All the monsters in the auditorium gasped.
"What? Seriously?" Ben said. "You lost your treasure?"
"Did you bury it somewhere?" Mog asked.
"Of course I buried it!" Pedro said.
"I'm a pirate. That's what we do—we bury treasure."
"Did someone find it and dig it up?" Cleo asked.
Pedro scratched his head.
"I don't think so. I mean, a lot of people knew about our treasure.
A local artist even painted a picture of the burial.
But I have no idea what happened to the treasure chest.
As I said earlier, I was in jail for a long time.
By the time I got out, Monsterville had completely changed.
There were new streets and buildings.
I had no idea where I'd buried my loot.
And neither did anybody from my pirate band."
Mog looked confused. "Don't pirates usually make treasure maps?" he asked.
"Why didn't you do that?"
"I did make a map," Pedro replied. "But—"
"Ah-choo!" Waldo sneezed loudly, spewing large green bugs into the air.
Winnie swatted a few bugs away from her hair.
"Do you still have the map, Pedro?" she asked.
"I think somebody stole it!" another monster blurted out.
"I don't have the map anymore." Pedro shook his head sadly.
"I buried my treasure that day and then I went back to sea.
But our crew soon got into a big battle with another ship.
Our pirate ship caught fire and . . ." Pedro gulped.
"The treasure map burned. I tried to save it, but . . ."
Tears streamed down his face. "It was no use."
"Have you tried looking for the treasure in Monsterville?" Mog asked.
Pedro nodded. Mr. Freaky handed him a handkerchief, and the pirate wiped away his tears.
"Yes. When I got out of jail, I searched for the treasure for several years.
But it was hopeless." He shook his head.
"It was the best loot my merry band and I ever got.
And all I have now are my memories."
Mog gulped. "That's the saddest thing I ever heard!"
"Maybe I shouldn't have buried the treasure, but I wanted to keep it safe," the pirate went on.
Mr. Bog started mopping up puddles on the stage again.
Mr. Freaky eyed the wet stage nervously.
"Er, today's Career Day assembly is over, students.
Let's thank Pedro the Pirate for his fascinating presentation."
All around Ben, monsters started clapping.
Mog pumped his fist in the air. "Yes, pirates!"
Pedro bowed. "Thank you, students," he said.
"I hope you all have your own merry bands one day.
You can sing jolly sea songs and search for pirate treasure!"
He waved and then bounded off the wet stage.
Mr. Freaky leaned over the microphone.
"That was certainly an exciting ending to this year's Career Day.
Pedro's career is fascinating.
Of course, being the principal at Monster Academy is just as exciting and satisfying as—"
Goosh! Water suddenly poured down onto the stage from above, soaking Mr. Freaky.
"Ack!" Mr. Freaky cried. His noses wiggled wildly.
"Mr. Bog! Some towels, please!"
Mr. Freaky took out his handkerchief and blew his noses.
"Don't worry, students. Everything is completely under control!"
"No, it's not," Ben said, looking at the puddles.
Mr. Freaky began drying himself off.
"It's lunchtime, students. Assembly dismissed!"
Ben headed to the lunchroom with his friends.
Along the way all the students were still talking about pirates and treasure.
"Pedro's career sounds awesome," Mog said.
"Much better than the dust collector's job."
Gaby laughed. "How would you know, Mog?
You were sleeping the whole time the dust collector talked!"
Mog ignored her. "Can you imagine sailing the seas with a pirate crew?
And filling a chest with gold and other loot?"
Gaby nodded. "That would be pretty amazing.
You could buy tons of scientific equipment, Waldo.
I know what I'd get—new detective books."
Winnie smiled. "I thought you might say you'd go on a dream vacation, Gaby."
"Nope." Gaby shook her head.
"I'm only dreaming about a library filled with mysteries."
Mog was still going on about Pedro's treasure chest.
"If we had all that loot, we'd all be rich—as rich as kings.
It's too bad Pedro lost his treasure."
Winnie suddenly halted.
"That's it!" she said, snapping her fingers.
Ben looked at her. "What do you mean, Winnie?"
Winnie's eyes were glowing.
"Pedro said his treasure is lost somewhere in Monsterville," she said.
"But it doesn't have to stay lost. Let's try to find it!"