"But this is outdoors!" I said.

　　"Absolutely," Mr AIIbright agreed warmly. "1 can't stand being cooped up, can you? As I was saying, lessons don't start until the day after tomorrow, so we'll keep this session short and sweet."

　　I wasn't going to risk a hammock in case I fell out in front of everyone. So I plonked myself on the sand and sat moodily arranging shells into patterns, while Mr AIIbright talked us through our timetable. Yawn yawn yawn, I thought.

　　Amber nudged me. "Cheer up," she whispered. "After your first term you can choose a special subject."

　　Ooh, goody, I thought sarcastically.

　　Mr AIIbright started dishing out book lists. I glanced at mine and nearly fainted. EEK! You're out of your depth here, babe, I thought.

　　"Oh, before you go," said Mr AIIbright. "I've been asked to remind everyone about this term's HALO awards."

　　He tugged his ear again. "I'm not a fan of awards in general," he confessed. "But the HALO is different. It isn't about individual glory. It's about being a link in a divine chain, a valuable member of a team. I hope that this term I'll see at least one HALO go to someone in this class."

　　He started going on about how HALO work had to be done outside school hours (yeah, right0. But I had totally tuned out. One of my least favourite words in the dictionary had to be "TEAM". Unlike some people, I was proud to be a unique individual, and I wasn't about to become some boring link in anyone's divine chain, thanks very much! I mean, HALO awards, perleaze!

　　Twenty-four-hour brainache might be some people's idea of heaven, but it wasn't mine. Get out, Mel, I told myself. Get out now. You are not angel material and angel school is not for you. Just because you've died, doesn't mean people can push you around.

　　This decision was such a relief, I can't tell you.

　　Now all I had to do was tell Mr AIIbright.

　　“可我们是在室外啊！”我说。

　　全光明先生哈哈大笑起来：

　　“当然是在室外啦，我才受不了被关起来的感觉呢！我们后天才正式上课，这节课你们不想轻松、简单一些吗？”

　　想，当然想。

　　不过，我可不想冒险跑到吊床上去，要是在大家眼前摔个狗啃泥怎么办？

　　我一屁股重重地坐在沙上，故作深沉地把小贝壳们一一排列起来。

　　全光明先生开始给我们介绍上课时间安排。

　　唉，没劲，没劲，没劲，听得我真想睡觉。

　　阿贝用胳膊碰了碰我，小声说：

　　“振作一点啊，告诉你噢，第一个学期完了以后，你就可以选修一门自己最喜欢的课程了。”

　　还真是个好消息呢！

　　我在心里讽刺地冷笑了两声。

　　全光明先生最后说：

　　“在大家离开之前，我要讲一下哈喽奖的事情。”

　　他又拉了一下耳朵。

　　“一般来说呢，我对这奖那奖的没有什么兴趣，”他直率地说，“但是哈喽奖可不一样，这不是代表个人的荣誉，它象征着你是团体中的一员，是神圣链条中的一环。我希望在这个学期里，我们班至少有一个组获得哈喽奖。”

　　他还说，要想得到这个奖，就要在课外活动的时候下工夫。

　　课外活动？这个我感兴趣，可是其它的字眼就太无聊啦，比如说“团队”，在字典里我最不喜欢的一个词就要数它了。

　　和别人不太一样的是，我对于自己独立的个性感到非常自豪，我也没打算成为任何人的神圣链条中无聊的一环！

　　哈喽奖对我来说，吸引力为零。

　　也许天堂对别人来说，是个好地方，对我却不是这样。

　　快逃吧，小美，现在就逃出去。你根本就不是块做天使的材料，天使学校不是为你开的。

　　不能说因为你死了，就可以任由人家牵着你的鼻子走吧。

　　这么想着，我心里好受多了。

　　现在我要做的，就是向全光明先生说清楚了。