"Oh no!" cried Ben. "Something happened to Waldo!"
He tried to continue floating through the door of the science lab, but he was stuck.
Ben cringed from embarrassment.
Here he was—stuck halfway through a door—with everybody looking at him!
"What happened to Waldo?" called Mr. Freaky.
Ben tried to answer, but the science lab was soundproof.
So no one could hear Ben yelling back to Mr. Freaky.
Then suddenly—crash! The door was ripped off its hinges, and Gaby stormed into the lab.
Ben landed hard on the floor.
"Waldo!" Gaby cried. "What happened to you? Waldo, please wake up!"
Mr. Freaky and the human adults rushed into the room.
"Someone get the school nurse!" Mr. Freaky shouted.
Mog and some other students stood in the doorway.
Minutes later the nurse slipped through the crowd.
"Excuse me, dear," she said to Gaby.
Gaby backed away as Mrs. Germ checked Waldo's pulse.
The nurse opened one of Waldo's eyes and shined a light in it.
"He'll be fine," she declared.
Ben was relieved that Waldo was okay.
He was also relieved that nobody was talking about how he'd gotten stuck in the door.
Waldo opened his eyes and moaned. "Oh . . . What's going on? Where am I?"
"You're in the science lab," said Mr. Freaky.
"Can you tell us what happened to you?"
Waldo sat up and rubbed his head.
"The last thing I remember, I was standing in here, waiting for Deb."
"Deb?" cried Mog and Gaby at the same time.
"Um, yeah," said Waldo. "She offered to help me with the experiment."
He glanced at the mess on the floor and sighed.
"I guess my experiment is ruined."
"Oh, Waldo," Gaby gushed. "You don't need her help!
You're so much smarter than she is."
Mog looked insulted. "What are you talking about? Deb is super smart!"
He paused. "But I agree that she doesn't need to help Waldo.
She should just hang out with me today."
Mog scratched his head. "Where is Deb anyway?"
"And where is Winnie?" a witch asked. "I haven't seen her all day."
"Winnie is working on a . . . special assignment for me," said Miss Bungle.
Ben perked up. Winnie was working on a special assignment?
"Deb never showed up," said Waldo.
Mr. Freaky wrung his hands. "We need to find out where Deb is.
Miss Bungle, can you please ask the office ogre to look for Deb?"
"Of course," said the broom flying teacher, who then hurried out of the room.
Mr. Freaky glanced around the lab. "Waldo, do you remember anything else?"
Waldo nodded. "Yes, a human girl ran into the lab."
Mayor Hubbletree looked startled. "What?"
"It must be the same girl who ran into the school," Ben put in.
"I saw her too."
"You did?" said Mr. Freaky.
Ben nodded. "About Winnie, though, do you know where—?"
"I don't believe it!" Mayor Hubbletree interrupted.
"You heard Ms. Prim, Freaky. None of our students is missing."
"A human was in here," Waldo insisted.
"She seemed really scared and confused."
The mayor folded his arms.
"Can you blame her? This place gives me the creeps."
Waldo continued. "I asked her who she was and what she was doing here, but she wouldn't tell me.
She said something like, 'I don't understand what's going on.'
Then she saw her reflection and shrieked.
I don't remember anything after that."
Gaby's face grew red with anger.
"Whoever that girl is, she must have knocked you out!
If I ever get my hands on her, I'll—"
"This is outrageous!" boomed Mayor Hubbletree.
"The idea that a human would come in here and attack a monster is absurd!"
"Do you think that crazy human hurt Deb too?" Mog asked Waldo.
"Of course not!" shouted Mayor Hubbletree.
"Everyone knows that it's monsters who attack humans!
Not the other way around!"
Mr. Freaky pulled out a handkerchief and blew his noses.
"Maybe it was a human, but she didn't mean to hurt Waldo," said Dave.
"After all, I caused the purple spot epidemic by accident.
Or maybe something went wrong with the experiment."
The mayor nodded. "Yes, it was probably something to do with the experiment."
Now Waldo looked annoyed. "My experiment was going fine."
"Was the human wearing a hoodie with a green skull on the back?" Ben blurted out.
Waldo looked surprised. "Actually, yes, she was."
Just then Ms. Prim came back into the lab with her clipboard.
"I've done another head count, Mayor.
All of our students are here. No one is missing."
"There you go, Freaky," said Mayor Hubbletree, looking around at the monsters.
"It wasn't a human who caused this mess. That means—"
"It was a monster!" Mr. Freaky put his head in his hands.
"Everything is totally out of control!"