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On Friday morning Sid agreed to take care of the kitten until after school.

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"I just have to get through this cooking show," Ben said.

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"Then I'll find a home for the kitten."

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"That's what you said yesterday," Sid complained.

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He pointed to his torn bedsheets. "It destroys everything."

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"One more day," Ben promised, hurrying off.

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At Monster Academy everyone was outside, waiting eagerly for <font color="#ffff00"><i>Kids' Kitchen Showdown</i></font> to start.

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"The master chef has arrived!" a mummy shouted.

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Ben grinned as monsters patted him on the back.

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Mr. Freaky's noses were wiggling madly.

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Sweat dripped down Mayor Hubbletree's forehead.

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Both the mayor and Mr. Freaky reached for their handkerchiefs.

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"Please calm down, Mr. Freaky," Miss Bungle said.

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"And you too, Mayor. Everything will go smoothly."

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"It better," the mayor said, scowling at Mr. Freaky. "This is a big day!"

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A van arrived, followed by some cars.

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Ben watched as crew members unloaded cameras, lights, and bundles of cords.

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Gaby pointed toward three human kids.

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"They must be the other contestants."

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Then three adults got out of a limousine.

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Mr. Icky walked over to Ben.

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"Those are the judges," the teacher said.

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"That's Bolton Ramsey. He owns several restaurants.

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And there's Margaret Oh and Rebecca Gold.

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They wrote a wonderful cookbook together."

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Bolton Ramsey looked up at the school building.

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"Good grief," he muttered. "What is this dark and sinister place?"

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"I heard it's where the monsters go to school," Margaret Oh said.

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Rebecca Gold said nothing.

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"Can I help you carry anything?" an octopus monster asked a crew member.

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"I have plenty of arms!" She wiggled her arms wildly.

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The crew member's face went pale.

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Mayor Hubbletree hurried over.

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"It's okay, sir! This, um, creature won't harm you."

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He shooed the octopus monster away and turned back to the man.

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"Most monsters are actually quite friendly once you get to know them."

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"We've only had a few monsters on the show," the man murmured.

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"Mayor Hubbletree." A woman approached and shook the mayor's hand.

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"I'm Viv Stryder, the host of <font color="#ffff00"><i>Kids' Kitchen Showdown</i></font>."

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She looked around at the monsters.

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"Are you sure this place is safe?"

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"Absolutely!" Mayor Hubbletree said.

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"Nothing will go wrong. I promise!"

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The host narrowed her eyes.

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"I wanted to film this episode at the People Place Middle School, but you convinced me to do it here.

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If anything goes wrong, it'll be your fault."

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Mayor Hubbletree wiped more sweat from his forehead as everyone headed inside.

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The cooking classroom still smelled like hot sauce.

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Ben and Waldo glanced at each other.

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"It smells weird in here," Viv Stryder said.

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"Oh well, let's just get this day over with. Start setting up, folks!"

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Crew members got to work setting up lights and cameras.

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"That wall is shaking!" Margaret Oh said.

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"Yes," Mr. Freaky said. "I don't know what—"

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"It's nothing!" Mayor Hubbletree interrupted the principal.

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"That's just what the walls in a monster school do." He laughed nervously.

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Ben leaned closer to Waldo.

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"We obviously didn't clean up all of the hot sauce.

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Do you think that's what is causing the wall to shake?"

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Waldo shrugged. "Maybe."

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Bright light flooded the room.

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Cameras rolled.

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Ben was so nervous, he barely heard Viv Stryder introduce all the contestants.

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The host was still speaking to one of the cameras.

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"The first dish for today will be mac and cheese. Time starts . . . now!"

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Ben hurried into the pantry for ingredients.

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"Eww!" one human kid said. "They have canned slugs here!"

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"And worm eyes!" said another kid.

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Ben returned to his workspace.

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He put bat claws, leeches, and mud into a food processor.

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Then he shredded some moldy cheese.

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Once his macaroni was boiled, Ben put everything into a pan.

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He slid it into the oven.

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He noticed the wall was shaking even more now.

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"What is going on with that wall?" Bolton Ramsey said.

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"Is there something alive in there?"

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Ben hoped nothing bad was going to happen.

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But if something bad was going to happen, he <font color="#ffff00"><i>really</i></font> hoped it wasn't because of the hot sauce.

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"Time's up!" Viv Stryder called a little while later.

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"Ben will present his dish to the judges first."

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Ben took a deep breath.

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Then he picked up his mac and cheese and floated up to the judges' table.

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"You're a g-ghost!" Margaret Oh said.

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Ben grinned.

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"Right then," Bolton Ramsey said.

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"Let's see your mac and—" The chef stopped talking as Ben placed the pan on the table.

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"Good grief!" Bolton Ramsey cried.

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"What's sticking out of the food?"

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"It's just some dried lizard tails," Ben said. "For crunch."

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"For <font color="#ffff00"><i>crunch</i></font>?" Bolton Ramsey shook his head.

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"I'm not eating any of this monster's food!"