Ben floated out to the soccer field where Winnie was flying her broom.
She looked so happy soaring over the field.
"I'm coming in for a landing!" he heard her say.
"Me too!" cried another witch, tilting her broom down toward the field.
Ben watched Winnie cruise to a soft landing.
Then he floated over to her, his heart beating fast.
He had come outside to ask her to the Monster Mash dance on Friday night.
"What if she says no?" Ben thought, suddenly panicked.
That would be terrible.
He'd feel so stupid, and then things would get awkward between them. Maybe he shouldn't—
Just then Winnie smiled at him. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
Ben smiled back nervously. Winnie could sometimes read people's thoughts.
Did she know what he was thinking now?
"Great flying, Winnie," said Ben quickly.
"Thanks," she answered. "I'm practicing for my broom-flying test.
If I pass, I'll finally have my broom-flying license.
Then maybe I can join the Witches' Formation team.
They get to fly over the school during important events."
"I'm sure you'll pass," said Ben.
He knew he had to ask her now, before he lost all his courage.
He took a deep breath—such a deep breath, he suddenly felt dizzy.
Winnie stared at him. "Ben, are you okay? You look pale, even for a ghost."
"I'm fine," Ben lied.
His heart pounded faster. "Winnie, will you . . . um . . . ?"
Smiling, Winnie tilted her head. "Will I . . . ?"
"Will you go to the Monster Mash with me?"
For a moment Winnie didn't say anything.
"Oh no!" Ben thought, panicking again. "I never should have—"
"I'd love to," she said.
"You would? I mean, wow! That's great!"
Suddenly Ben didn't know what to say. "Dancing is fun, right?"
"I love dancing," Winnie agreed.
"I love it almost as much as I love broom flying."
"Me too," said Ben. "I mean, not broom flying but just regular flying.
Not that there's anything wrong with broom flying. It's just that I'm a ghost and . . ."
"What a dumb thing to say," Ben thought as Winnie giggled.
He was babbling like an idiot.
"I'll pick you up at seven," Ben told her. "Okay?"
"Actually," Winnie said, "I'm on the decorating committee.
So I have to get to the gym early to help decorate.
Maybe we can just meet at the dance?"
"Sure," said Ben. "That sounds great. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Okay," said Winnie, grinning at him.
Ben floated away as fast as he could. He could not believe his good luck.
Ever since he'd first seen Winnie, he'd thought she was the most beautiful witch in the world.
And now she was going to the dance with him!
The next morning during homeroom, Mr. Freaky's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.
"Good morning, students.
I wanted to let everyone know that Miss Bungle is out sick with the flu today.
So all of her broom-flying classes and activities are canceled until she returns. Thank you."
Ben shot Winnie a sympathetic look.
She looked pretty disappointed at the news.
"Maybe Miss Bungle will be back soon," he whispered.
"Yeah, I hope she's okay." Winnie smiled and tried to shrug it off.
But Ben could tell that she was upset.
"At least I have the dance to look forward to tonight, right?"
"Right," he answered with a grin.
After homeroom they walked together to Cooking.
Today Ben was actually looking forward to cooking something.
Mr. Freaky had hired a new teacher to replace Mrs. Hag.
This one was supposed to be a much better cook than Mrs. Hag.
"Good morning, monsters," said the new teacher, who was wearing goggles and an apron.
"My name is Mr. Icky." His four tentacles waved to the students.
"Today we're going to make slug cupcakes with rotten-egg frosting.
They're for the dance tonight."
"Woo-hoo!" called Mog.
He was sitting with his new girlfriend, Lilly, and a few other monsters.
"Slug cupcakes are awesome!"
Soon the students started cooking.
As Ben plopped slugs into his cupcake batter, he overheard Winnie talking to some other girl monsters about the dance.
"I got my dress at Frightful Fashion," said a witch.
"My mom bought me some new shoes too."
"My dress is from the Suction Shop," said an octopus monster.
"It's bright pink, and guess what—"
She waved a bunch of her arms. "It's sleeveless!"
"Cool. You're going to look great," said Winnie.
She glanced over at Ben with a shy smile.
"My dress is from the Witch's Closet.
It's really pretty—black, of course, with lots of lace."
Ben smiled back at Winnie, and he was still smiling a minute later as he started stirring the cupcake batter.
He couldn't wait to see Winnie tonight.
Their first Monster Mash dance together was going to be perfect.