Katie Sprinkles and Surprises (13 page)

I think I was most proud of the bird cupcakes, because I had experimented a lot to find the best way to do them. You know those old-fashioned candies that are shaped like leaves? I thought they kind of looked like birds bodies. So I'd sliced them through the middle to make them thinner. Then I'd used little tubes of icing to draw on an eye, a beak, and wings, and I'd made swirly designs all around them. They looked really amazing.

Katie helped me put the rest of the cupcakes on the stands, and then we stashed the carriers under the table. Alexis, Katie, and I stood in front of the
table to see how everything looked.

“This might be our nicest display yet,” Alexis remarked. “It's too bad Emma is not here.”

Emma, the fourth member of the Cupcake Club, was off on a modeling job in the city.

“I'll send her a picture,” Katie said, taking out her phone.

Alexis scrolled through the screen on her own smartphone. “So, display, check. Cupcakes, check. Business cards, check. Cash box, check. Flyers, check.” She looked up at us. “Wow, I can't believe it. I think we're all set. We didn't forget anything.”

I checked the time. “There's a few minutes before the doors open. I want to look around before it gets busy.”

“I'll watch the table,” Alexis offered.

“Thanks,” Katie said. “I want to look around too.”

So Katie and I walked around the room, checking out the crafts. Some of the stuff was kind of old-fashioned and looked like my grandma would like it, but some of it was really cool. We went to a table with beaded jewelry first, and Katie picked up a bracelet made out of chunky glass beads.

“This is so cool! The beads look like candy, almost,” she said.

The woman setting up the booth smiled. “I
call that my ‘candy shop' style,” she said, and then nodded to our shirts. “So, you're the girls from the cupcake stand?”

We nodded. “Yes,” I said. “We started a cupcake club at school and turned it into a business.”

“That's really ambitious,” she said. “Good luck today!”

We thanked her and moved on to a table full of knitted scarves and then to another cool table with all these awesome animals and creatures sewn from felt. The girl behind it looked like she was in high school, and her blond hair was streaked with red and purple.

“These are sooo cute!” Katie squealed, picking up a little green squirrel with a goofy face.

“That's my favorite one,” the girl said.

Katie dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out some bills. “I have to get this. You're coming home with me, Nutsy.”

I laughed. “Nutsy?”

“Well, she's a squirrel, isn't she? And squirrels like nuts,” Katie said.

“I think it's a good name for a squirrel,” said the girl, giving Katie her change. She also handed over a business card with the name Super Stuffies on it.

Then I noticed people were starting to come
through the doors, so I tapped Katie on the arm.

“We'd better go help Alexis,” I said.

When we got back to the table I saw a glamorous-looking woman with long black hair standing there. She wore black skinny jeans, black boots, and a black short-sleeved turtleneck. For a second I didn't recognize her.

“Hi, Mom,” I said, running up to her. My mom always looks glamorous, whether she's at the supermarket or going to eat at a hot restaurant in the city. You've always got to look good when you're a fashion stylist.

“Mia, the table looks lovely,” Mom said. “You girls did a wonderful job.”

“They certainly did.”

A gray-haired woman walked up to us. She wore a long, flowy purple tunic over black leggings, which made her look very artistic.

“Mia, this is Mrs. Barrows, the president of the Women's Club,” my mom said. “This my daughter and her friends Katie and Alexis.”

Mrs. Barrows looked over the cupcake booth. “This is a lovely addition to our craft fair. I can't believe you girls made these cupcakes yourselves. They're beautiful!”

Alexis took a vanilla flower cupcake from the
stand. “They taste as good as they look,” she said, handing her one.

“Why, thank you!” Mrs. Barrows said. She unwrapped it and took a bite. “You're certainly right. This is delicious! You girls are quite professional.”

Then two women walked up to our table, and we had to go into “sales mode,” as Alexis would say. Katie and I answered questions about what was in each cupcake, and Alexis took the money, made change, and made sure everyone left with a business card and a flyer.

It was kind of a long day. We were pretty much busy the whole time, and we took turns leaving the table to eat the bagged lunches we had brought. Things finally slowed down in the afternoon.

Alex put her hands on her hips, surveying the table. We had about two dozen cupcakes left. She looked around the room, counting.

“We should give one to each of the vendors,” she said finally. “I don't think we'll sell out, and these are the kind of people who appreciate homemade things.”

I'm always amazed by Alexis. It's like her mind is constantly churning out great business ideas.

“Let's do it,” I agreed, and we took turns going to the tables and giving a cupcake to each
vendor—along with a business card, of course. Everyone was really happy to get a cupcake.

We even had time to do a little shopping by the end of the day. I bought a really cool crocheted infinity scarf with black fringe along the edges, and when Katie wasn't looking, I went back to the jewelry table and got her the bracelet that looked like candy. I figured I'd save it for her birthday.

I also went back to the girl with the stuffies. One of her creatures was a little purple monster, and I thought Ethan might like it. He's the mostly-annoying-but-sometimes-cute son of Lynne, my dad's girlfriend.

“No charge,” the girl said when I tried to pay. “That was an awesome cupcake.”

“Wow, thank you,” I said. “That's really nice of you.”

When I got back to the table, Alexis was counting out the cash box.

“Except for the cupcakes we gave away, we sold them all,” she said, looking at the clock, “with only five minutes to go. That's pretty perfect.”

“Definitely,” Katie agreed.

“Mrs. Barrows said we were professional,” I reminded them. “Maybe she's right. I mean, it's like we've figured out how to smooth away all the
problems we usually have. We are awesome!”

“This
was
a pretty smooth event,” Alexis agreed, “but there are always going to be problems. That's just the way it is in a business.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I'll keep my fingers crossed that things stay smooth.”

Little did I know that things were about to get bumpier than lumpy cupcake frosting—but it wasn't the Cupcake Club's fault at all.

Katie is going through a lot of changes in her life. Have you been paying attention? How well do you know Katie? Take this quiz and find out!

    

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