Frankie and her dad had been working in the lab almost nonstop for over a day. Frankie hadn’t even stopped to sleep, but she did hook herself up for a full charge late in the night after they’d been working for many hours. By Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Stein forced Frankie to reemerge from the basement to have some lunch. Reluctantly, she climbed up the steps feeling both weary and excited.

“Have you heard from Headmistress Bloodgood about the Monster Exchange buddy program yet?” her mom asked as Frankie sat down for lunch. As soon as she started digging in to the grilled cheese her mom had made for her, she realized just how hungry she was!

“Not yet—but I haven’t even had time to check in with her,” Frankie admitted between bites. She’d been so wrapped up in her lab work that she had almost forgotten about her conversation with the headmistress. She scarfed down the rest of her sandwich, plus an apple and a chocolate chip cookie, then logged on to check her e-mail. Yes! There it was. “Mom, I’m in!” She scanned the e-mail, learning that she was to report to the headmistress’s office first thing Monday to meet her new buddy.

Mrs. Stein hustled over and read the e-mail over Frankie’s shoulder. “Isi Dawndancer? What an interesting name.”

Frankie buzzed with excitement. “She sounds voltageous!”

Mrs. Stein laughed. “You don’t know anything about her.”

“But if she wants to come to Monster High, she must be voltageous, right? I can’t wait to introduce her to everyone and show her around. Wouldn’t it be exciting if she were interested in joining the Fearleading squad? Of course, if she’s not a great dancer, it’s no big deal—I’ll teach her everything she needs to know. And she can sit with us at lunch, and maybe we can take her shopping this weekend for some spooktacular new clothes—”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Mrs. Stein warned. “You’re just like your dad, Frankie. You let your excitement about new things energize you so much you have a hard time winding down.” She smiled at her daughter. “I’m so happy you’ve volunteered to be a part of this, though. It’s great to see you fitting in so well at Monster High.”

Frankie smiled back. She really was having a creeperific time at Monster High. She loved her classes, and she adored her ghoulfriends. Draculaura and Clawdeen had made her feel like part of the group from her very first day—freaky flaws and everything—and now she would have the opportunity to pay it forward. She was sure Isi Dawndancer would become one of her closest ghoulfriends too in no time.

Watzit pawed at Frankie’s leg, and she bent down to give him a scratch. “Is it time to get back to the lab, little one?” she cooed. “I bet you’re ready for me to finish Zappit so you two can play, huh? Are you?” Of course, Watzit didn’t answer. But Frankie was pretty sure he was as excited about her invention as she was. Who didn’t love new fiends?

She grabbed a second cookie off the counter and dashed out of the kitchen. “Heading back to the lab, Mom. See you for dinner. Maybe.”

“Don’t drain your batteries too much,” her mom called after her. “You need to save some of your energy for school on Monday!”

“I won’t,” Frankie hollered back. She raced down to the lab, ready to get back to work. When she got downstairs, she found her dad was busy working on one of his own projects on the far side of the lab. So Frankie picked up just where she’d left off with Zappit, and she and her dad worked side by side for the next few hours. Every so often, Mr. Stein would lean over and make a suggestion when it was clear Frankie was stuck. But for the most part, Frankie worked independently. She had gone from stranger to expert in the lab! She felt like she was made to do this sort of work, and in a way, she was!

After she had been working for a while, Frankie set up a little bed for Watzit on the floor so he would feel like he was in on the action too. As she worked, Frankie snapped pictures of the progress she was making. She wanted to be able to show her classmates what it took to build her creation when she presented it to the class on Monday. No one would believe how much work it took to build a little critter!

Frankie swelled with pride when—finally—hours after her family’s usual dinner time, she was able to announce, “It’s alive!” The little critter Frankie had created stretched, yawned, and released a small growl. Watzit jumped out of his bed and stared at the little beast, yapping madly as the new creature danced and wiggled around in circles atop the lab table. Frankie leaned down and whispered, “Shhhh, it’s okay, Watzit. This is your new friend! I think you two are going to be beast fiends forever, aren’t you? Aren’t you? I made her just for you!”

Zappit growled at Watzit, then Watzit hid behind Frankie’s legs. Frankie laughed, picked up her new pet, and snuggled her close against her chest. Zappit squirmed, and Frankie let her down to shimmy across the tabletop again. Frankie couldn’t believe she had done it—her very first invention. It was alive!

Mr. Stein clapped and congratulated her. “A job well done! You should be very proud. You’re a natural in the lab.”

“Do you think so?” Frankie asked, but she knew the answer. She was a natural in the lab. She should have joined her father ages ago! She would have to thank her teachers for assigning the fall project—without it, she might never have realized what a great inventor she was! She couldn’t wait to figure out what she might create next. Suddenly, the exhaustion of the last few days caught up to her. Frankie yawned, then collapsed on one of the chairs nearby.

“You’re fried,” her dad said.

Frankie yawned again. “You’re right. I’m totally drained.” She began to clean up her mess, but her dad held out his hand to stop her.

“I’ll clean up,” he said. “You should get some rest. Take tomorrow to relax, download your pictures, and put together your presentation for school on Monday.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Frankie tucked a squirming Zappit under her arm and began to head toward her room with Watzit close at her heels.

“Frankie,” her dad said, chasing after her. “Zappit needs to spend a few hours in the lab before you can play with her. She needs a full charge to work properly. Let her rest here overnight, and the two of you can get to know each other in the morning.”

“Really?” Frankie sighed. “But I wanted to bring her into my room tonight so she and Watzit could play!”

Her dad smiled. “I know it’s tempting to play with your new inventions right away. But it’s important to take your time. Just like you, she’ll need a full charge to be fully energized. If you let her charge up overnight, her battery will last several days before she needs a jolt of power again. Trust me. You can spend all day tomorrow bonding before school starts.”