by Sheryl Berk
“Allow me,” Herbie said, getting out of his seat. “I believe I can help.”
“That’s what you said before you covered the entire teachers’ lounge in frosting!” Kylie protested. “We’re Lexi’s friends. We know her best.”
“But I was a shy kid with an older sister who overshadowed me,” Herbie insisted. Then he looked at Kylie. “Like you always tell me, ‘I got this.’”
When he found Lexi backstage, she was pacing the floor.
“Feeling a bit wonky?” he asked her.
“Beyond wonky. I’m a wreck,” she admitted. “I can’t go out there and answer questions on the spot!”
“Because?” Herbie questioned.
“Because I don’t know what they’ll ask me. And I don’t know what I’ll say.”
“You should simply say what comes to your mind—whatever it is,” Herbie replied. He pulled up two chairs for them to sit down.
“Did I ever tell you about the Vancouver Robotics Competition?”
“Nope.” Lexi shook her head. “But what does that have to do with me making a fool of myself at a pageant?”
“Well, it was a pageant of sorts—for robots though, not people,” Herbie explained. “I built this brilliant robot named R23P-Ono who could hit golf balls.”
Lexi sighed. “You’ve lost me, Herbie.”
“Anyway, R2 should have won first place—clearly. Except that my big sister, Juliette, won an acting award the day before—a huge six-foot-tall gold trophy, no less.”
“Again, I’m lost.”
“Well, I thought, ‘There’s no way I can ever compete with her,’” Herbie continued. “‘She’s the winner in this family, not me.’”
Lexi started to understand. “So what happened to R2?”
“I overloaded his circuits. I doubted myself and tried to rethink all the programming right before the competition. I should have just believed in myself.”
Lexi nodded. “You’re saying I should just believe in myself. Not worry about Ava or Meredith or anyone else.”
“Precisely,” Herbie replied. “You shouldn’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations except your own.”
Lexi stood up. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Atta girl!” Herbie said, beaming. “And for the record, I think you are way more talented than my robot.”
“Thanks—I think.” Lexi smiled. She heard Meredith giving her response to a question—something about what she wanted most in the world.
“I want world peace!” Meredith said, clutching her hands to her heart. “I want an end to hunger. I want justice for all!”
In the audience, Jenna made a gagging noise. “I want to throw up. She is so phony.”
Just then, she noticed Meredith’s pageant coach in the row in front of them. Miss Jen was gesturing in the air, trying to tell Meredith something.
“What’s with the charades?” she whispered to Delaney.
“Beats me,” Delaney replied. “I don’t speak sign language.”
The coach continued waving her arms over her head and wrapping them around her shoulders.
“I want…I want…” Meredith tried to figure out what her coach’s strange moves meant. “I want big hair? A hot-air balloon? A cashmere shawl?”
Miss Jen looked as nauseated as Jenna.
“Oh! I want to give a big hug to every kid who needs one! That’s what I forgot!” Meredith finally got it.
The judges jotted notes as she skipped offstage. Miss Jen collapsed in her seat with a huge sigh of relief.
Lexi waited for Mr. Jim to call her number, then slowly made her way to the microphone. The host held an index card in his hand.
“Lexi, here is your question: What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?”
Lexi gasped. That was it? That was the question? Nothing about politics, world peace, or global warming?
“We didn’t practice that one,” Kylie whispered to the girls. “I hope she’s okay with it.”
“That’s easy,” Lexi spoke confidently. “My favorite thing to do in my spare time is make cupcakes with my best friends in our cupcake club. We have an amazing business—in fact, we created an awesome display of one thousand cupcakes, and you can taste them at the pageant party…” She noticed Kat Grabel licking her lips. “I made the big pulled-sugar crown on top.” The crowd oohed and ahhed.
“I’m really proud of how our club has grown, and how I’ve grown too,” Lexi continued. “If it weren’t for Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, I would never have figured out how to believe in myself.” She looked at the audience and saw Herbie, who was giving her a thumbs-up.
“Thank you, Lexi,” Mr. Jim said.
When it was Harleigh’s turn, she cleared her throat and looked straight at the judges. “If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be?” Mr. Jim asked her. Harleigh thought for a minute, then replied. “I would be me,” she said simply. “I don’t think you should ever try to be someone you’re not. You should always be true to yourself and celebrate what makes you unique and special.” She glanced at Lexi in the wings and winked.
The judges applauded and Harleigh walked gracefully offstage. She found Lexi waiting for her. “You rocked it!” she said.
“I was going to say I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist,” Harleigh admitted. “Then I heard what you said, and it inspired me.”
“Me? I inspired you?” Lexi asked. “But you’re the one who’s won so many pageants.”
“And you’re the one who has great friends who care about you and the coolest club I’ve ever heard of,” Harleigh replied.
“And now I have another great friend,” Lexi said, hugging her. “And you have an open invitation to come bake with us anytime.”
• • •
The judges deliberated for more than an hour. They handed out the awards for the youngest contestants first—the babies, toddlers, and five- to seven-year-olds. Lexi could barely stand still as Mr. Jim next went through the list of eight-, nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-old divisional titles.
Harleigh looked just as nervous. “I always think this is the hardest part of the whole pageant,” she said. “The waiting.”
Finally, it was time to announce the preteen queens. Lexi, Meredith, and Harleigh all took the stage with seven other girls as Mr. Jim held up a list from the judges. There were so many categories: Miss Congeniality, Miss Photogenic, Best Smile, Best Hair, Best Eyes. Lexi watched as one by one, girls went up to receive a trophy and a tiara. She, Harleigh, and Meredith were still standing there, crownless.
“For Best Costume, number fourteen, Meredith Mitchell,” Mr. Jim read.
Meredith raced forward and snatched the trophy out of his hand.
“I’m not surprised,” Harleigh whispered to Lexi. “Hers was very flashy—literally.”
“Next, we have the award for Preteen Ultimate Talent,” Mr. Jim read. Lexi squeezed Harleigh’s hand. “You got this one,” she whispered.
“The winner is number fifteen, Lexi Poole!” Lexi was stunned—there had to be some mistake! She had won for singing? It was crazy! She saw her parents, sister, friends, and Jeremy in the audience, jumping up and down and cheering.
Harleigh gave her a little push forward. “Go on!” she whispered. “I’m so proud of you!”
“Congratulations!” Fitzy said, pinning a huge, sparkling rhinestone crown on her head. As the cameras flashed, Lexi felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. Could this really be happening to her?
The rest of the crowning ceremony felt like a dream. Harleigh won Best Interview and Best Fitness, while Meredith took Best Gown.
“Do you think Lexi has a chance of winning the whole enchilada?” Jenna asked Delaney.
“Crazier things have happened,” Delaney replied.
Jeremy moved up to the front row and sat the
re with his fingers and toes crossed.
Mr. Jim opened the envelope from the judges and prepared to the read the name on it—the Ultimate Grand Supreme for the entire pageant.
“Ladies and gentleman, please welcome your new Miss New England Shooting Starz, Harleigh Park!”
Harleigh opened her mouth to scream, but Meredith beat her to it.
“Nooooo!” she howled.
“Yes!” Lexi cried. “Harleigh, you did it! You won! You won!”
She watched as her friend received her banner and huge crown from Fitzy and Laura. As Mr. Jim serenaded her, she walked the runway, waving to the crowd.
“It’s not fair,” Meredith complained. She tossed her tiara on the floor. “I should have won.” Lexi was enjoying seeing Meredith utterly miserable, until she noticed the tears in Meredith’s eyes.
“Hey,” she said softly. “It’s no big deal.”
Meredith sniffled. “My coach and my parents are going to be furious.”
“But you did your best,” Lexi insisted. “And for what it’s worth, Meredith, I thought you did a really great job.”
Meredith’s jaw dropped. “You did? You do?”
“Yeah, I mean the baton accident wasn’t your finest moment, but you look really pretty.”
Meredith looked down at her red ball gown. The skirt was now dotted with her tears.
“You too. I mean, you look better than you usually do. And your speech and talent were pretty good—for an amateur.”
Lexi smiled. From Meredith, that was a major compliment!
Jeremy and the PLC girls raced to the edge of the stage to greet her.
“Give the woman some room,” Delaney said, holding them back. “Make room for the Ultimate Talent Queen.”
Lexi blushed. “Oh, it’s no biggie.”
“Are you kidding? My girlfriend is a pageant queen!” Jeremy said, planting a kiss on her cheek. Lexi loved the sound of the words “my girlfriend.”
Ava was the next to grab her and pull her into a bear hug. “Lex, you were incredible! Who knew you had it in you?”
“I did,” Herbie said. “But does anyone ever listen to me? Noooooo!”
“Maybe we should—once in a while,” Lexi teased. “For an advisor, you do give pretty good advice.”
“Then may I advise you now to go wheel in your cupcake tower before this crowd mutinies?” he said. “We have hungry people here who need Peace, Love, and One Thousand Cupcakes!”
• • •
The PLC girls gathered in the reception room in front of their towering cupcake display.
“Dad, you deserve the crown for Best Builder,” Sadie told her father.
“I love how the tower rotates,” Kylie added, admiring how the mirrored shelves gently spun and reflected the lights of the ballroom.
“Interesting,” Herbie said, peering under the bottom shelf at the display’s motor. “A simple but elegant mechanism.”
Kat Grabel was the first judge to make her way into the after-party.
“Are these the cupcakes you mentioned in your speech?” she asked Lexi.
Lexi smiled. “Yes, try one, please!” She handed the judge a perfect pink velvet.
Kim took a nibble—then a huge bite. “Mmm, mmm! I wish I had a crown to give for Best Cupcake. Ladies, y’all would take the prize!”
Within minutes, all the contestants, judges, and audience members poured into the room and mobbed the cupcake display. Soon all that was left of the thousand cupcakes were a few crumbs.
“I’d say they liked them,” Delaney said, elbowing Lexi. “That Kat lady especially. I think I saw her put a few in her purse!”
Laura reached up and took the sugar crown off the top of the display. “Would you mind if I kept this for my collection?” she asked Lexi.
“Sure, if you want it,” Lexi replied, flattered.
Laura smiled. “And if you ever want to enter another Starz pageant, we would be proud to have you compete—with or without your amazing cupcakes.”
Fitzy interrupted: “But preferably with cupcakes!” She had a white buttercream mustache over her top lip. “They’re just so good.”
By Sunday night, everything in Lexi’s life was back to normal. She had gently placed her rhinestone crown on a shelf over her desk where she could admire it, and was working on her latest art homework—a painting of a rainbow unicorn—when her mom knocked on her bedroom door.
“There’s someone here to see you,” she said.
Lexi’s face lit up when she got downstairs and recognized a familiar freckled face waiting in her living room.
“Harleigh!” she squealed. “What are you doing here?”
“My mom and I wanted to ask y’all a favor,” she said. “My thirteenth birthday is coming up, and we were wondering if Peace, Love, and Cupcakes would bake for my party.”
“All the way in Atlanta? I’m not sure how we’d get the cupcakes delivered to you,” Lexi said.
“Well, you’d have to come to the party, of course,” Harleigh’s mom, Bobbie, replied.
“Really? Could we, Mom?” Lexi looked hopefully at her mother.
“Your dad and I do have some frequent-flyer miles saved up,” she said. “I suppose we could fly down to Atlanta for a weekend.”
“I know exactly what cupcakes to bake for you,” Lexi said. “But I’m not telling. It’s a surprise.”
• • •
When they boarded the plane to Atlanta six weeks later, the attendant helped Lexi place her cupcake carrier containing two dozen cupcakes in the overhead bin where it wouldn’t bump around during the flight.
“Cupcakes, eh?” the man asked. “What kind are they?”
“Pumpkin pie cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream,” Lexi answered. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a small box containing four extras. “Would you like to try one?”
The man’s eyes lit up. “Would I? You just made my day! Is there anything better than pumpkin pie in the sky?”
She handed another one to her dad, who was seated next to her, and took one out for herself.
“It was nice of Harleigh’s granny to give us her secret recipe,” she said, taking a bite. The cinnamon and clove tickled her tongue. “Jenna was able to figure out a cupcake version in no time.”
“I’m sure Harleigh will love them,” her father remarked. “And the beautiful Olympic medals you made to go on top.”
When they got to the party, Harleigh was happily racing around, greeting friends and family. She looked beautiful in a pink chiffon party dress and silver strappy sandals.
“Lexi!” she said, running over to her as Lexi and her dad walked through the white picket gate out front. “I’m so glad you came! Wait till you see all the decorations—we did a whole Barbie theme—and the karaoke setup!”
“Karaoke?” Lexi asked. “As in you sing into a microphone? In front of everybody?” Lexi could feel her heart start to pound.
“Yup!” Harleigh said. Then she remembered that Lexi didn’t love the spotlight. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”
Lexi looked at her father, then her friend. “Are you kidding? Let me at it! Who wants to hear Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’?” She jumped onto the stage set up in the backyard and grabbed the microphone. When she was finished performing not one, but two Katy Perry tracks (“Firework” was her encore), Lexi took a bow.
“Well, somebody certainly came out of her shell,” Mr. Poole said. “I’m proud of you.”
“Cupcakes and karaoke.” Lexi winked at him. “Who could ask for anything more?”
Green Tea Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
6 ounces (1 stick plus two tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
⅔ cup milk
&n
bsp; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons green tea (matcha powder)
½ tablespoon baking powder
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it’s creamy. Beat in the sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture turns fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.
4. Beat in the milk and vanilla until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, green tea powder, and baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to the liquid mixture slowly and on low speed until combined. Then beat on medium speed for about a minute more until smooth.
6. Fill the liners with the batter, about two-thirds full.
7. Bake for about twenty-five minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
8. Cool the cupcakes for at least fifteen minutes, then frost and top them with your fave decorations—or fondant shaped like sushi, à la PLC!
Green Tea Buttercream Frosting
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tablespoon green tea (matcha) powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (preferably Plugrá), room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1. In a small bowl, mix the half-and-half and green tea powder to form a paste.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until it’s creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the sugar, one cup at a time on medium speed, and the green tea paste. Beat until the frosting is light and smooth—and a gorgeous, light-green color!
Pink Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
½ cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon pink gel food coloring (use more for a deeper pink color)