"I can't believe you're going to be on TV, Ben," Gaby said on the way home from school.
"You'll be famous!"
Ben frowned. "I don't want to be famous.
I don't even want to be on Kids' Kitchen Showdown."
After Mr. Icky had picked Ben to be on the TV show, everyone was excited.
Winnie had given Ben a big hug. "You'll do great!"
Other monsters patted him on the back and gave him the claws-up sign.
Some monsters even looked a bit jealous.
Gaby was still talking as she and Ben walked along.
"I didn't even know you liked cooking."
"I hate cooking," Ben said. "Mr. Icky made a mistake.
I accidentally made something that tastes good.
But that doesn't mean I know what I'm doing."
"You're being silly," Gaby said.
"You obviously have talent and don't realize it."
"Well, I'm not going to win the competition," Ben went on.
"The judges are humans.
They're going to choose a human cook—not a monster."
That evening Ben sat on his back stoop, trying to distract himself from the cooking show.
He made himself think about possible birthday presents for Winnie.
"What do witches like?" he asked himself.
He thought about Winnie's favorite things.
She loved to fly. Maybe she'd like a new broom?
Ben pulled out his phone.
He found a website that sold flying brooms.
One broom was shaped like a lightning bolt.
Ben watched a demonstration video.
The broom was so fast, it left a streak of fire across the sky.
"Wow!" Ben said. "Winnie would love this broom. How much does it cost?"
He scrolled down the page and found the price.
"Six thousand dollars?" Ben gulped.
There was no way he could afford that.
He looked at some other flying broom websites.
The cheapest broom Ben saw was still too expensive.
It was five hundred dollars, and it looked like a piece of junk.
Ben's shoulders slumped, and he put his phone away.
As Ben brooded, the hedge that ran down the side of his yard shook slightly.
Something was rustling on the ground.
Ben peered over.
"Who's there?" he said. There was no answer.
For a moment the hedge was still.
Then it moved again.
"Something is in there," Ben thought.
He floated over for a closer look.
He moved some of the leaves out of the way and looked in at the branches.
A pair of glowing eyes stared back at him.
A chill ran down Ben's spine. "It's a . . . a kitten!"
Meow! The tiny black kitten leaped out of the hedge and straight toward Ben.
Ben jumped to the side.
The kitten landed on the grass.
It looked up at Ben and hissed.
"Oh, boy," Ben said, glancing around.
A lot of monsters and humans loved cats.
But cats hated ghosts!
Ben ran toward his back door with the kitten chasing him all the way.
"Mom will be furious if this beast gets inside," Ben thought.
He shot across his backyard.
The kitten sprinted behind him, hissing and pouncing at his feet.
Ben floated through his fence and into a neighbor's backyard.
He stopped to catch his breath.
"Whew! I think I lost—"
Hiss! Meow! The kitten was on top of the fence.
It leaped down and fell right through Ben.
"Ahh!" Ben dashed through the neighbor's yard and onto the street.
The kitten was still right behind him.
Ben darted upward, flying over the trees.
Looking down, he saw the kitten.
It was still hissing at him, but at least it couldn't fly.
With a sigh of relief, Ben flew home.
On Wednesday morning Ben was one of the first students to arrive in the cooking classroom.
He saw Mr. Icky pulling pots from one of the cabinets.
"Um, Mr. Icky," Ben said. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Mr. Icky turned around.
"Ah, Ben, my master monster chef! What do you need?"
Ben put down his books.
"I don't think I should be on Kids' Kitchen Showdown."
"What?" Mr. Icky peered closely at Ben.
"I'm not really good at cooking.
I make mistakes all the time.
If my food turns out well, it's totally by accident."
"Nonsense," Mr. Icky said.
"You have a natural talent, Ben.
And I've already given your name to Mr. Freaky."
By now other students were entering the classroom.
"Good morning, everyone," the teacher called.
"Let's get started."
After Mr. Icky described the morning's assignment, Mog came over to Ben.
"Hey, Ben," Mog said. "I heard you talking to Mr. Icky.
I know how you can get out of doing the show."
"You do?" Ben was doubtful.
Mog was a good friend, but he didn't usually have smart ideas.
Mog leaned in closer. "Cook badly today!"