Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

第二章

Isabel headed reluctantly into the classroom, still daydreaming about racing around on Cloud. She wished the geography lesson wasn't with Ms Nettles, her least favourite teacher. Isabel found the work easy but coming top of the class wasn't enough for Ms Nettles. She always gave Isabel extra tasks to do. On the way into the classroom Isabel almost collided with Ava, who was carrying a vase filled with three fluffy red flowers with long stems. "Whoa! Sorry, Ava! Gosh, look at those monster flowers. Did you grow them? They're beautiful." Ava smiled. "Yes. Peonies are supposed to bring good luck so I'm going to put them in the classroom to bring us all luck in the drill ride this afternoon." Isabel's heart lifted as she remembered that

伊莎贝尔不情愿地走进教室，还在做着在云上赛车的白日梦。 她希望地理课不是跟她最不喜欢的老师荨麻老师上的。 伊莎贝尔觉得功课很简单，但对内特尔斯来说，名列前茅还不够。 她总是给伊莎贝尔额外的任务。 在进教室的路上，伊莎贝尔差点和艾娃撞在一起，艾娃手里拿着一个花瓶，里面装着三朵毛茸茸的长茎红花。 “哇!对不起,艾娃!天啊，看看那些怪物花。 是你自己种的吗？他们美丽的。” 艾娃笑了。“是的。牡丹被认为会带来好运，所以我要把它们放在教室里，在今天下午的演习中给我们带来好运。” 伊莎贝尔一想起这事，心里就高兴起来

the first-year dormitories were competing against each other in a drill ride at teatime that day. In the competition, riders and their unicorns had to perform the same moves either together or one after another, with marks for how well the group rode together and for difficulty of routine. The drill ride was also being judged on turnout, with extra marks being awarded for the unicorns' tail and mane plaits. They had been told that one person from each dormitory was going to be chosen as the leader. I hope I'm the leader of Sapphire dorm, Isabel thought. "Keep those flowers on our side of the classroom," Isabel called to Ava as she carried the peonies up to the front. If the flowers could bring good luck then she wanted it to go to her own team! Jacinta, from Emerald dorm, was sharpening pencils for Valentina. Valentina's parents were governors and she was also Ms Nettles' niece.

那天下午茶的时候，一年级宿舍的学生们在一起比赛。 在比赛中，骑手和他们的独角兽必须一起或一个接一个地表演相同的动作，并对团队的表现和动作难度进行评分。 这次训练还将根据参加情况进行评判，独角兽的尾巴和鬃毛辫会得到额外的分数。 他们被告知，每个宿舍将选出一个人作为领导。 我希望我是蓝宝石宿舍的领导，伊莎贝尔想。 “把这些花放在教室我们这边，”伊莎贝尔对艾娃喊道，她把牡丹抬到教室前面。 如果这些花能带来好运，那么她想把它送给自己的球队！祖母绿宿舍的杰辛塔正在给瓦伦蒂娜削铅笔。 瓦伦蒂娜的父母都是州长，她也是奈特尔斯女士的侄女。

"I want them sharper than that!" she complained as she sat in her chair. Jacinta nodded. "Of course, Valentina." She picked up a pencil to sharpen it further and then noticed Ava putting the flowers down on a window sill. "Wow, Ava, they're lovely—" "What, those silly weeds?" said Valentina, cutting across Jacinta and giving her a withering stare. "They stink and my aunt will hate them." Ava's smile vanished. Isabel reached

她坐在椅子上抱怨道：“我要比这更锋利的！” 杰西塔点了点头。“当然，瓦伦蒂娜。” 她拿起铅笔进一步削尖，然后注意到艾娃把花放在窗台上。 “哇，艾娃，它们真可爱——”“什么，那些愚蠢的杂草吗？”瓦伦蒂娜说着，越过杰辛塔，狠狠地瞪了她一眼。 “它们很臭，我姑妈会讨厌它们的。” 艾娃的笑容消失了。伊莎贝尔达成

Valentina's desk in an instant. "You're the one who stinks!" she said crossly. "You smell like frog poo!" Valentina jumped to her feet. "How dare you! I use a very expensive shower gel! I'll tell my parents you've been rude." Isabel rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm SO scared!" Just then Ms Nettles came in carrying a pile of exercise books. She stopped and stiffened like a snake about to strike, her beady eyes flicking from Valentina to Isabel. "What's going on, girls?" she snapped. "Isabel was being really mean to me, Auntie… I mean Ms Nettles." Valentina's eyes widened. "She said really, really horrible things." Her voice rose in a wail. "Isabel, I will not have bullying in my class!" said Ms Nettles sharply. "But—" protested Isabel. "Sit down at once!" ordered Ms Nettles. "It wasn't Isabel's fault!" Ava jumped in

瓦伦蒂娜的桌子。 “臭的是你！”她生气地说。 “你闻起来像青蛙屎！”瓦伦蒂娜跳了起来。 “你怎么敢！”我用一种很贵的沐浴露！我要告诉我父母你太无礼了。” 伊莎贝尔翻了个白眼。“哦，我好害怕！”就在这时，纳特尔斯女士拿着一摞练习本走了进来。 她停了下来，像一条即将攻击的蛇一样僵住了，她那炯炯的眼睛在瓦伦蒂娜和伊莎贝尔之间转来转去。 “怎么回事，姑娘们？”她厉声说。 “伊莎贝尔对我太刻薄了，姨妈……我是说荨麻小姐。” 瓦伦蒂娜睁大了眼睛。“她说了非常非常可怕的话。” 她的声音在嚎啕大哭起来。“伊莎贝尔，我不允许在我的班级里有恃强凌弱的行为！” “可是——”伊莎贝尔抗议道。 “马上坐下！”荨麻老师命令道。 “这不是伊莎贝尔的错！”艾娃插了进来

quickly. "Valentina was being unkind." "Atishoo!" Ms Nettles sneezed and her eyes started to stream. "For goodness' sake!" she exclaimed. "Someone remove those ridiculous flowers from over there before they kill me!" She pointed at Ava's peonies. Valentina snorted with laughter. "Told you she wouldn't like them," she whispered as Ava grabbed the vase and carried it out of the class. Valentina rolled her eyes at Jacinta and Delia. "Ava's so dumb!" she sniggered as Ava passed their desks. They giggled as Ava turned bright red. Isabel sat down next to Scarlett and glared across at Valentina. "I'm going to get her back for that," she muttered angrily. She hated it when Valentina was mean to Ava. "Count me in," whispered Scarlett. "We'll plan something tonight!"

很快。“瓦伦蒂娜太刻薄了。” “阿嚏!”荨麻女士打了个喷嚏，眼泪开始流了起来。 “看在上帝的份上！” “在他们杀了我之前，快把那边那些可笑的花拿走！”她指着艾娃的牡丹。 瓦伦蒂娜哼了一声笑。 “告诉过你她不会喜欢的，”她低声说，艾娃抓起花瓶，把它带出了教室。 瓦伦蒂娜对杰辛塔和迪莉娅翻了个白眼。 “艾娃真笨！”当艾娃经过他们的办公桌时，她窃笑着说。 当艾娃满脸通红时，他们咯咯地笑了起来。 伊莎贝尔在思嘉旁边坐下，瞪着对面的瓦伦蒂娜。 “我要报复她，”她生气地嘟囔着。 她讨厌瓦伦蒂娜对艾娃刻薄。 “算我一个，"思嘉低声说。 “我们今晚要计划点什么！”