芒果街上的小屋第一份工

第一份工

　　我才不是不想工作呢。我想的。甚至，我上个月已经去社会安全司拿了我的社会安全号。我需要钱。天主教会高中收费很高，爸爸说没人会去公立学校，除非你想变坏。

　　我想我会找到一个轻松的工作，那种和别的小孩干的一样的，在一个零售小店或者热狗摊上打工。虽然还没开始找，我想我下下个星期就会找到的。那天下午我回家时，全身都湿透了，因为提陀把我推进了敞口的消防水栓里——是我自己惹得他这么做的——还没来得及换衣服，妈妈就把我叫进了厨房，娜拉阿姨坐在那里用小勺喝咖啡。娜拉阿姨说，她在她工作的北百老汇大道上的彼得·潘照片冲印店里帮我找了份工。又问我多大，说明天去的时候要把自己说大一岁，如此这般。

　　于是第二天我穿上那件让我看上去显大的海军蓝的裙子，又借了午餐和公交车钱，因为娜拉阿姨说要到下个星期五我才能拿到钱。然后，我就进去了，见到了娜拉阿姨工作的北百老汇大道上的彼得·潘照片冲印店的老板，照她说的谎报了年龄，果然，我从那天就开始干了。

　　我做事时要戴上白手套。他们让我做的是把底片和相片配好，就是对着相片在底片条上找到那张的底片，把它放进信封里，然后再配下一张。就这些。我不知道那些信封从哪里来，要到哪里去。我只是按吩咐的去做。

　　真的好容易。我想我本来不会介意的，可干了一会我有点累，不知道是否可以坐，于是就看着旁边的两位女士，她们坐下来的时候我才坐。过了一会她们笑起来，走过来跟我说可以想坐就坐的，我说我知道。

　　午餐时间到了，我不敢一个人跑到有那么多先生和女士们看着你的公司餐厅里去吃，就站在一间盥洗室里很快地吃完了，结果剩下很多时间，就早早地回去干活了。然后又到了休息时间，不知道去哪里好，我就走进了衣帽间，因为那里有条长凳。

　　我想那时是上晚班或者中班的人来接班的时候，因为有几个人进来打卡。一个上了年纪的东方人跟我打招呼，我们聊了一会我刚开始上班的事情，他说我们会成为朋友，下次去餐厅可以和他坐一起。我感觉好点了。他的眼睛很和善，我没那么紧张了。接着他问我，知道今天是什么日子吗？我说我不知道。他就说是他的生日，问我愿不愿意给他一个生日吻。我想我愿意，因为他很老了，正在我想要把嘴唇贴到他脸颊上时，他双手捧过我的脸，重重地亲我的嘴，不放开。

　　It wasn't as if I didn't want to work. I did. I had even goo the social security office the month before to get my social security number. I needed mohe Catholic high school cost a lot, and Papa said nobody went to public school unless you wao turn out bad.

　　I thought I'd find an easy job, the kind other kids had, w in the dime store or maybe a hotdog stand. And though I hadn't started looki, I thought I might the week after . But when I came home that afternoon, all wet because Tito had pushed me into the open water hydrant——only I had sort of let him——Mama called me i before I could even go and ge, and Aunt Lala was sitting there drinking her coffee with a spoon. Aunt Lala said she had found a job for me at the Peter Pan Photo Finishers on North Broadway where she worked, and how old was I, and to show up tomorrow saying I was one year older, and that was that.

　　So the m I put on the navy blue dress that made me look older and borrowed money for lund bus fare because Aunt Lala said I wouldn't get paid till the Friday, and I went in and saw the boss of the Peter Pan Photo Finishers on North Broadway where Aunt Lala worked and lied about my age like she told me to and sure enough, I started that same day.

　　In my job I had to wear white gloves. I was supposed to mategatives with their prints, just look at the picture and look for the same one on the ive strip, put it in the envelope, and do the ohat's all. I didn't know where these envelopes were ing from or where they were going. I just did what I was told.

　　It was real easy, and I guess I wouldn't have mi except that you got tired after a while and I didn't know if I could sit down or not, and then I started sitting down only whewo ladies o me did. After a while they started to laugh and came up to me and said I could sit when I wao, and I said I knew.

　　When lunchtime came, I was scared to eat alone in the pany lun with all those men and ladies looking, so I ate real fast standing in one of the washroom stalls and had lots of time left over, so I went back to work early. But theime came, and not knowing where else to go, I went into the coatroom because there was a bench there.

　　I guess it was the time for the night shift or middle shift to arrive because a few people came in and puhe time clock, and an older Oriental man said hello aalked for a while about my just starting, and he said we could be friends aime to go in the lun and sit with him, and I felt better. He had nice eyes and I didn't feel so nervous anymore. Then he asked if I knew what day it was, and when I said I didn't, he said it was his birthday and would I please give him a birthday kiss. I thought I would because he was so old and just as I was about to put my lips on his cheek, he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard on the mouth and doesn't let go.

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