Sugar and Spice

by Sheryl Berk

“How could you?” she asked him. “How could you dump me for the Wicked Witch of Blakely?”

  “What? Lex, I’m not dumping you. She just asked me to go to a chess tournament. It’s no biggie.”

  “But it is,” Lexi insisted. “Meredith is trying to steal you away from me—and I guess she succeeded.”

  “You’re acting crazy,” Jeremy told her. “I’m not dating Meredith!”

  “Now you think I’m crazy?” Lexi cried. “What else did Meredith tell you about me?”

  “She didn’t tell me anything. You’re the one who’s making a scene in the hallway.”

  Lexi looked around. Many other students were staring at them and whispering.

  “Great. Now everyone knows we broke up,” she said, sniffling.

  “We didn’t break up!” Jeremy tried to convince her. “Unless that’s what you want.”

  Lexi shook her head. She didn’t know what she wanted at this moment. Her whole world felt like it was crashing down around her.

  “I just want to be left alone,” she said, pushing through the crowd and running down the hall.

  Kylie caught the end of the argument and called after her. “Lexi! Wait!” She looked at Jeremy, who was equally confused. “What happened?”

  “If you figure it out, let me know,” he said, sighing.

  When Kylie tried calling Lexi on her cell phone that night, it went straight to voice mail: “You’ve reached Lexi—leave a message!” So Kylie left several messages, but her friend never returned them. She tried texting and even direct messaging Lexi on Instagram. As Jenna would say, “Nada.”

  “It isn’t like her to ignore my calls,” she told Jenna and Sadie at school the next morning. “I’m worried.”

  “She wasn’t in English either,” Sadie added. “Maybe she’s home sick.”

  “Or trying to escape the evil clutches of Monster Meredith,” Kylie pointed out. “We have to do something.”

  Sadie checked her basketball schedule. “We could go over to her house after school. I can let Delaney know we’re moving the PLC meeting there instead of in the Blakely teachers’ lounge.”

  Kylie nodded. “I better let Herbie know too.” Their beloved cupcake club advisor Juliette was now off in London, married and playing the role of a maid on the British TV show Downton Abbey. She’d suggested that her younger brother, Herbie, who’d just graduated from college in Canada, take over for her and help the girls out. But Herbie was no Juliette—while she taught drama, he was a nerdy robotics genius who didn’t know a whisk from a spatula.

  “I promise you, I am a very quick study,” he’d told them. “And I have some keen ideas on how to maximize PLC’s potential as a business.”

  Kylie didn’t like Herbie for several reasons: (1) he was a guy; (2) he knew more about monster movies than she did; and (3) he used the word “keen” in practically every sentence. Who did that?

  But they were stuck with him and had to make the best of it. Juliette wasn’t coming back, and PLC needed an advisor to stay in business. So Herbie would have to do.

  Kylie found him in the Blakely robotics lab working on what looked like a deflated beach ball with a long hose attached. Jeremy and Jack had him for their robotics elective and said he was pretty amazing with computers and machines. But Kylie just thought he was weird.

  “What is that thing?” she asked.

  Herbie pulled off his safety goggles and placed them on top of his shaggy red hair.

  “I’m so glad you asked, Kylie,” he replied. “This is my idea for speeding up our PLC cleanup.”

  “We don’t bake in the sand or a swimming pool,” Kylie corrected him. “What’s with the beach ball?”

  “I call this the flour-nator,” he explained. “Although it will work just as well for sugar, baking powder, salt—whatever other dry ingredients you girls manage to scatter all over the kitchen floor.” He flipped a switch and the ball filled with air. “Hand me that sack of flour over there.”

  Kylie carried over a two-pound bag, and Herbie dumped the entire contents on one of the worktables.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, watching a cloud of white dust rise in the air. “You’re making a huge mess.”

  “Exactly,” Herbie replied. “Now watch how easily I clean it up.”

  He waved the hose in the air and the white cloud disappeared into the beach ball. The mountain of flour on the table did the same in seconds.

  “Wow, that’s pretty cool,” Kylie admitted. “That hose has a lot of power.”

  Suddenly the lights in the robotics lab went off. Then the lights in the hallway. Then the lights on the entire first floor.

  “Maybe a little too much power,” Herbie said, his cheeks flushing red. “I think I just blew a fuse. Again.”

  Mr. Mullivan, the chief custodian, walked into the room. “Mr. Dubois, what did I tell you about maxing out the voltage?” he asked, sighing. “Every time those lights go out, I know who’s responsible.” He took his tools from his belt and started poking around in the power box on the wall. In seconds, the lights came back on.

  “Thank you,” Herbie replied. “I’ll make some adjustments.”

  “Please do,” Mr. Mullivan said sternly. “Every time I see you with those safety goggles on, I get nervous.”

  “Were you looking for me for a reason?” Herbie asked Kylie as he tinkered with the flour-nator motor.

  “Oh yeah. I almost forgot. We’re having our meeting at Lexi’s house today after school—although she doesn’t know it.”

  Herbie wrinkled his brow. “And why doesn’t she know it? Are we surprising her with a PLC meeting?”

  “Sorta,” Kylie answered. “She’s not answering my calls.”

  “So you believe that ambushing her is the best strategy,” Herbie said. “I’m not sure I’m keen on that.”

  There was that “keen” word again! “You might not be keen on it, but I know my BFF,” Kylie insisted. “Sometimes Lex just needs a little push.”

  “You know, when I was a young, my sister thought she could push me around.” Herbie continued twisting wires with a pair of pliers. “I was shy and quiet, and Juliette was bossy.”

  Kylie sighed. “I don’t see what this has to do with Lexi.”

  “I’m just saying sometimes people don’t like to be pushed. They need time to figure things out for themselves.”

  Kylie gathered up her backpack, ignoring his advice. “So three forty-five at 11 Candlewood Lane, right off Frisbee Street,” she said. “See ya.”

  • • •

  When they arrived at Lexi’s, she was curled up on the couch in her pj’s. Her mom let them in as Lexi hid under a throw blanket.

  “I like the little rainbow unicorns on your jammies,” Delaney teased her, noting the flannel pant legs that were poking out.

  “Go ahead. Make fun of my clothes. Meredith already did that,” Lexi said, still buried under the throw.

  “Let’s not say the M word, shall we?” Kylie suggested, pushing her way into the living room with a bag of groceries and the PLC recipe binder.

  Herbie waved his finger in her face. “Uh, uh, uh. Remember what I said about being pushy.”

  “I feel sick,” Lexi said. “Please go. I don’t feel like meeting today. Maybe you guys can go to Kylie’s instead.”

  “Nope! We’re all here and I officially call this meeting to order,” Kylie insisted, yanking the blanket off Lexi and tossing a few pillows on the floor. “Everyone take a seat.”

  “So I won’t mention M.M., but what did I miss?” Delaney asked the group. “I don’t go to Blakely, remember—I’m at Weber Day. You gotta fill me in on the drama.”

  “Me too,” Herbie added. “Why are you in a funk, Lexi?”

  “A funk? I’m not in a funk,” Lexi insisted. “I am destroyed. My life is ruined.”

 
“Ah, I see,” Herbie said, taking notes on his iPad. “Is that all?”

  Lexi sat up. “Meredith Mitchell hates my guts—and she stole my Jeremy.”

  Delaney shook her head. “And you let her? Lex, have you learned nothing from being a member of PLC?”

  “That’s right,” Jenna pointed out. “We thought you were done being shy Lexi.”

  “I was. I mean, I am,” Lexi said. “It’s just that around Meredith, I forget. With all of you, I’m confident. But Meredith makes me feel—”

  “Wonky,” Herbie suggested.

  “Well, I wouldn’t quite put it that way,” Lexi replied.

  “I would. When my robot is acting wonky, he’s out of sorts. He’s teetering about and he’s not himself. Sometimes he’ll even topple over.”

  Lexi mulled it over. “Okay, so let’s say Meredith makes me feel wonky. How do I fix it?”

  “The same way I fix my robot. I reinforce him so he’s not wobbling or off balance anymore.” He motioned to Sadie, Jenna, Kylie, and Delaney. “I’d say this crew is your reinforcement.”

  “We told you we have your back,” Kylie reminded her. “We can stand up to Meredith.”

  “And I can keep an eye on Jeremy,” Jenna pointed out. “He’s in three of my classes. If Meredith tries to get too close to him, I’ll sit on her and squash her like a bug.”

  Lexi laughed at the image. “Okay, I guess I could try. I don’t think my mom was going to let me stay home from school another day anyway.”

  Dr. Poole called in from the kitchen. “You bet I wasn’t! I have real sick pets in the veterinary clinic to tend to.”

  Kylie held up her binder. “Can we get back to business?”

  Lexi smiled. “I’m feeling less wonky already.”

  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 go
wn 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.