Katie and the Cupcake War (4 page)

I set the table, and soon we were eating broccoli pizza and salad. It was so delicious, I didn't mind we were having pizza for the second day in a row.

“This is sooo good,” I said, swallowing a bite of pizza. “I was starving after school today.”

Mom threw down her napkin. “Oh, Katie, I almost forgot! How was the first day of school?”

“It was pretty good,” I said. I told her most of the stuff that happened. I left out the part about Eddie and George, because that was kind of embarrassing. And I didn't tell her about Callie, because I didn't want her to get upset. I also left out the part about the missing cupcake, because now I understood why she forgot about it.

“Well, it sounds like you're off to a good start,” Mom said with a smile, and then her look got serious. “Katie, we still need to talk about the surgery. I'm going to have to stay with Grandma Carole a few days while she's recovering. Mrs. Rogers is going to stay with you.”

Mom announced it in that fake-happy voice adults use when they are trying to convince you that what they are saying is good when they really
know it isn't. I almost groaned out loud.

Mrs. Rogers is the woman who took care of me when I was a little kid and Mom had to work. She still babysits me sometimes when Mom goes out late, and the annoying thing is that she still treats me like a three-year-old. The last time she was here, she actually checked my toothbrush before I went to bed to make sure I had brushed my teeth. My mom is a dentist! Of
course
I brushed my teeth!

“Mom, not Mrs. Rogers, please,” I begged. “She treats me like a baby. Can't I go with you?”

“Absolutely not,” Mom said. “You need to stay in school.”

I bit my lip. “But, Mom, it's not fair!”

“Katie, I really need your cooperation here,” Mom said, and I could tell I had upset her. “I don't want to worry about you while I'm taking care of Grandma. So no complaining, okay?”

It was really, really hard not to say anything back, but I kept quiet. I knew Mom was right. I would just have to deal with Mrs. Rogers for a few days. Thank goodness for school.

But I was still feeling kind of bad. Then I remembered something from Ms. Chen's boring fitness lecture that actually made me feel better.

“Mom, the lights on the high school track stay
on until nine,” I said. “Can we go for a run?”

The worried look on Mom's face relaxed. “Why not? Let's wait a little bit. It's not good to go running right after you eat. But I think a run would do us both good.”

So a little while later I changed into my running clothes, and Mom and I went down to the track. There was a chill in the air, but it wasn't too cold—perfect weather for running. As we ran around and around in circles, I stopped feeling worried and sad and guilty.

It just goes to show you that sometimes it pays to listen to boring lectures in school!

T
he second day of school was pretty good, especially since it was Friday, and there was a three-day weekend to look forward to. Two days of school, three days of break. Why can't it be like that year-round?

During lunch I tried not to think about Callie too much, but she and the PGC girls were making this big show of whispering and then looking over at us.

“That is
so
immature,” Alexis said.

“Totally,” Mia agreed. “It must have really upset them when we beat them last year.”

“We should have another club meeting,” I said. “We need to come up with something really amazing. Tonight we'll be busy baking for The Special
Day.” Our friend Mona had a standing order with us, and we baked for her on Fridays.

“How about tomorrow afternoon?” Alexis suggested. “Mia and I have a soccer game in the morning, but we could do something around two.”

“Sounds good,” Emma said. “I have three dogs to walk in the morning, but I'm free in the afternoon.”

“Hey, maybe I'll come watch your game,” I said to Mia and Alexis. “I'll get my mom to drop me off.”

“Then it's set,” Alexis said. “We can meet at my house. Everyone should come with ideas.”

I felt better knowing that we had a plan in place. I was not about to just sit back and let Callie beat us in a cupcake war!

The rest of the day was pretty good—until English class. Ms. Harmeyer asked everyone to hand in their poems. I had completely forgotten about it!

It is totally not like me to forget to do my homework. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. After class, I ran up to Ms. Harmeyer's desk.

“Ms. Harmeyer, I forgot to do my poem,” I said. “I was waiting for my mom to help me and then things got . . . I just forgot. Can I do it over the weekend?”

Ms. Harmeyer shook her head. “I'm sorry, Katie. You're in middle school now, and my homework policy is very strict.”

I felt like crying. “Okay,” I said. “I won't forget again.”

“I'll be offering an extra-credit assignment soon,” she said.

I nodded. “Thanks,” I said. “Have a nice weekend.”

Things got much better once school was over. When I got off the bus, Mom was home, and she was cooking a Mexican-style chicken casserole—from scratch. Dinner was delicious, and at the end, Mom told me to close my eyes. When I opened them, she held out a plate with a perfect cupcake on it. The icing was blue, and there was a chocolate-covered graham cracker sticking up on top that looked like a chalkboard. A tiny white piece of candy next to the board looked like a piece of chalk. And Mom had written in icing on the board: “Back to School.”

“I meant to make this for you on your first day, but I forgot,” Mom said, and her eyes were a little teary. “I'm so sorry, Katie. I've got a lot on my mind lately.”

“It's okay.” I got up and gave her a hug. “This
is an awesome cupcake! I've got to take a picture.”

I took out my cell phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to my friends.

Alexis replied first:

Nice! Good idea for contest maybe.

That reminded me. “Mom, can I go to a Cupcake Club meeting tomorrow? And there's a soccer game in the morning, too.”

Mom nodded. “Sure. As long as your room is clean.”

I could still close my closet door, so I knew I was okay.

“Yup,” I answered.

The next morning was one of those hot September days that still feels like summer. By the time the soccer game was over, I was dripping with sweat—and I didn't even play! So I was glad we had our Cupcake Club meeting in Alexis's nice, air-conditioned kitchen.

When we arrived, Emma and her little brother, Jake, were already there. I happen to think that Jake is adorable, but I know he gets on Emma's nerves sometimes. Even though she has two older brothers, Emma gets stuck babysitting Jake a lot.

“Katie! Katie! I have a lizard!” Jake yelled, running toward me. He had something bright yellow and wiggly in his hand. For a second I thought it might be real, but when I got closer, I saw it was made of rubber. Still, I pretended to be scared.

“Oh no! A lizard!” I cried. “Is it slimy?”

“He's not slimy. His name is Charles,” Jake said. “Here, feel him.”

Jake put the rubber lizard in my hand. “He feels nice and smooth,” I said.

Emma looked at me. “Sorry. Mom had to work the Saturday shift at the library.”

“No problem,” I said. I slid into my seat and pulled Jake onto my lap. “Jake can help us design our cupcakes. What kind of cupcakes should we make, Jake?”

“Lizard cupcakes!” he cried.

Mia laughed. “Now that's a winning idea.”

“We need to get serious, guys,” Alexis said. “We can't just
try
to win this fund-raiser. We
have
to win it
big-time
.”

“Alexis is right,” Emma agreed. “It would be terrible if the PGC beat us. It could really hurt our business.”

Alexis flipped open her laptop. “I'll take notes,”
she said. “Katie, what do you know about Callie's baking skills?”

“She's pretty good,” I admitted. “Her mom and my mom are friends, and they're the ones who taught me and Callie how to bake. I know Callie's mom will help her if she asks.”

Alexis looked thoughtful. “I don't know about Maggie and Bella, but I'm pretty sure Bella doesn't bake. Vampires don't like to eat cupcakes, right?”

“I've heard Maggie say that her family goes out to restaurants all the time,” Mia added. “So I bet Maggie doesn't know how to bake either.”

“That definitely works in our favor,” Alexis said, typing furiously. “We have a whole year of baking experience as a club.”

“Hey, don't we have to register or something?” I remembered.

“I'll check the school's website,” Alexis said, typing some more. After a few clicks, she stopped and raised her eyebrows. “Well, this is interesting.”

I looked over her shoulder. “What?”

“There's a list of clubs that have entered already,” Alexis said. “See this one? The BFC: the Best Friends Club. Callie Wilson, Maggie Rodriguez, and Bella Kovacs.”

“They changed their name?” I asked.

“I don't get it,” Alexis said, sitting back. “So what are they declaring? That they are now not popular?”

“Oh who cares?” I asked, suddenly feeling cranky. “I am so sick of them!”

Honestly, it felt like another direct blow from Callie. Like she was saying that Maggie and Bella were her best friends and not me. Which was true. But it felt personal. Like she was rubbing it in.

Alexis ignored my crankiness. “I mean, it makes no sense,” she said. “Aren't they worried this will hurt their popularity? It seems risky.”

“I don't know, it's kind of nice,” Mia said. “When they called themselves the Popular Girls Club, it was obnoxious, right? But there's nothing obnoxious about being best friends.”

Unless you dump your old best friend to get new ones,
I thought. But I didn't say it.

“Maybe Callie is trying to make the PGC—I mean, the BFC—more friendly,” Emma suggested.

“Whatever,” I said. “Shouldn't we start planning our cupcakes?”

“Oh, before I forget, is everyone coming to our Labor Day barbecue on Monday?” Emma asked.

“Of course,” Alexis replied.

“Me too,” said Mia.

I cringed. I totally forgot to ask my mom about it. Every year we have this tradition of going to Callie's house on Labor Day. But being around Callie was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.

Mom will just have to understand,
I thought.
I want to be with my
real
friends.

“I still have to ask,” I said. “So, anyway, we were talking about cupcakes. . . .”

“Lizard cupcakes!” Jake said, and everybody laughed.

W
hen I got home from the Cupcake meeting, Mom was vacuuming the living room. I figured if I wanted to get out of Callie's barbecue, it wouldn't hurt to get on her good side, so I grabbed a broom and started sweeping the kitchen floor. Then I emptied the dishwasher.

“Thank you, Katie,” Mom said, giving me a hug when I was done. “How was your Cupcake meeting?”

“It was good,” I said. “Emma reminded me of something. She invited all of us to her house for a Labor Day barbecue on Monday.”

“Labor Day!” Mom smacked her forehead with her palm. “Things have been so crazy that I never told Barbara if we were coming to the Wilsons' barbecue
or not.” (Barbara is Callie's mom, and my mom's best friend.)

“Do we have to go there?” I asked. “I'd rather be with my friends.”

Mom sat down and bit her bottom lip, which she always does when she's worried or thinking.

“I need to get some shopping done for Grandma Carole's hospital stay, and I was hoping to cook some food and freeze it, so she won't have to cook while she's recovering,” she said. “I suppose I could drop you off at Emma's while I get things done. I'm sure Barbara will understand.”