Sugar and Spice (3 page)

Kylie pulled out an order form. “This came in last night, and it's a rush for tomorrow,” she said, handing it to Lexi. “I thought it could be a really fun decorating job for you.”

“Six dozen sushi-themed cupcakes for a birthday party at Bridgeport Teppanyaki Palace,” Lexi read aloud.

“What's teppan-yucki?” Delaney asked.

“Teppan-
yah
-ki,” Lexi corrected her. “It's a Japanese meal that the chef grills right in front of you on a table. My Aunt Dee took me once in New York City.”

Delaney nodded. “Cool. Like barbecue.”

“Kinda,” Kylie added. “But no burgers or hot dogs—more like chicken, meat, fish, and veggies cut into little pieces.”

Delaney stared at the order form. “They want cupcakes with fondant sushi on them? Eel, shrimp, and raw tuna? Eww!”

“It could be worse,” Herbie reminded them. “They could have asked us to put
real
raw fish on top.”

Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure we can't talk this client into some pretty cupcakes with Japanese cherry blossoms on them?”

Kylie pointed to the note in all-capital letters: “AUTHENTIC-LOOKING SUSHI ROLLS ON EACH CUPCAKE.”

Jenna patted Lexi on the back. “You sketch and give me a little time to get my taste buds tuned up,” she said.

“No soy sauce or wasabi in the batter,” Kylie warned her.

“Or those little orange fish eggs,” Herbie chimed in. “I say no to roe!”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Just leave the cupcakes to us,” she dictated. “We got this.”

• • •

Three hours later, what they had was a mess in the kitchen. Lexi's fondant sushi toppers all looked realistic—especially the eel airbrushed to look slimy. But they couldn't agree on the kind of cake or frosting. Everything they tried tasted strange.

“Would it be too gross to do a shrimp-flavored icing?” Delaney asked.

Jenna pretended to gag. “Uh,
sí
. Sugar and shrimp do not mix.”

“I guess that rules out soy-sauce flavor too,” Sadie said.

“Wasn't the batch of wasabi cupcakes bad enough?” Jenna groaned.

“I think we need to steer clear of all things sushi,” Herbie suggested. “What else do you think of when you think of Japanese cuisine?”

“Mochi ice cream,” Lexi said. “You know, those cute little round, pounded rice treats?”

“Mochi would melt if we put it inside a cupcake,” Sadie pointed out.

“Okay, but it's a step in the right direction,” Herbie said, scratching his head. “What else?”

“Green tea!” Kylie suddenly shouted. “A green tea cupcake would be delicious. I've had green tea crepes and macaroons, and they're amazing.”

“And we could do a green tea buttercream,” Jenna added, smacking her lips together. “I think that would work, and the green color would be beautiful.”

She scribbled a shopping list on a piece of paper and handed it to Herbie. “We'll need matcha powder from the gourmet grocery.”

“Matcha whatta?” Herbie asked.

“
Aye, dios mío
!” Jenna exclaimed. “It's green tea powder.”

“Gotcha—I mean matcha!” Herbie teased. “Back in a jiffy.”

When their advisor was gone, Kylie seized the moment to talk about their upcoming “competition” against Connecticut Cupcakes for the pageant job.

“They're pros with tons of experience—not to mention several cookbooks, a dozen stores, and their own line of designer aprons! Of course the pageant will hire them over us,” Delaney said.

“Not so fast,” Kylie replied. “We can out-bake them. We just have to be smart about it.”

Lexi pulled out her sketchbook. “At first I was thinking about rock-candy jewels, but I realized pageants have amazing crowns. I think we should do a tower of cupcakes with a life-sized, pulled-sugar tiara on top.”

“Whoa!” Sadie exclaimed. “You've been watching the Food Channel way too much, Lex. We're not sugar artists.”

“But we're cupcake artists,” Kylie insisted. “We can figure anything out if we set our minds to it. I think we should hear Lexi out. How big a tower were you thinking?”

She held her hand way above her head. “Six, maybe seven feet high, with scalloped edges like the peaks of the crown.”

Kylie studied the drawing carefully. “What if we did mirrored shelves for each level—when I think beauty, I think of looking in a mirror, don't you?”

Now it was Jenna's turn to speak up. “I know we were talking about a vanilla cupcake, but that seemed so ordinary,” she said. “What do you guys think of devil's food with chocolate ganache? Something rich and decadent to go with our dazzling sugar crown.”

“I think my mouth is watering,” Delaney said. “That sounds yummy.”

“What do you think Connecticut Cupcakes will make?” Kylie asked. “They've got some pretty original flavors in their stores. Last month's was black pepper chocolate.”

Jenna made a face. “What beauty queen would want to eat black pepper chocolate?” she asked. “I'm telling you, our idea is way better.”

“Let's hope so,” Kylie said. “Miss New England Shooting Starz could make stars out of PLC. We just need to get them to hire us.”

Kylie's mom dropped them off at the building that housed Miss New England Shooting Starz. It was a plain, white-brick structure with not a hint of glamour or glitz—just lots and lots of offices.

“Which door do you suppose is Starz's?” Lexi asked.

Kylie pointed down a hallway where a long, pink carpet was laid out. “I'd say it's the one at the end of that.”

They knocked on the door, and a pretty, perky assistant answered. Her long, sandy-blond hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and she was wearing a casual T-shirt and denim miniskirt.

“
You
work for the pageant?” Delaney asked.

“I do,” the young woman replied. “What were you expecting?”

Delaney shrugged. “I kinda thought you might be wearing an evening gown and a tiara.”

The woman laughed. “Nah, I save the crown for the weekend,” she said with a wink. “My name is Hershey.”

Jenna looked puzzled. “As in the chocolate bar? Or the kiss?”

“As in Elsabeth Hershey. Everyone just calls me Hershey for short.”

“Why don't they call you Elsa for short?” Sadie suggested.

“And deal with all the
Frozen
jokes? No thanks!” Hershey replied. “I'd rather be a candy bar.”

“Me too!” Jenna exclaimed. “Although a Double Stuf Oreo would be my top choice.”

“We're Peace, Love, and Cupcakes.” Kylie stepped in, trying to steer the conversation back to the reason why they were there. “We have some cupcakes for the pageant directors to sample.”

Hershey's eyes lit up. “Cupcakes? You brought cupcakes? What kind?”

“It's kind of a surprise,” Lexi said, placing the box behind her back. “We don't want to give it away.”

Hershey nodded. “I gotcha. I'll go see if I can find Laura and Fitzy. It's always crazy here the month before the pageant. So much to do and prepare, ya know?”

Lexi shrugged. “Nope, I don't know. But it sounds cool.”

“It is! We have more than two hundred girls competing from all over the country.”

She disappeared in the back of the office while the girls made themselves at home on a big, pink couch.

“Check it out,” Jenna said, pointing to a huge, glittering rhinestone crown on a shelf. “I'd look good in that, don't you think?”

“I think it would give me a headache,” Lexi said, sighing. “It probably weighs a ton.”

Jenna jumped off the couch. “Well, let's find out!”

She gently took the crown off the shelf. “You're right. It
is
heavy,” she said. She placed it on her head and spun around. “How do I look?
Muy
bonita
?”

“You look like Glinda from
The
Wizard
of
Oz
,” Delaney said, giggling.

Jenna did her best royal wave. “I could get used to this.” Then she plunked the crown on Delaney's head.

“Here she is…Miss Peace, Love, and Cupcakes,” Delaney crooned, pretending to walk an imaginary runway.

“Come on, Delaney,” Lexi fretted. “Put it back before we get in trouble.”

“Not until you try it on,” Delaney insisted. She placed the crown on Lexi's head and stepped back to admire it.

“Whoa! Lex, you look
como
una
reina
—like a queen,” Jenna said, whistling through her teeth.

“I feel silly,” Lexi replied, snatching it off. “I'm not a pageant queen.”

“But you could be,” said a voice entering the room. It was Laura, the pageant director. “All you need is the confidence to be a star.”

Lexi's cheeks flushed bright red. “I'm so sorry!” she apologized, handing the crown back to Laura. “We were just trying it on for size.”

“No worries!” the director replied. “This was my crown from when I was Miss New England Shooting Starz twenty years ago. I was Ultimate Grand Supreme.”

“Is that, like, the best?” Delaney asked.

“Well, it's the top prize,” Laura explained. “But there are lots of other categories as well, like prettiest smile, best personality, ultimate talent…”

It was easy to see why Laura had won. She had warm, brown eyes; silky, brown hair that fell in loose ringlets around her shoulders; and perfect, white teeth. And unlike Hershey, she was dressed to the nines in a pale-blue suit and high heels.

“Is there a category for most baskets in a single game?” Sadie asked. “I'd win that for sure.”

“Afraid not,” Laura said, smiling. “But there is a fitness category where you can show off your sports skill.”

“You could dribble your ball onstage,” Delaney teased, elbowing Sadie. “Or do an ollie on your skateboard.”

“Well, if there was a category for best cupcake, PLC would win it,” Kylie said, motioning for Lexi to bring over the samples. “I hope you like what we created for your pageant.”

“Did I hear the word ‘cupcake'?” A bubbly, blond woman suddenly bounced into the room. She was dressed head to toe in pink, from her fuchsia beanie with “STAR” on it to her pink sweater, leggings, and bubble-gum pink patent-leather boots. She was carrying several sequined gowns, draped over both arms.

“I'm Fitzy. And you are?”

“Speechless,” Delaney replied. “Those are the most gorgeous dresses I've ever seen!”

“Ya think?” Fitzy asked. “I can't decide if this is fab or drab.” She held up an emerald-green dress with fringe on the bottom.

Delaney gasped. “OMG! It's amazing!”

“I agree—if you're a leprechaun,” Laura sniffed.

“Or a pistachio nut,” Jenna spoke up. “Just sayin'.”

Laura looked up from her clipboard. “I like this girl. She's got style.”

Jenna looked down at her gray sweatshirt, jeans, and black high-top sneakers. “Really? 'Cause these are just my sisters' hand-me-downs.”

“Style isn't just what you wear on the outside. It's what you project from the inside,” Fitzy explained. “Confidence is your best accessory.”

“Phew,” Jenna said, mopping her brow. “That's a relief.”

“That's what our pageant's all about,” Laura added. “Celebrating girls who are beautiful inside and out. Do you think you could come up with a cupcake that embodies that?”

Lexi held open the box. “We made these sparkling spun-sugar crown toppers.”

Fitzy handed Sadie her pile of clothes. “Hold this. I need a closer taste—I mean, look.”

Both directors examined the cupcakes. They looked them over from every angle and sampled the cake and the frosting individually, then together.

“They are certainly works of art,” Laura commented.

Fitzy licked her fingertips. “And scrumptious!” she said with her mouth full.

“Yummo with a capital
Y
,” Hershey weighed in.

Laura tapped a high-heeled pump on the floor. “They really are very good…”

“Good? They're great!” Jenna insisted. “We're talking the finest Belgian chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, and French butter.”

“That sounds very worldly,” Laura continued. “It's just…”

Lexi sensed there was something that the Starz director was hesitating to tell them.

“We're not hired, are we?” she said quietly.

“I'm sorry,” Laura finally answered. “They're just not exactly what we were looking for.”

“We can fix it!” Kylie insisted. “You have to give us another crack at it!”

“If you want a second chance, you'll need to be back here with a new batch by 2:00 p.m.,” Laura said. “That's when we're expecting Connecticut Cupcakes as well, and we need to make a decision.”

Lexi's heart sank. The last time they'd gone head-to-head with the Connecticut Cupcakes sisters, things hadn't turned out well. They had been out-baked, out-decorated, and out-displayed—and had lost the
Battle
of
the
Bakers
in front of millions of TV viewers. She shuddered at the thought.

Jenna was more concerned about time. “Um, Kylie, that gives us just three hours to come up with a new recipe, test it, bake it, and decorate.
No
es
posible
!
”

Kylie pushed her toward the door and motioned for the other girls to follow. “Thanks!” she said, waving to the directors. “We'll be back in a jiffy.”