Ben stared at the broom flying squad in confusion.
"Winnie is one of the best flyers at Monster Academy," he thought.
"So why isn't she with the other flyers?"
Ben hoped she wasn't at home, sick today.
It would be a shame for her to miss such a big day—the humans' first visit to Monster Academy.
Ben and Winnie had been dating for a few weeks.
Their first date was to a horror movie about ghosts who lived in a house haunted by people.
After the movie they got some moldy ice cream and went for a walk in the park.
It had been a lot of fun, and Ben really liked Winnie.
Ben drifted through the lobby until he found Gaby again.
"I'd thought Winnie would be with the broom flying squad," he said.
"But she's not with them. I'm not sure where . . ."
He let his words trail off as he realized that Gaby's eyes were darting all over the hallway.
She wasn't really listening to him.
"Hmm. . . ? What did you say?" Gaby murmured.
"You didn't find Winnie?" Gaby was still searching the hallway.
"I'm sure she'll show up soon, Ben.
I'm looking for someone too. Have you seen Deb anywhere?"
"Who's Deb?" Ben asked.
"A ghoul," said Gaby.
"She just started at Monster Academy last week, and I've heard she's super smart."
"Why are you looking for her?" asked Ben.
Gaby frowned. "Someone told me that she offered to help Waldo with his experiment demonstration today.
If you ask me, that's a ridiculous idea.
I mean, Waldo is the smartest kid in school. He doesn't need any—
Oh! There she is. Whew!" Gaby let out a big breath of relief.
Ben looked down the hallway.
At the other end, a pretty ghoul girl was getting something out of her locker.
"I guess that was just a rumor about Deb," Gaby said.
"Would it matter if Deb were helping Waldo?" Ben asked.
Gaby was acting pretty weird.
"Um, no. Of course not!" Gaby said quickly.
"But, like I said, Waldo's the smartest student at Monster Academy.
He doesn't need help from some new ghoul girl."
As Gaby went on about how smart Waldo was, Ben turned to hide his smile.
He knew now why Gaby was acting so weird. She was jealous—jealous of Deb!
Ben started floating through the halls again. Soon he spotted Mog.
"Hey, Mog!" Ben called to his friend. "Have you seen Winnie?"
Mog shook his head. "No. Have you seen Deb?"
"Deb?" Ben asked. Why was everybody suddenly looking for Deb?
"Yeah," said Mog. "She's this awesome new ghoul."
"I know who she is," said Ben. "She was at her locker a minute ago."
He glanced back at the row of lockers. "She's gone now, though."
Mog sighed dreamily. "She's like something out of my nightmares.
And I love nightmares."
Ben was surprised. "I thought you were dating Lilly."
"Nah," said Mog. "That was last week. This week I'm going out with Deb."
Ben shrugged. "I guess she could be in the science lab," he said.
"Gaby told me that Deb might help Waldo with his experiment today."
Mog raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean, she 'might help Waldo with his experiment'?
You don't think Waldo likes her, do you?
They're just working together because they have to, right?"
"Whoa." Ben held up a hand to slow Mog down.
"Don't panic or anything. I'm not even sure they are working together.
It's just a rumor."
Mog still looked worried. "I'd better talk to Gaby myself.
I want to find out what's going on."
The monster stomped down the hallway toward Gaby.
Ben rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe everyone was so jealous about Deb.
"Hey, Jen!" Ben called to a purple blob.
"Hi, Ben!" said Jen, her body jiggling. "Isn't it wonderful?"
"The people's visit?" Ben asked. "Is that what you mean?"
"Yes," said Jen. "I can't wait to see Dave again.
I haven't seen him for three whole days! Do I look all right?"
Ben watched as Jen slowly spun around.
A pool of slime spread out on the floor around her.
"You look great," he said.
"Thanks!" said Jen.
"You haven't seen Winnie, have you?" asked Ben.
"She's probably with the broom flying squad," said Jen.
"They're planning a big flyover for when the people get here, aren't they?"
Ben sighed. "Yeah, I thought she would be with them too.
But I saw the squad a minute ago, and she wasn't with them."
Jen shrugged. "Maybe she was in the bathroom or tuning up her broom.
She might even be—"
"Hey, everybody!" An excited voice cut her off.
"The people are here!" shouted a goblin.