2. Just the Beginning

JUST THE BEGINNING 2 The plaque hung at a crooked angle. It was about to fall! Sam's heart was pounding. "Watch out!" he shouted. Antonio and Lucy spun around. "What is it?" Lucy asked. "The plaque—" Sam began to say. Antonio and Lucy looked up. They could see the heavy stone would fall in seconds!

刚开始2那块匾歪着挂着。 它就要掉下来了！山姆的心怦怦直跳。 “小心！”他喊道。安东尼奥和露茜转过身来。 “什么事？”露西问。“那块牌匾——”萨姆开始说。 安东尼奥和露茜抬起头来。 他们可以看到那块沉重的石头马上就要掉下来了！

"Everyone! Off the steps! Quickly!" the three friends shouted. Students and teachers ran. No one knew what was happening— they just knew the hall monitors said to MOVE! Sam watched the plaque tumble from its place above the door. It seemed to happen in slow motion— like a scene from a movie. He dove out of the way!

“每个人!从台阶上下来！快！”三个朋友喊道。 学生和老师都跑了。 没有人知道发生了什么事——他们只知道大厅监控器说要移动！萨姆看着牌匾从门上方的地方掉了下来。 这一切似乎是以慢动作发生的——就像电影里的一幕。 他跳开了！

The plaque shattered against the steps. A wrinkled hand reached out to help Sam. Sam looked up and saw Mr. Nekobi, the old man who took care of the school. Mr. Nekobi had chosen Sam to be hall monitor. He had told Sam the terrible truth about Eerie Elementary! It was a secret Mr. Nekobi had only shared with Sam, Antonio, and Lucy. Principal Winik burst out the front doors. "Is everyone safe?" he asked. He looked very worried.

牌匾在台阶上摔碎了。 一只满是皱纹的手伸出来帮助萨姆。 山姆抬起头，看见了尼科比先生，那个照顾学校的老人。 内科比先生选山姆当厅长。 他告诉了山姆关于怪诞小学的可怕真相！这是内科比先生只告诉过山姆、安东尼奥和露西的秘密。 温尼克校长冲出前门。 “大家都安全吗？”他问。 他看起来很担心。

Sam nodded. "Everyone's okay." Students were standing up and brushing themselves off. No one was badly hurt. "This is not good," Principal Winik said nervously. "I'll get these front steps cleaned up," Mr. Nekobi said. "Enough milling around!" Ms. Grinker barked. Ms. Grinker was Sam, Antonio, and Lucy's third-grade teacher. She shuffled her students into the building.

山姆点点头。“每个人都没问题。” 学生们站起来，掸了掸身上的毛。 没有人严重受伤。“这可不妙，”温尼克校长紧张地说。 “我会把前面的台阶清理干净，”内科比说。 “别瞎转了！”Ms。 Grinker吠叫。格林克女士是山姆、安东尼奥和露西三年级的老师。 她把学生拖进大楼。

Sam, Lucy, and Antonio helped students step over the broken plaque. "The school day just started and Orson is already up to no good!" Antonio said. "Maybe Orson had nothing to do with this," Lucy said. "The school is old. Maybe the plaque fell on its own." "Possibly...," Sam said. He eyed the strange, monstrous school. It was just a building— but it looked tired. It looked more run-down than usual. Orson Eerie is planning something big, Sam thought, and that falling plaque was just the beginning...

山姆、露西和安东尼奥帮助学生们跨过破碎的牌匾。 “开学才刚刚开始，奥森就开始干坏事了！”安东尼奥说。 “也许奥森与这件事无关，”露西说。 “这所学校很古老。也许牌匾是自己掉下来的。” “可能……萨姆说。他目不转睛地注视着这所奇怪的、可怕的学校。 它只是一栋建筑，但看起来很破旧。 它看起来比平时更破旧。 奥森·怪诞正在策划一件大事，山姆想，而那块掉落的牌匾只是个开始……