The next day in cooking class, Mrs. Hag was explaining the importance of using the best ingredients.
Ben tried to listen, but he was distracted by his worries about Winnie.
And his worries that Winnie would know what he was thinking.
"Everything should be moldy or rotten," Mrs. Hag told the students.
"Some cooks like to use fresh earwax and pocket lint."
Ben didn't have any earwax, so he reached into his pocket to see about lint.
He felt the tooth he'd found in the broom flying classroom and took it out of his pocket.
Mrs. Hag spotted it as she walked past Ben's worktable.
"Oh, you've got a bat claw.
I bought some the other day, but I can't find them.
I guess I lost them somewhere."
Ben was stunned. The object in his palm wasn't a tooth; it was a bat claw!
Had Mrs. Hag accidentally dropped one in the broom-flying classroom? Could she be . . . ?
Did that mean Winnie . . . ?
"Oh, wow," Ben murmured.
He had to tell Mr. Freaky! But Ben knew he needed proof before he accused a teacher of anything.
He glanced at Mog. Maybe Mog would help him.
They weren't exactly friends now, but they weren't enemies anymore either.
At the end of the day, Ben found Mog in the hallway.
"Mog! I need to talk to you."
"Sure," said Mog. "What's up?"
"I think Mrs. Hag is the one flying the brooms," whispered Ben.
"Really?" said Mog. He looked shocked.
Ben filled him in.
"It makes sense," said Mog.
"Winnie told me Mrs. Hag was really upset when Mr. Freaky made her stop teaching broom flying.
And everyone says she's terrible at flying.
That could explain the crashing brooms."
Ben nodded. He was getting more and more excited about his theory.
"Now we just need to prove it."
"Let's look for clues in the broom-flying classroom," said Mog.
The two monsters hurried upstairs and into the classroom.
"Hey!" cried a voice from the closet. "Get me out of here!"
"That's Winnie!" cried Ben. He quickly unlocked the closet door.
Winnie leaped out of the closet. "Thanks! It was hot in there!"
"What were you doing in the broom closet?" asked Mog.
"I came up here to look at the brooms," said Winnie. "I miss them.
But Mrs. Hag was here. She pushed me into the closet and locked me—"
Crash! A window smashed as Mrs. Hag rocketed into the room, flying two brooms.
"Look out!" she cried.
The brooms shot around the room, zipped upside down, and then flew out the door.
Ben, Mog, and Winnie rushed into the hallway.
One broom flew out from under Mrs. Hag and crashed into a trophy case.
The teacher lost her grip on the other one, which shot up through the ceiling.
Mrs. Hag tumbled downward. Bam! She crashed into Mr. Freaky.
The next day Mrs. Hag announced her retirement.
It turned out that she'd been making trouble at school to get back at Mr. Freaky.
Ben didn't think anyone at Monster Academy was sorry to see Mrs. Hag go.
Mr. Freaky had already hired a new cooking teacher, and Miss Bungle was going to start teaching broom flying again.
Later Gaby rushed up to Ben in the hallway.
"Did you hear the news? Mr. Freaky rescheduled the Monster Mash dance.
It's tomorrow night. Now Waldo and I can go together.
It's going to be so awesome!"
Ben floated down the hallway toward his locker.
He was glad for Gaby, but he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for himself.
Winnie wasn't mad at Mog anymore.
So now she would go with Mog to the dance, of course.
"It's just as well," thought Ben. Mog was his friend now too.
Maybe Ben could—
"Hey, Ben!" shouted Mog just then. The monster came running toward him.
"Hey, Mog," Ben replied.
"Do you know Lilly?" asked Mog. "She's got three eyes and a big blue horn."
"No," said Ben. "Why?"
"I just asked her to the Monster Mash dance," said Mog with a big smile. "And she said yes!"
"That's great!" said Ben. "But what about Winnie? Aren't you two—"
"Nah," said Mog. "We broke up."
When Mog left, Ben felt a smile spread across his face.
Winnie and Mog had broken up! Now he could ask Winnie to the dance!
But as he floated toward the exit, Ben felt himself getting nervous.
"Maybe she won't say yes," he thought.
"Maybe she's already going with someone else."
Outside, he could see Winnie soaring over the soccer field on one of the school brooms.
She was leaning over it with a happy look on her face, probably thrilled to be flying again.
"Here goes." Ben took a deep breath and then headed toward her.