Ben floated through the crowded auditorium at Monster Academy. He was looking for Winnie so they could sit together at the morning assembly.
Boomph! He tried to float through a row of chairs, but instead he slammed into something hard.
"Hey! Watch it!" a werewolf growled.
"Sorry," said Ben. "I'm still working on my floating technique." He headed toward the front of the room.
"Ben!" a voice called. Gaby waved him over. "Over here! Sit with me!"
Ben dropped into the seat next to the giant. "Hey, Gaby," he said. "How's it going? Have you seen Winnie anywhere?"
"No, but maybe—" Before Gaby could finish, Mr. Freaky hurried onto the stage. His noses were wiggling wildly.
"Good morning, everyone!" said the Monster Academy principal. "Today is a very exciting day. The humans from People Place will be arriving very soon."
"We're already here!" shouted someone from the crowd.
Ben turned around and saw three humans in the back row. They were wearing matching black jackets. Suddenly one of the humans turned into a large, furry monster. Most of the students laughed, but Ben was confused.
"What's going on?" he asked Gaby.
"They're the Doppel Gang," she explained. "Moe, Larry, and Carly. They're doppelgangers."
"Huh?" Ben knew that doppelgangers usually looked like humans. He'd also heard that they could make themselves look like anyone—or anything—they wanted. Plus, they had some magical abilities.
"The gang loves to play pranks," said Gaby. "They're really funny."
"Moe!" Mr. Freaky snapped. "Stop that at once!"
Moe quickly returned to his human form. "Sorry, Mr. Freaky."
"I need everyone to behave today," said Mr. Freaky. "We must not scare the humans." He looked at Miss Bungle, who was sitting in the front row with some other teachers. "Is the broom flying squad ready for the flyover?"
"Oh yes." The broom flying teacher beamed. "All of my best students are in the squad. We're going to fly over the school to welcome our visitors. It's going to be spectacular!"
"Of course," thought Ben. "That's where Winnie is. She's getting ready for the flyover."
Miss Bungle was still talking. "The broom fliers are very excited to—"
A roar of laughter filled the auditorium. The doppelgangers were making their eyes bulge out of their faces. It looked as if invisible hands were squeezing their heads.
Mr. Freaky looked up to see what everyone was laughing at. The doppelgangers immediately returned to their normal appearances.
Ben heard a couple of monsters still giggling quietly. He was laughing too—he couldn't help himself. Gaby was right—the Doppel Gang was pretty funny.
Mr. Freaky turned his attention back to Miss Bungle. This time the Doppel Gang made themselves look like Mr. Freaky. Ben and the other students laughed hysterically as the three Mr. Freakys wiggled their noses and danced.
Mr. Freaky looked annoyed. "What is so funny?" he demanded.
Nobody answered.
"This visit must go well, students!" Mr. Freaky warned them. "If it doesn't, Mayor Hubbletree will be very angry. He almost bulldozed our school a couple of weeks ago. Who knows what he'll do if there are any problems today!"
Mr. Freaky glanced at Mr. Gwarg. "What time is it?" the principal asked the gym teacher.
As Mr. Gwarg looked at his watch, the Doppel Gang turned into three enormous noses. The auditorium seemed to shake with laughter.
Mr. Freaky looked up, and everyone stopped laughing. The Doppel Gang looked like their usual selves again.
"Why does everybody keep laughing?" asked the principal.
Mr. Gwarg stood up and turned around to glare at the students, his hands on his hips. "I don't know, Mr. Freaky. But I don't like it." He glared at the students for another moment and then looked at his watch. "It's 9:40, sir."
"Good," said Mr. Freaky. "Now, students, the humans should be here in about 30 minutes. We have a lot of fun events planned for our guests. Waldo Wizz will present a wonderful new experiment in the science lab. We'll eat a delicious lunch together. And our two schools will play each other in soccer. So please behave today, and remember: don't scare the humans!"
The principal dismissed the students, and everyone headed for the school lobby to wait for the humans to arrive.
Ben floated through the crowded hallway. "I wonder where the broom fliers are," he thought. "I want to wish Winnie good luck. She'll probably get to do some cool tricks."
He spotted Miss Bungle talking to a group of flying students.
"Oh, good. It's the broom flying squad," thought Ben.
He shot toward the group. But then he stopped. Holding their brooms were four witches and two goblins. But there was no Winnie.
Ben scratched his head. "Where is she?" he wondered.