12 NEED A LIFT BATTLE STATION!

CHAPTER 12 NEED A LIFT? Climb onto that forklift!" shouted Ms. Vanderpants. She pointed to a broken-down piece of machinery in the weedy parking lot. "We need to leave FAST! That collapsed factory won't hold the monsters for long!" Alexander, Rip, and Nikki squeezed into the forklift's seat as the army of monsters began rising from the rubble. "I'll power this thing," said Ms. Vanderpants. "Ripley, you steer." "Woo-hoo!" Rip shouted "Wait where are we going?"

"To school," said Ms. Vanderpants. "It's 4:00, so the students should all be gone." Four o'clock?! thought Alexander. Less than an hour until I turn eight! Ms. Vanderpants crouched down and began spinning like a ball. She rolled against the forklift and ball-spun it forward at rocket speed. Alexander and Nikki held on tight as Rip steered the forklift over sidewalks, through a fountain, and across downtown Stermont. By 4:03, the forklift skidded to a stop, right in front of Stermont Elementary. "Excellent work, Ripley Bonkowski," said Ms. Vanderpants. "Now, everyone inside!"

The S.S.M.P. ran into the lobby. Alexander could hear the rumbling of a monster stampede in the distance. "We shouldn't have come here!" said Nikki. "We've led the monsters straight to our brand- new school!" Ms. Vanderpants smiled. "This isn't a school. It's a fortress." Seconds later, a wave of monsters smashed through the doors. Ms. Vanderpants flipped a switch on the side of a water fountain.

Spiky cement balls dropped from the ceiling, crushing the monsters. "Amazing!" Rip cheered. "You bowled five strikes, all at once!" "This way hurry!" said Ms. Vanderpants. She twisted a fire extinguisher. VRRT! A hidden panel slid open, revealing an elevator. "Awesome!" said Nikki. There was only one button in the secret elevator. Ms. Vanderpants pressed it with her horn. On the ride up, the S.S.M.P. peppered their principal with questions.

If you're on our side, then why did you hire monsters to work here? Gym Teacher: Fish-kabob Cafeteria Workers/Nurse: Meat-eating veggie Classroom Teacher: Super-goop Those monsters tricked me. I was focused on catching the boss-monster. We were lucky you three figured out their identities before any students were eaten. What is the boss-monster's weakness? I don't know. The gloomp seems unstoppable. Why was our original school building knocked down? The one before the hospital? It had become infested with forkupines. I had to knock it down to get rid of them! But I kept one around, to see if I could train it. That is also when I decided to design our new school to be the ultimate monster battle station. DING! The elevator doors slid open. The S.S.M.P. found themselves in the principal's office.