"Waldo!" Ben cried. "Look out!"
"Huh?" Waldo saw the egg coming and managed to duck in the nick of time.
Ben didn't move, expecting the egg to pass right through him.
But—splat!
The dodo egg hit Ben in the chest, and gooey green dodo yolk splattered all over him.
"Ugh." Ben looked down at his shirt.
"What a mess. Why didn't the egg go right through me?"
Loud laughter suddenly rang out.
A few of the monsters from Team Orange had come into the gym.
"Nice catch, ghost boy!" Carly called. Carly was a doppelganger.
A witch named Brunhilda was cackling with delight.
"You've got egg on your face, Ben!"
Winnie hurried over to him.
"Are you all right?" She held a hand over her mouth, as if she was trying hard not to laugh too.
"I'm fine." Ben wiped egg off his shirt.
"Sorry about that, Ben," Waldo said.
"I tried to cast a spell to stop the egg, but—"
Mog frowned. "No magic during Field Day events, Waldo.
So you can't use it during practice, either."
Waldo nodded. "Right!"
Zork and his teammates were still laughing.
"No offense, Team Black," Zork said.
"But if that's the best you can do, Team Orange is headed for an easy victory."
"Maybe you guys should just sit in the stands and . . ." Carly made her eyes pop out.
"Watch the events instead of competing in them."
Deb, who was the only doppelganger on Mog's team, shot back.
"Well, watch out, Team Orange.
Because tomorrow we're going to bury you!"
She changed into a big tombstone that read RIP Team Orange.
The two doppelgangers kept dueling while everyone in the gym watched.
Carly turned into a giant worm.
"You're the ones who will be sleeping with the worms when we're through with you!"
"Even a worm could outrun you slugs."
Deb became a giant slug and slithered around the gym, leaving a trail of slime.
Serena turned to Winnie.
"This is getting boring," she murmured.
"Let's go." Heads turned to watch walk toward the exit.
Winnie rushed after her.
Zork stepped into the middle of the gym.
"Huddle up, Team Orange," he called.
"Let's show these Team Black losers how a real team practices."
Carly and Brunhilda joined him, along with Cleo and a werewolf named Lon.
Ben quickly counted the competitors.
"That's only five monsters," he thought.
"I wonder who the sixth member of their team is."
Mog scowled. "That's enough practice for now, Team Black.
Let's get out of here.
We don't want to give these jokers any tips for winning."
They headed for the exit too.
"Don't drop any more eggs on your way out!" Carly called after them.
"Yeah," Lon said. "You guys already stink!"
Zork laughed. "I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow—especially at our first event, the tug-of-war.
That's when you'll get a look at our secret weapon!"
Mog gulped and looked at Ben. "Did he just say secret weapon?"
The next morning Ben found his teammates on the field behind the school.
They were all dressed in black.
"Welcome to Field Day!" Mr. Freaky called.
Like the teachers, he was dressed in orange and black so he could root for both teams.
The cheerleaders waved their pom-poms. "Go, Orange! Go, Black!" they cheered.
Mr. Gwarg blew his whistle.
"Okay, monsters, here's how Field Day works.
We've got four events today—the tug-of-war, the sack race, the slime ball toss, and finally, the cross-country race.
The team that wins the most events will be crowned Field Day champions."
"Woo-hoo! That's going to be us!" Zork shouted.
"Mr. Gwarg?" Francis hopped up and down, trying to get the gym teacher's attention.
Finally the gym teacher saw him. "Yes, Francis?"
"What happens if there's a tie?" Francis asked.
"Huh." Mr. Gwarg tapped a finger against his chin.
"I never thought about that before."
He was quiet for a few seconds.
"Well, how about this: If there's a tie, the team with the second-place winner in the cross-country race will win."
A zombie wiped drool from his chin.
"That doesn't make much sense," he said.
He looked around at some other monsters.
"Or does it?" Another bit of drool dripped from his mouth.
"It doesn't matter if it makes sense!" Lon said.
"Because Team Orange is going to win every single event!" He howled loudly.
Deb narrowed her eyes. "No way, hairball!"
Monsters booed and cheered again.
They were so loud that some monsters held their hands over their ears.
A monster with four ears but only two hands tried desperately to cover her ears.
Ben sighed. Field Day hadn't even started yet, and he already felt exhausted.