It was Ben's first day of school at Monster Academy.
He floated into the auditorium for the first-day assembly.
Inside, he saw some other ghosts, along with a crowd of goblins, zombies, and other monsters.
Everyone was talking loudly.
"Ben, over here!"
Ben easily spotted the giant who was waving to him. Ben shot over to her.
"I'm glad you're here, Gaby," said Ben as he sat down next to her.
"You're the only one I know in—"
Crash!
Ben stopped talking. So did all the other monsters around him.
A two-headed monster looked up at the ceiling.
"What made that sound?" asked one of her heads.
"I don't know," answered her other head.
"It sounded like a giant landed on the roof of the school," said a goblin.
"Maybe it's my mom," Gaby whispered to Ben with a giggle.
Ben grinned. Gaby's mom was a giant, just like Gaby.
But Ben was pretty sure she wasn't on the roof of the school.
Mr. Freaky, the school principal, rushed onto the stage.
He was tall and thin, and he had three noses.
"Monsters, please be seated! Everything is totally under control!"
"Mr. Freaky loves to say that everything is under control," Gaby whispered.
"But what he really means is that everything is totally out of control!"
Ben laughed. It was lucky that his family had moved next door to Gaby over the summer.
Gaby had told Ben nearly everything he needed to know about Monster Academy.
"All the students and teachers are monsters, just like us," she had explained.
"The principal is pretty nice—as long as you don't get in trouble.
The office ogre is friendly too, unless she gets really busy.
After all, she only has four arms!"
Ben looked around the crowded auditorium again.
Most of the students were still talking.
A few ghosts in the last row were batting around a ball of paper.
Mr. Freaky clapped his hands for silence.
"Please don't worry about the loud crash. I'm sure it was just another broom."
A murmur went through the crowd.
"What is Mr. Freaky talking about?" asked a troll.
"We've had a few . . . incidents involving flying brooms this morning," Mr. Freaky went on.
"But let's forget about that for now.
Your eighth-grade class president, Waldo Wizz, would like to say a few words."
Monsters whistled and shouted as a young wizard approached the microphone.
Gaby's eyes lit up. "Waldo's amazing," she gushed.
"He's so cute. Plus, he's super smart, and he can do all kinds of magic."
Waldo waved to the crowd.
"This is going to be a fabulous school year," he began.
"We have two new after-school clubs—marching band and spell casting—and the first dance is coming up soon.
The Monster Mash dance will be held in a few weeks. So don't forget to show your best school spirit and participate in all our great activities!"
The crowd cheered again.
Waldo handed the microphone to Mr. Freaky.
"Settle down, students," said Mr. Freaky.
"Before you go to class, I have some news about People Place.
There's a new mayor."
"People Place is creepy," murmured a skeleton.
In the next row, a four-eyed monster leaned toward a three-eyed monster.
"I heard the new mayor is really scary looking. He only has two eyes!"
"Eww, gross!" replied the three-eyed monster.
Ben knew that Monsterville was next to a town inhabited by people.
A huge wooden fence separated the two towns.
His parents had warned him and his brother, Sid, to stay away from that fence.
But he didn't know anything about the mayor.
Mr. Freaky was still talking.
"I've been told that Mayor Hubbletree doesn't like monsters. So we must be extra careful not to upset him.
Remember—Monster Academy was built on land owned by People Place.
If we scare the people, they could force us to leave our school."
The two-headed monster raised her hand.
"I was near People Place last week," said one head.
"A human kid saw me and screamed!"
"I wasn't even doing anything!" said the other head.
Mr. Freaky nodded. "Unfortunately, some people get scared just looking at monsters.
Now, please exit quietly, monsters, and enjoy your first day of school.
It's going to be a wonderful school year!"
Ben and Gaby exchanged looks.
"And everything is totally under total control!" they said at the same time, laughing.
They headed out of the auditorium.
Ben thought it was fun to kid around with Gaby, and so far Monster Academy seemed really cool.
But he had to admit that a few things were worrying him.
The principal seemed nervous, and empty brooms were crashing around the school.
Plus, People Place had a new mayor—one who didn't like monsters!