Plan for Love

Gemma was hungry. Time for lunch, she thought. She went down to the hospital canteen, got some sandwiches and a cup of coffee, and looked for a table. But it was one o'clock and the canteen was very busy. There were no free tables. Then, at the long table by the window, she saw a tall man with fair hair. It was her friend Luke, and there was a seat next to him. She walked across to him.

Hi Luke. Can I sit here?' said Gemma.

Luke did not look up, and did not speak. Perhaps he didn't hear her.

Gemma tried again. 'Luke? Er, can I sit here? Or are you waiting for someone?'

Oh, hi Gemma. No, no, I'm not waiting for anyone. Come and sit down.'

Gemma put her sandwiches and coffee on the table, and sat down. She and Luke worked in the physiotherapy clinic in a hospital in Bristol. Usually, Luke was friendly, but not today.

The canteen's very busy,' Gemma said. 'Where did all these people come from?'

Luke did not answer.

Luke? Are you OK? Is something wrong?'

I'm OK. I'm good,' said Luke. He moved his coffee cup around on the table, and did not look at Gemma. He drank some coffee. Gemma began to eat her sandwiches.

Then Luke put his cup down, and looked at Gemma. 'Gemma, we're good friends, aren't we? Can I talk to you?'

Gemma put her sandwich down. 'Yes, of course, Luke. What is it?'

Luke's face was red. 'It's stupid of me, I know that. But I... I mean... Look, do you see that girl over there? The girl with the long blonde hair?'

Do you see that girl over there?' said Luke.

Gemma looked across the canteen. There was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair at a table near the door. Gemma's hair was short and black, and she wore glasses.

You mean Charlotte? She works for Dr Howell, doesn't she?'

That's right. Well, I really like her. She's... well, look at her, she's beautiful! I want to talk to her, I really do!'

So talk to her!'

But I can never find the right words. What can I say? I open my mouth – and nothing comes out! And she goes away, and I feel stupid.'

Gemma smiled at him.

Poor Luke! But that's not like you. When you're with me, you talk about lots of things. Like this weekend – what did you do this weekend?'

I went swimming with Paul on Saturday,' Luke said. 'We went in the sea. It was so cold – but it was great!'

They talked for a few minutes. Then Gemma said:

Luke, you're on the social committee, aren't you?'

Yes, that's right,' said Luke. 'Why?'

Well, I've got a plan. We make you a list of questions – about music, and free time, nights out – things like that. Then you ask Charlotte these questions. You're asking them for the social committee, you see. And she answers – and you ask some more questions, and there you are... you're talking to Charlotte!'

Hmm,' said Luke. 'Yes, I see – I think!'

I know,' said Gemma, 'let's try the plan now. You're Charlotte, and I'm Luke. I do the questions, and you do the answers – OK?'

Er, yes,' said Luke. 'You mean, I must ask you all these questions now?'

Er, no,' said Gemma. 'It's like... well, we're playing... I'm playing Luke, and you're playing Charlotte. For now, you ARE Charlotte, OK?'

Right. Got it,' said Luke. 'So you're me. You're Luke.'

Gemma smiled again. 'Good. OK, let's go.' She spoke in a different voice. 'Hi Charlotte. My name's Luke, and I'm on the social committee. We want to plan some days and nights out for people from the hospital. What do you like doing? Is it OK to ask you some questions?'

Yes, of course,' said Luke.

OK – first, what kind of music do you like?'

That's easy. I like Black Phoenix, and the Tree Rats – do you know the Tree Rats? They're really good.'

No, I don't,' said Gemma, 'but I saw Black Phoenix last month. They're great! OK – what do you like doing at the weekend?'

I like running, and swimming,' said Luke. 'And I like going out on my bike...'

You see?' said Gemma. 'It's easy really. You just need the questions.'

You just need the questions,' said Gemma.

Later that afternoon, Luke stopped in the office. Gemma was at one of the computers.

Hi, Luke,' said Gemma. 'Have you got a few minutes? I've got some questions here. Come and see.'

Luke read the list of questions on her computer.

Oh, that's great, Gemma!' he said.

Do you want to put any more questions on the list?' she asked. Luke thought for a minute.

Do you like going to music festivals?' he said at last.

Yes, that's good,' said Gemma. She put it on the list.

Soon Luke had the list in his hands.

Wait for the right time,' said Gemma. 'And – good luck!'

Every day Luke looked for Charlotte in the canteen. On Tuesday she was with Molly, and on Wednesday he did not see her. But on Thursday...

Hi Charlotte,' said Luke. 'My name's Luke. I'm on the social committee. We want to plan some days and nights out for people from the hospital. Can I ask you some questions?'

OK,' said Charlotte, and she smiled at Luke.

They sat down near the window.

Right,' said Luke. 'First, what kind of music do you like?'

Well, I like the Good Girls, and Sadie Moonlight, and lots of girl singers, really. Oh, and Bobbie, of course.'

Bobbie?' said Luke. 'Really?'

He's wonderful. "Love me, love nobody but me,"' sang Charlotte happily.

Do you like Black Phoenix?'

Who?' said Charlotte.

Um – it doesn't matter,' said Luke quickly. 'Let's see-do you like swimming?'

Swimming?' laughed Charlotte. 'Just look at my hair. Me – swimming!'

Swimming?' laughed Charlotte. 'Just look at my hair.'

Have you got a bike?'

No – I rode a bike when I was little, but not now. Not in these shoes.' Luke looked at Charlotte's shoes. They had very high heels.

Do you go to festivals?'

Only in good weather, with no rain and no tents.'

So – you never go to festivals,' Luke said.

Never,' said Charlotte.

What do you like doing in your free time then?'

Facebook,' Charlotte said. 'I'm on Facebook every night. Are you on Facebook?'

Er, no,' said Luke. 'I, er, use computers at work, but away from work I like to do other things. I go—'

But Charlotte was not interested in listening to Luke. 'But why not?' she said. 'Facebook is soooo cool! Do you know, I've got 778 Facebook friends, lots of them are in America, and I've got some in Japan, Australia – oh, everywhere! And photos – I've got thousands of photos on Facebook now.'

You don't go out much, then?' Luke asked. 'You just go on Facebook?'

Of course not!' said Charlotte. 'Don't be stupid. I hang out with my friends – Monica, Jess, Ellie, Alice... We go to clubs, and we go shopping. I love shopping. We're going to Eastwater next weekend, me and Jess and Alice. Do you know, there are more than 250 shops there. We're going into every one of them! I can't wait!' She saw Luke's face, and laughed. 'Oh, men are sooo boring about shopping!'

‘I love shopping. We're going to Eastwater next weekend...’

Well, I, er...' Luke said. He began again, '250 shops – Wow! That's a lot of shopping. Well, have a great day with your friends, Charlotte. Thanks for your time. Nice talking to you.'

That's OK, Luke,' said Charlotte. 'Bye.'

Gemma looked up. Luke was at the door, and in his hand was the list of questions.

Hmm,' she said. 'That's not a happy face. Three out of ten? Two out of ten?'

Zero out of ten, I think,' said Luke unhappily. 'She doesn't like swimming, bikes, or festivals, and she doesn't like Black Phoenix – she likes Bobbie!'

Bobbie!' said Gemma. She laughed. 'Oh no!'

Yes. And she likes the Good Girls. And she loves shopping, and can't wait to go to Eastwater.'

Bad luck, Luke,' said Gemma. 'You got all the answers, but they're all the wrong answers. You and Charlotte are very different people.'

Very different,' said Luke unhappily. 'You're right.'

He walked away, and Gemma watched him. 'Oh, Luke!' she thought.

On Sunday morning Luke went out on his bike. He rode along the streets of the city and thought about his week.

I'm stupid,' he thought. 'Charlotte is the wrong girl for me. She's beautiful, but we like different things.'

Suddenly he saw a lot of people by the road. He stopped to look. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'Why are all those people clapping and shouting?' He began to cross the street, but a policeman came over to him.

You can't go along there,' he said. 'The race is finishing there.'

The race?' said Luke. 'What race is that?'

It's the City Road Race,' said the policeman. 'Look – here come the runners now.'

The first man finished the race, and Luke clapped. A few minutes later, the women runners arrived. Luke clapped them too. Then he looked again. Was that Gemma? Yes it was – and she was third!

Gemma,' Luke called. 'Well done, Gemma!' He put his bike against a tree and ran across to Gemma.

Hello, Luke,' said Gemma. She was in her running clothes, black and green, and she looked good.

Gemma was in her running clothes, and she looked good.

Wow,' Luke said. 'You look great in those colours. I only ever see you in hospital clothes usually. And you came third too. That's wonderful!'

Gemma was busy with her towel. 'Thanks, Luke,' she said.

Luke could not take his eyes away from Gemma. 'You're a runner,' he said. 'I never knew that.'

You never asked me,' said Gemma. She smiled at Luke, a long slow warm smile.

Luke looked down into her blue eyes. He looked for a long time. A new and wonderful idea came into his head. 'Wow,' he said again. 'I never saw your eyes before – they're... beautiful.'

Gemma laughed. 'I wear glasses at work,' she said. 'That's why.'

Luke Suddenly remembered. 'Hey, you're tired, you just ran a race. Let's sit down.'

They sat down on a low wall together. Around them, other people talked about the race, but Luke and Gemma did not hear them or see them. They sat quietly and Gemma drank some water. Luke wanted to say a lot of things, but he could not find the right words. Then he opened his mouth – and all the right words came out.

Gemma, have you got a bike?' he asked.

Yes,' she said. 'Last year I went to Utrecht for a week in the summer, and I went everywhere by bike.'

Do you like swimming?'

Yes, and I love swimming in the sea – it's the best.'

And you like Black Phoenix, and the Tree Rats.'

And Darkwater,' said Gemma. 'They're like the Tree Rats, but better.'

Darkwater?' said Luke. 'I like them, they're really great. Hey, they're at the Mountain Club tonight. Would you like to... I mean... Do you... You don't want to come with me, perhaps?'

Gemma laughed, a long happy laugh. 'Of course, I want to!' she said. 'What time shall we go?'

Two things, Luke thought. You only need two things. The right questions – and the right answers. Then it's easy.

plan n. a set of actions for achieving something in the future, especially a set of actions that has been considered carefully and in detail 计划

canteen n. a place at school or work where people can buy meals （工厂、学校等的）食堂

fair adj. someone who is fair, or who has fair hair or skin, has hair or skin that is very light in colour 浅色的；金发的

physiotherapy n. the use of exercises to help muscles and joints 物理疗法，理疗

clinic n. a place, often in a hospital, where medical treatment is given to people who do not need to stay in the hospital 诊室，诊所

stupid adj. showing a lack of good sense or good judgment 愚蠢的

blonde adj. a very light yellow colour 浅色的，金色的

social committee a group of people who plan fun things for other people to do together 社交委员会

list n. a set of things, names, numbers etc usually written one below the other, for example so that you can remember or check them 清单，一览表

festival n. an occasion when there are performances of many films, plays, pieces of music etc, usually happening in the same place every year （常指每年在同一地点举行的电影、音乐、戏剧等）活动，节庆

heel n. the raised part on the bottom of a shoe that makes the shoe higher at the back （鞋）后跟

tent n. a kind of small house made of cloth 帐篷

Facebook n. a social networking website where people can send messages, photos etc to their friends “脸谱”社交网站

Cool! very good, great, interesting, wonderful 太酷了！太棒了！

hang out with to spend time with 和（朋友等）在一起

club n. a place where people go to dance, listen to music, and meet socially 俱乐部

suddenly adv. quickly and unexpectedly 突然

clap v. to hit your hands together to show that you like something 鼓掌

shout v. to say something very loudly 呼喊，喊叫

race n. a competition to see who can run, drive etc the fastest 竞速比赛，赛跑

towel n. a piece of cloth that you use for drying your skin or for drying things such as dishes 毛巾

爱的计划

杰玛饿了。该吃午饭了，她想。她下楼来到医院的食堂，买了些三明治和一杯咖啡，想找个位子坐下。可现在是一点钟，食堂里人很多，没有空位子。这时候，在靠窗的长桌旁边，她看到一位金发的高个男子。那是她的朋友卢克，他旁边有个空位子。她向他走了过去。

“嗨，卢克。我能坐这儿吗？”杰玛问。

卢克没有抬头，也没有说话。也许他没有听见杰玛的话。

杰玛又说了一遍。“卢克？呃，我能坐在这儿吗？你又或是在等什么人？”

“啊，你好，杰玛。没，没有，我没在等什么人。来坐吧。”

杰玛把三明治和咖啡放在桌上，坐了下来。她和卢克都在布里斯托尔一家医院的理疗诊室工作。平日，卢克待人友好，但今天却是个例外。

“食堂里人真多。”杰玛说，“这些人都是从哪儿来的？”

卢克没有作答。

“卢克？你还好吧？是不是发生什么事了？”

“我没事，挺好的。”卢克说。他拿着咖啡杯在桌上打转，也不看杰玛一眼。他喝了些咖啡。杰玛开始吃她的三明治。

随后卢克把杯子放了下来，看着杰玛。“杰玛，我们是好朋友，对不对？我能和你说点儿事吗？”

杰玛把三明治放下。“对啊，当然可以了，卢克。什么事？”

卢克的脸红了。“我知道我很傻。不过我……我的意思是……看，你看到那边的那个女孩了吗？那个金色长发的女孩？”

杰玛往食堂的另一边望去。在门附近的桌子旁坐着一个金色长发的漂亮女孩。杰玛留着黑色的短发，还戴着眼镜。

“你是说夏洛特？她在豪厄尔医生手下工作，对吧？”

“没错。呃，我真的很喜欢她。她……呃，你看她，她真漂亮！我想和她说话，我真的想啊！”

“那就和她说啊！”

“可我从来没找到过合适的词。我能说什么呢？我张开嘴——什么也说不出来！然后她就走了。我觉得自己是个傻瓜。”

杰玛向他笑了笑。

“可怜的卢克！但那样可不像你啊。你和我在一起的时候，你总有很多话说。就说上个周末吧——你上个周末做什么了？”

“我上周六和保罗去游泳。”卢克说，“我们到海里游泳。水很冷——不过玩得很痛快！”

他们聊了几分钟，然后杰玛说：

“卢克，你是社交委员会的成员，对吧？”

“是啊，没错。”卢克说，“为什么要问这个？”

“嗯，我想到一个计划。我们一起列出一些问题——有关音乐啊，业余时间啊，夜生活啊，等等。然后你去问夏洛特这些问题。要知道，你是代表社交委员会去问的。她回答你——然后你再问更多的问题，然后你不就……你不就和夏洛特说上话了！”

“嗯。”卢克说，“是啊，我懂了——我觉得我懂了！”

“我有个主意。”杰玛说，“我们现在就来试试这个计划。你是夏洛特，我是卢克。我来问问题，你来回答——好吗？”

“呃，好啊。”卢克说，“你的意思是，我现在就要向你问所有的问题吗？”

“呃，不是的。”杰玛说，“这就好像……嗯，好像我们在扮演角色……我扮演卢克，你扮演夏洛特。从现在开始，你就是夏洛特，明白吗？”

“好的，我明白了。”卢克说，“也就是说你是我。你是卢克。”

杰玛又笑了。“很好。好啦，我们开始吧。”她换了个嗓音。“嗨，夏洛特。我叫卢克，我是社交委员会的委员。我们打算为医院里的人安排一些白天和晚上的社交活动。你喜欢做什么？我可以问你几个问题吗？”

“当然可以。”卢克说。

“好——首先，你喜欢什么音乐？”

“这简单。我喜欢黑凤凰乐队和棘鼠乐队——你知道棘鼠乐队吗？他们真的很棒。”

“不，我不知道。”杰玛说，“不过我上个月看了黑凤凰的演出。他们很棒！好——你周末喜欢做什么？”

“我喜欢跑步，还有游泳。”卢克说，“我还喜欢骑自行车出门……”

“明白了吗？”杰玛说，“真的很简单。你只要准备好问题就行了。”

那天下午晚些时候，卢克留在办公室里。杰玛坐在其中一台电脑前。

“嗨，卢克。”杰玛说，“你现在有空吗？我列出了一些问题。过来看看吧。”

卢克看了她在电脑上列出的问题。

“啊，真是太棒了，杰玛！”他说。

“你想在单子上再加些问题吗？”她问。卢克想了片刻。

“你喜欢去音乐节吗？”他最终说。

“对，这很好。”杰玛说。她把这个问题加上了。

没过多久，卢克就把单子拿到手了。

“等待合适的时机。”杰玛说，“还有——祝你好运！”

卢克每天都在食堂里寻找夏洛特。星期二，她和莫莉在一起；星期三，他没有看到她。但是，星期四……

“嗨，夏洛特。”卢克说，“我叫卢克。我是社交委员会的。我们打算为医院里的人安排一些白天和晚上的社交活动。我可以问你几个问题吗？”

“好啊。”夏洛特说，她朝卢克笑了笑。

他们在窗户边坐下。

“好。”卢克说，“首先，你喜欢什么音乐？”

“嗯，我喜欢好女孩乐队和萨迪月光乐队，还有很多女歌手，真的很喜欢。哦，当然还有鲍比。”

“鲍比？”卢克说，“真的吗？”

“他真是棒极了！‘爱我，只爱我。’”夏洛特开心地唱了起来。

“你喜欢黑凤凰乐队吗？”

“谁？”夏洛特问。

“呃——没关系。”卢克马上说。“看看下一个问题——你喜欢游泳吗？”

“游泳？”夏洛特笑了起来，“看我的头发就知道了。我——游泳！”

“你有自行车吗？”

“没有——我很小的时候骑过，不过现在不骑了。穿这鞋没法骑车。”卢克看了看夏洛特的鞋。这双鞋的鞋跟非常高。

“你去音乐节吗？”

“如果天气好，不下雨，又不支帐篷的话就去。”

“也就是说——你从来不去音乐节。”卢克说。

“从来不去。”夏洛特说。

“那你休息的时候，会喜欢做什么？”

“‘脸谱’。”夏洛特说，“我每天晚上都上‘脸谱’。你上‘脸谱’吗？”

“呃，没有。”卢克说，“我，呃，工作的时候用电脑，但是下班后我喜欢做点别的事情。我去——”

然而夏洛特对卢克的话不感兴趣。“但是为什么没有呢？”她说，“‘脸谱’简直太酷了！你知道吗，我有778个‘脸谱’好友，很多都在美国，还有的在日本、澳大利亚——啊，在世界各地！还有照片——现在我的‘脸谱’上有几千张照片了。”

“那就是说你不怎么出门了？”卢克问。“你只上‘脸谱’？”

“当然不是了！”夏洛特说，“别犯傻了。我经常和朋友们在一起——莫妮卡、杰丝、埃莉、艾丽斯……我们去俱乐部、逛商场。我爱购物。我们下周末要去东水购物中心，我、杰丝和艾丽斯。你知道吗，那里有二百五十多家店铺。我们每家都要进去逛！我都等不及了！”她看着卢克的脸，笑了。“啊，谈到购物时，男人真令人扫兴！”

“嗯，我，呃……”卢克说。他停顿了一下又说，“二百五十家店铺——哇！真有的可逛。好吧，祝你和朋友们玩得开心，夏洛特。谢谢你抽出时间回答问题。很高兴和你聊。”

“没什么，卢克。”夏洛特说，“再见。”

杰玛抬起头。卢克站在门口，手里拿着那份问题列表。

“。”她说，“你看上去不太高兴啊。十中三？十中二？”

“我想是十中零。”卢克说，声音闷闷不乐，“她不喜欢游泳，不喜欢骑车，也不喜欢音乐节，而且她还不喜欢黑凤凰——她喜欢鲍比！”

“鲍比！”杰玛说。她大笑。“哦，不会吧！”

“是的。她喜欢好女孩乐队，她痴迷购物，还迫不及待地要去东水购物中心。”

“你的运气真背，卢克。”杰玛说，“你的问题都有了答案，不过都是错误答案。你和夏洛特是非常不同的两个人。”

“非常不同。”卢克难过地说，“你说得对。”

他走开了，杰玛目视着他离开。“唉，卢克！”她心想。

星期天早上，卢克骑着他的自行车出门去。他沿着城市的街道骑行，心里琢磨这个星期发生的事情。

“我真傻。”他想，“夏洛特不适合我。她很美，可我们的喜好不同。”

突然，他看到路边聚集着很多人。他停下来观望。“发生什么事了？”他想，“怎么这些人都在鼓掌呐喊？”他打算过马路，可一位警察走了过来。

“你不能从那里过。”他说，“那里是比赛的终点。”

“比赛？”卢克说，“什么比赛？”

“城市公路赛跑。”警察说，“看——选手们跑过来了。”

第一位男选手跑过了终点，卢克鼓起掌来。几分钟后，女选手们也到了。卢克又为她们鼓掌。他又看了看。那是杰玛吗？是的——而且她还是第三名！

“杰玛。”卢克喊，“好样的，杰玛！”他把自行车靠在树上，向杰玛跑了过去。

“你好啊，卢克。”杰玛说。她穿着一身黑绿相间的跑步服，看上去很漂亮。

“哇，”卢克说，“这种颜色的衣服很适合你。我平时只见过你穿医院的工作服。而且你跑了第三名。太棒了！”

杰玛忙着用毛巾擦汗。“谢谢你，卢克。”她说。

卢克无法把目光从杰玛身上移开。“你是个跑步运动员。”他说，“我从来不知道呢。”

“你从来没问过我。”杰玛说。她对卢克慢慢展开一个悠长而温暖的微笑。

卢克低头看着她蓝色的眼睛。他久久凝望着。他的脑海里出现了一个全新且很棒的念头。“哇，”他又说，“我从没看过你的眼睛——你的眼睛……真美。”

杰玛笑了。“我工作的时候戴眼镜。”她说，“所以你没见过。”

卢克突然想起了什么。“嘿，你累了。你刚刚跑完比赛。我们坐下吧。”

他们一起在一堵矮墙上坐下。在他们周围，其他人在谈论这场比赛，不过卢克和杰玛对旁人不闻不见。他们静静地坐着。杰玛喝了些水。卢克有千言万语，却找不到合适的词。然后他张开嘴——该说的话都说出了口。

“杰玛，你有自行车吗？”他问。

“有啊。”她说，“去年夏天，我去乌得勒支住了一个星期，我去哪儿都骑车。”

“你喜欢游泳吗？”

“喜欢，而且我喜欢在海里游泳——那是最棒的。”

“而且你喜欢黑凤凰乐队和棘鼠乐队。”

“还有暗水乐队。”杰玛说，“他们和棘鼠风格相近，不过要更胜一筹。”

“暗水乐队？”卢克说，“我喜欢他们，他们真的很棒。嘿，他们今晚在大山俱乐部演出。你想不想……我的意思是……你……也许你不想和我一起去吧？”

杰玛笑了，开心地笑了很久。“我当然想了！”她说，“我们什么时候去？”

两个东西，卢克想。你只需要两个东西。正确的问题——和正确的答案。然后就水到渠成了。