跟学生们较劲。
今天的惜别会就是要避免触及我们的软肋，尽情享受相互陪伴的幸福瞬间，“大富翁”恰合时宜，我们当真花了不少工夫来玩这个地产游戏。 鉴于全体准师生技术水平可能相差无几，现在我无法想象来年（2018—2019）空竹俱乐部会成什么样子。一周前我才听说其中一位师兄决定接耶桁的班，执教少不了苦楚、磨难及困窘。本人可能不再留守俱乐部（谢天谢地），但仍有一些值得想念的事情，像耶桁追赶一帮三年级淘气包，究竟比与小不点一块练习痛苦多少？半斤八两吧。 Today in History(历史上的今天): 2017: Capitol Debate Camp Day-6(国会辩论夏令营第六天) 2014: Chankanaab NP in Cozumel, Mexico(墨西哥科苏梅尔岛昌卡纳国家公园) 2012: Tennis Camp(网球夏令营)
Crosslink(相关博文): 9th Grade(高中一年级) | 
