Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR When Layla got back to the dorm, Ava pulled her inside. "There you are! We were about to search the library. We thought you might have been buried by an avalanche of books." "Or kidnapped by an evil villain who wanted to use your knowledge of the island," said Sophia. Before Layla could tell the others about her encounter with Ms Nettles, Olivia started speaking. "You'll never guess what Ms Tulip told us after the lesson." "This is SO exciting!" burst out Scarlett.

第四章蕾拉回到宿舍后，艾娃把她拉了进去。 “你在这儿！”我们正要搜查图书馆。 我们还以为你被一大堆书给埋了呢。” “或者被一个邪恶的恶棍绑架了，他想利用你对这个岛的了解，”索菲亚说。 蕾拉还没来得及告诉其他人她和奈特尔斯女士的遭遇，奥利维亚就开始说话了。 “你绝对猜不到郁金香老师下课后告诉了我们什么。” “这太令人激动了！"思嘉大声说。

"What is it?" said Layla. "We're going camping!" whooped Isabel. "On Sunday we get to spend a whole night with our unicorns in a tent on the edge of the woods!" "Our unicorns aren't sleeping in the tent with us, obviously," said Sophia. "Shame," said Ava, and they both collapsed in a fit of giggles.

“这是什么？”莱拉说。“我们要去露营！”伊莎贝尔嚷道。 “星期天，我们可以和我们的独角兽们在树林边的帐篷里过夜！”“显然，我们的独角兽没有和我们一起睡在帐篷里，”索菲亚说。 “真可惜，”艾娃说，两人都咯咯地笑了起来。

Layla did her best to smile but it felt like the blood in her veins had turned to ice. A night outside in the dark with only a thin bit of canvas to protect her from who-knew-what and two whole days spent galloping around the countryside? It was her worst nightmare! "Is… is everyone going?" she stammered. "Yes! It's not compulsory but who wouldn't want to go? It's camping with unicorns!" Scarlett leapt on her bed and began jumping up and down with excitement. On her own bed, Isabel bounced next to her. "It's going to be mega brilliant! I think we should go for a midnight walk! When the teachers fall asleep let's sneak off on our own." "Genius!" shrieked Scarlett, almost falling from the bed in excitement. "A midnight walk deep in the woods." "But the wood is out of bounds." Layla's voice came out raspy so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Isn't the wood out of bounds?"

蕾拉尽力微笑，但感觉她血管里的血液都变成了冰。 一个晚上在外面的黑暗中，只有一小块帆布来保护她免受谁知道什么东西的伤害，整整两天都在乡间疾驰？ 这是她最可怕的噩梦！“大家都去吗？”她结结巴巴地说。 “是啊!这不是强制性的，但谁不想去呢？ 是和独角兽一起露营！”思嘉跳到床上，兴奋地跳上跳下。 在她自己的床上，伊莎贝尔在她身边跳来跳去。 “这将会非常精彩！”我想我们应该去午夜散步！等老师们睡着了，我们自己溜出去吧。” “天才！"思嘉尖声叫道，激动得差点从床上掉下来。 “午夜林中漫步” “但是树林是禁区。” 蕾拉的声音沙哑，所以她清了清嗓子，又试了一次。 “树林不是越界了吗？”

"Yes, but we're going to be allowed to camp at the edges," said Sophia. Scarlett's eyes sparkled. "Which means it will be an awesome chance to go further in! Who's going to come with us?" The blue dormitory walls rang with the cheer of "Me!" Only Layla stayed quiet. I don't want to go, she thought anxiously. What if something happens in the night? What if something horrible comes out of the trees? "You are coming too, aren't you, Layla?" asked Olivia. Layla hesitated as Ms Nettles' voice came back to her. "Understanding the island is just as important as flashy magic and showmanship." Of course, that was the answer! She felt as if a weight had fallen from her shoulders. She didn't need to go camping to become a good guardian. She could just go to the library. "I think I'll stay here," she said. "I'd rather

“是的，但是我们将被允许在边缘扎营。”索菲亚说。 思嘉的眼睛闪闪发光。“这意味着这将是一个深入研究的绝佳机会！”谁和我们一起去？”蓝色的宿舍墙壁上回荡着“我！”只有蕾拉保持沉默。 我不想去，她焦虑地想。 如果晚上发生了什么事怎么办？ 如果有可怕的东西从树林里出来怎么办？ “你也要去，是吗，蕾拉？”奥利维亚问。 蕾拉犹豫了一下，因为荨麻女士的声音又回到了她的耳边。 “了解这座岛屿与华丽的魔术和表演技巧一样重要。” 当然，这就是答案！她觉得肩上的重量好像减轻了。 她不需要去露营就能成为一个好的监护人。 她可以直接去图书馆。 “我想我会留在这里，”她说。 “我宁愿

catch up with some reading." "But we'll miss you!" said Ava. "Won't you be lonely?" said Sophia. Layla smiled back at her friends. "Honestly, I'll be fine. Just make sure you tell me all about it when you get back!" Olivia slipped her arm through Layla's, looking disappointed. "Are you sure?" "Yes," said Layla firmly, feeling relieved that she wasn't going to have to go. "I really am." The next morning Layla was woken by a shout from Ava. "Look at the trees!" Layla had to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn't still asleep as she looked out of the window. Last night the trees had been green and vibrant but now the leaves had changed to autumn colours and huge piles were scattered over the lawns. Many of them had blown into

补读点书。” “但是我们会想你的！”艾娃说。 “你不寂寞吗？”索菲亚说。 蕾拉对她的朋友们报以微笑。 “老实说，我会没事的。回来的时候一定要把一切都告诉我！”奥利维亚挽着莱拉的胳膊，看起来很失望。 “你确定吗？”“是的，”莱拉坚定地说，不用去了，她松了口气。 “真的。”第二天早上，蕾拉被艾娃的喊声吵醒。 “看那些树！”蕾拉不得不掐一下自己，以确保她在看窗外时没有睡着。 昨天晚上，树木还郁郁葱葱，生机勃勃，但现在树叶已经变成了秋天的颜色，草坪上散落着一大堆树叶。 他们中的许多人都被吹到了

Sparkle Lake and were drifting on the surface like an orangey-brown carpet. "This isn't right," said Ava, a frown creasing her face. "It's far too early for the leaves to fall. What's going on?" "Look, some of the teachers are out there," said Layla, pointing. For a moment she saw a figure behind the other teachers moving deeper into the shadows of the trees. It looked like Ms Primrose. She must be back! Relief rushed through her. If something strange was happening again, then they needed Ms Primrose at the academy. "Let's go and find out what's happening," said Ava. Throwing on clothes, they all rushed outside. As they ran to where the teachers were standing, Layla heard a humming, buzzing sound. "What's that?"

闪闪发光的湖和漂浮在水面上像一个橘黄色的地毯。 “这是不对的，”艾娃说，她皱起了眉头。 “现在落叶还太早。 发生了什么事？”“看，有些老师在外面，”莱拉指着说。 刹那间，她看见其他老师后面有一个人影在树林的阴影中越走越深。 看起来像樱草花女士。 她一定回来了！她顿时松了一口气。 如果有什么奇怪的事情再次发生，那么他们就需要樱草花女士到学院来。 “我们去看看发生了什么事，”艾娃说。 他们匆匆穿上衣服，都冲了出去。 当他们跑到老师站着的地方时，蕾拉听到了嗡嗡作响的声音。 “那是什么?”