"Settle down, students!" Mr. Freaky said.
"The assembly is about to start! Please sit down!"
Ben quickly found Winnie and some other friends inside the crowded auditorium.
As he sat down, he saw some buckets onstage.
Mr. Freaky walked over to speak to Mr. Bog, the school custodian, who was mopping up puddles.
"What happened here?" Ben asked.
Winnie sighed.
"It rained last night. So the roof is leaking again."
"Are they ever going to fix it?" Ben asked.
"Maybe after they fix the heat and paint some of the classrooms," Winnie replied, making a face.
Mr. Freaky tripped on a bucket as he walked back toward the microphone.
"Don't worry about the leaky roof, students.
Our Career Day assembly will start in exactly three minutes."
"I love Career Day!" Mog exclaimed.
Ben laughed.
He knew why Mog liked graveyard hockey and slug cakes.
But he wasn't sure why Mog was so enthusiastic about Career Day.
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Mog?" Gaby asked.
"I don't know," Mog said.
"That's why I like hearing about jobs.
I could be anything—a firefighter, a Creepy Train engineer . . ."
"Well, I intend to be the best wizard in the world!" Waldo said.
"Ah-choo!" He sneezed loudly, sending a cloud of black bats into the air.
Mr. Freaky stomped across the stage and frowned at Waldo.
"You know the rules, Waldo. No spells during an assembly!"
"Sorry. I have a cold. Ah-ah—"
Waldo put his finger under his nose to stop another sneeze.
"I'm not sure he has a cold," Winnie whispered to Ben.
"He messed up in spell casting class yesterday.
I think he put a spell on himself."
Mr. Freaky tapped the microphone.
"Welcome to Monster Academy's annual Career Day assembly.
Our first guest today is . . . Cleo's uncle Tut."
Cheers filled the auditorium. "Woo-hoo!"
The mummy strode proudly onto the stage.
"Good morning. I used to be the king of Egypt."
"I doubt I'll ever be a king," Mog whispered.
Ben grinned. "You could be the Monster Prom king."
"That's not a job," Mog replied.
A lizard monster was the speaker after Uncle Tut.
"I wrestle alligators and sell them at the market," he said.
Gaby smiled. "I could do that job. You could too, Mog."
"Nah." Mog shook his head. "I don't like getting my fur wet."
The next presenter was a vampire.
"I'm a bat groomer.
As you know, bats go out every night and . . ."
She paused to roll her eyes.
"When they return at dawn, their hair is a mess!"
Everyone laughed, which made Waldo sneeze again.
The room filled with blue smoke.
Mr. Freaky groaned. "I said no spells, Waldo."
He pulled out a handkerchief to mop his forehead.
"Please be on your best behavior, students.
Our next guest doesn't like magic."
The students clapped as Mayor Hubbletree strode in.
He puffed out his chest.
"As you know, I have a very important job.
I'm the mayor of People Place.
This position has a lot of responsibilities."
"Like making Mr. Freaky miserable," Gaby whispered.
"As mayor, I'm in charge of every part of People Place," Mayor Hubbletree went on.
"I manage the parks and buildings.
I make laws and run the government."
He frowned at all the buckets lined up onstage.
"And I make sure our schools are in good shape.
As you can see, being mayor is the most important job of all."
"Thank you for coming, Mayor Hubbletree," Mr. Freaky said quickly.
"I'm sure you have an important meeting to get to now."
As the students applauded, the mayor spoke softly to Mr. Freaky.
But Ben could hear his voice come through the microphone.
"I'll talk to you later, Freaky," the mayor muttered.
"It looks like we have a crisis here."
"Crisis?" Ben thought.
Before he could say anything to Winnie, the final guest scurried onto the stage.
It was a dust collector carrying a broom.
Waldo started sneezing again as clouds of dust drifted from the stage.
The dust collector straightened his rags.
"My job is very exciting," he said in a flat tone.
"I collect dust. I begin sweeping at dawn and . . ."
"Time for a nap," Mog whispered, shutting his eyes.
"I'm not interested in dust collecting."
Finally the dust monster was finished, and Mr. Freaky returned to the microphone.
"I hope you enjoyed Career Day, students. We—"
Just then the auditorium door banged open, and a skeleton clattered into the room.
He had a long black beard and wore an eyepatch like a pirate.
His other eye burned like fire as he waved a gleaming sword and snarled.
"Give me all your gold!"