Inside, the hall was more like a huge theatre, with tiers and tiers of seats. High over our heads was a dome of stained glass. Sunlight poured through the glass, spilling extraordinary colours everywhere.

　　There was a stage, a very grand one. Right across the back wall was an outsized TV screen, the kind you get at pop concerts, with the words WELCOME BACK in glowing letters.

　　Teachers roamed up and down the aisles.Their fluttering, deep-dyed robes made them look more like birds than people. This place got more unbelievable every minute! But I couldn't think about that right now, because I'd just registered an extremely unpleasant fact.

　　There wasn't an empty seat anywhere.

　　Oh, great start, Melanie, I thought. Trust you to be the one person left standing in this weird scary hall.

　　Then I saw Lola waving frantically. She'd actually saved me a place! I squeezed on to the bench beside her. A split second later, a honey-coloured boy in cut-offs slid into the non-existent space beside me. "You think I'm late," he whispered, "but five minutes ago I was surfing."

　　Liar, I thought. It was true drops of water were running off his tiny dreads, but he'd probably just washed his hair or something.

　　Suddenly someone strode to the front of the stage. And without him yelling at us or anything, everyone went quiet.

　　"Good morning, school," said the headmaster. "First, a special welcome to those of you who have just arrived. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to come and talk to me."

　　Lola rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like he's ever here." Then I think she was worried she'd given me the wrong impression, because she hissed, "It's not his fault. The Agency takes up practically all Michael's time these days."

　　She calls the headmaster Michael! I thought. How hippie-dippie is that!

　　Michael was nowhere near as imposing as the teachers in their robes. He wore a suit he had apparently slept in, giving the impression he'd just flown in on some long-haul flight. You could tell he was completely shattered.

　　Then I saw him in close-up, on the TV screen, and had another fit of my mysterious shivers. Michael had the loveliest face I'd ever seen.

　　It was also totally terrifying.

　　Of course, it should have been obvious to anyone with a functioning brain cell that this was NOT your average headmaster. But I'd never met an archangel before.

　　眼前是一个阳光四射的大厅。

　　这个大厅，很像歌剧院，有着一排排的座位。头顶上方是玻璃圆顶，阳光透过玻璃倾洒而下，色彩缤纷，绚丽无比。

　　大厅里还有个舞台，非常大。在后面墙上有个超级大的电视屏幕——只有在歌星演唱会上，你才看得到这样的电视屏幕，屏幕上闪烁着“欢迎归来”的字样。

　　老师们在走道里来来往往地闲逛，他们穿着飘飘的深色长袍，像一只只大怪鸟。

　　我的心扑通乱跳，这个地方，实在太诡异啦！

　　不过，比起它的古怪，更让我伤脑筋的是，我居然到处都找不到空座位。

　　我懊恼地想：

　　美兰妮，你可是走运走到家了，跑到这个鬼大厅来不算，居然还要成为大厅里惟一罚站的人。

　　就在我不知道该怎么办的时候，我看见了罗拉，她正拼命地朝我招手，示意帮我留了个座位。

　　我费了很大的劲，才挤过人群，坐到她身边的长椅上。

　　还没有来得及说谢谢呢，一个留着分头的蜜色肤色的男孩就坐到我身边的空位上来了。

　　他小声说：

　　“我迟到了，是吗？可是要知道，5分钟前，我还在海上冲浪呢！”

　　骗人，怎么可能嘛？我想。

　　他身上的确有水珠，不过谁知道呢？也许是刚洗完头留下的吧！

　　这时，有人大步走到舞台上。不用他招呼，大家都安静下来。

　　“早上好，同学们，我是校长。首先，我们对那些刚到的孩子表示热烈的欢迎。如果你们以后碰到什么问题，尽可以来找我。”

　　原来是校长大人啊！

　　罗拉俏皮地眨了眨眼睛，轻声说：

　　“‘尽可以来找你？’找得到吗？你很少在学校里呢！”

　　可能怕我误会了她的意思，罗拉又小声解释道：

　　“不过呢，很少到学校来，这不是他的错。最近总部的事情，占用了迈克尔好多时间。”

　　她竟然对校长直呼其名，管他叫“迈克尔”，这是不是太没大没小了一点呢？

　　迈克尔和其他老师紧紧站在一起，老师们都穿着一样的长袍。不过迈克尔给人的感觉就像是穿着睡衣，好像刚刚经过长途飞行睡过了头似的。

　　电视屏幕上闪过他的特写镜头，我一看之下，不禁打了个寒战。

　　这，是我见过的最可爱的一张脸。

　　这，也是让我觉得最最可怕的事情。

　　因为，不管是谁，只要脑功能正常，都不会把拥有这样的脸的人，当成平时见到的普普通通的校长。

　　那么，不是普普通通的校长，他又能是什么呢？

　　真的是天使学校的校长吗？