Ben pulled on the door handle again and again.
No matter how hard he pulled, the lab door still wouldn't open.
"Pull harder!" said Waldo.
"I am!" Ben grunted. "Why don't you try?"
Waldo yanked on the door handle, but he couldn't open the door either.
"It must be locked from the outside."
Ben slumped against the door.
"We'll never get out of here," he moaned. He thought about Winnie.
Then he thought about Winnie in her beautiful new black dress.
By now she was probably back in the gym, looking for him.
"Let me think," said Waldo, pacing back and forth.
"There must be something we can do."
"You're a wizard," said Ben.
"Don't you know any spells that could open the door?"
Waldo shook his head. "I left my spell book at home."
Suddenly he laughed. "Wait a minute! Why are we worrying about this?
You're a ghost, Ben. Just float through a wall and unlock the door!"
Ben sighed. "I can't."
Waldo's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?
I thought all ghosts could float through walls.
I mean, what's the point of being a ghost if you can't do stuff like that?"
Ben was annoyed. "I never learned how, all right?
And you're not helping us either.
What's the point of being a wizard if you can't even use magic to open a door?"
"Good point." Waldo hung his head. "I'm sorry. I was just annoyed.
I don't want to miss the Monster Mash."
"Me neither," said Ben. "I've really been looking forward to it."
Waldo slid down next to Ben, and the two sat in silence for a moment.
"I'll be able to float through walls eventually," Ben mumbled.
"I practice every night, and my mom says that some ghosts just take longer than others to learn this stuff.
Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"I won't," Waldo promised.
"I'm the only wizard I know who still needs to carry around a spell book.
Really good wizards can do magic without spells."
"Oh," Ben replied. The two of them were quiet again.
Then Ben heard something.
"Footsteps!" he cried. "Waldo! Someone's coming!"
They leaped to their feet as the footsteps came closer.
"Everything is totally under control," said a voice.
"It's Mr. Freaky," said Ben. "He can get us out of here!"
"I'm really sorry, sir," another voice was saying.
"Jen was getting ready for the dance, so I decided to wander around and explore Monster Academy.
I didn't think I'd get lost."
Waldo looked at Ben. "That must be Jen's date," he said. "The human."
Ben nodded.
"It's fine," Mr. Freaky said to the boy. "I'm just glad I found you.
It's not a good idea to have a human wandering around alone.
You might scare one of the monsters."
"Mr. Freaky, help!" Ben shouted, "We're trapped in the science lab!"
"Let us out!" Waldo pounded on the door. "We're locked in!"
Mr. Freaky didn't seem to hear them.
"This will be a wonderful dance, young man," the principal was saying.
"I think you're going to enjoy dancing with our monster students.
And there's even another human here tonight—Mrs. Hubbletree, the mayor's wife!"
A moment later the principal's voice faded down the hallway.
"Help! We're trapped!" yelled Ben again. But Mr. Freaky was gone.
Ben turned to Waldo in disbelief. "Why didn't he hear us?
He went right past the door!"
Waldo slapped his forehead. "I forgot," he said.
"We could yell all night long, as loud as we can, and nobody would hear us."
"Huh?" said Ben. "What are you talking about?"
"Mr. Creepy, the science teacher, made the lab soundproof," Waldo explained.
"He used a magic spell that keeps sound in.
We can hear what's going on outside, but nobody outside can hear what's going on in here."
"Why not?" asked Ben.
Waldo looked sheepish. "Last year I was doing an experiment, and I caused a big explosion.
Nobody got hurt, but the explosion disturbed students who were taking the GMAT.
You know, the General Monster Assessment Test that we have to take every spring.
Mr. Freaky was really upset, so he asked Mr. Creepy to make the science lab soundproof."
Ben blinked in disbelief. "That means we're stuck in here forever?"
Waldo shrugged. "Or at least until someone comes to look for us."
He patted Ben on the arm.
"Don't worry. Our parents will probably start worrying about us by midnight.
And we'll definitely be out of here by Monday morning.
That's when Mr. Creepy comes back to work."
"Monday morning?" Ben echoed. He couldn't believe this was happening.
It had taken all of his courage to ask Winnie to the dance.
Now he was stuck in a science lab with Waldo, and he was going to miss the whole thing!