Hugs and Sprinkles

by Sheryl Berk

  “What? Who?” Kylie stammered, reading the note again.

  “That’s why they call it a secret admirer,” Jenna said. “You’re not supposed to know till they reveal who they are. Muy romántico. So romantic.”

  “Muy confusing!” Kylie said. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  Sadie shrugged. “Wait till SA makes his next move. And watch for any suspiciously behaving boys.”

  Kylie spied Arnold coming down the hallway. He was so busy reading his textbook that he bumped into several people before stopping at Kylie’s locker.

  “You!” he barked when he spied her. “Kylie Carson.”

  Kylie gulped. “Me?”

  “You and your cupcakes stole Herbie away from me yesterday, and now I have a Connie catastrophe on my hands. She won’t work, not even with the new part Herbie found, and the robotics competition is only three weeks away.”

  “Are we supposed to know what you are talking about?” Jenna asked impatiently.

  “Mr. Dubois has no time to coach my robotics project because he’s always busy baking!” Arnold fired back.

  “Herbie doesn’t bake—he advises.” Kylie tried to be polite. “I’m sorry if that causes you a problem.”

  “Oh, it does! It causes me a huge problem,” Arnold replied. “I have no robot! Who cares about stupid cupcakes anyway?”

  So much for politeness; he’d just insulted PLC—and cupcakes! Kylie took a deep breath. “I care. And all the people who order thousands of our cupcakes care. Maybe your robots are all you think about, but cupcakes are very, very important.”

  Arnold smirked. “I mean, let’s be real here, Kylie. Cupcakes aren’t going to change the world, but my robot might.”

  “Cupcakes can change the world!” Kylie said, raising her voice a little too loudly. “They make people happy. They put a smile on everyone’s face! Except maybe yours!”

  Principal Fontina came out of her office to see what the commotion was about and found Arnold and Kylie nose to nose in the middle of a heated argument.

  “Settle down, settle down,” the principal said, stepping between them. “Unless someone wants to start the day in my office.”

  They both backed down, and Arnold headed off in search of Herbie—but not before he glared once again at Kylie.

  “Wow, he really doesn’t like you!” Sadie said.

  “Or maybe he does?” Jenna pondered. “I’d call that suspicious behavior, wouldn’t you?”

  “Arnold? You think Arnold Schweigel is my SA?”

  “Stranger things have happened,” Jenna said. “Jack Yu put a spider on my head in kindergarten, and now look—he’s my dance date.”

  “Kylie Schweigel. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Sadie teased.

  “No. No, I don’t,” Kylie answered.

  “Even if it’s not Arnold, someone out there is writing you poetry—with cupcakes in it,” Jenna reminded her. “I say, sit back and enjoy it till Prince Charming presents himself.”

  Kylie considered. “But what if he doesn’t? What if he stays secret and admiring forever?”

  “There are worse problems to have,” Jenna said. She pointed to the envelope Kylie was still clutching. “I’d say that el amor está en el aire—love is in the air!”

  • • •

  At lunch that day, Kylie showed the note to Lexi. “Well, whoever it is has an artistic touch,” she said. “That’s really nice penmanship.”

  “I made a list,” Kylie told her fellow PLCers at the lunch table. “It’s of all the boys in fifth grade.”

  “Oh, I get it,” Lexi said. “So we go through them, figure out who is already accounted for as a dance date, and see who that leaves as your anonymous admirer.”

  “Exactly!” Kylie said. She took out a yellow highlighter and began going through the names.

  “What about Peter Keller?” she asked.

  “He’s on the boys’ soccer team,” Sadie asked. “Which means he’s already asked out one of the girl soccer players.”

  “Will Parker?” Kylie continued.

  “He’s in my history class,” Jenna said. “And I know he’s been crushing on Meredith Mitchell all year. His parents and her parents go to the same country club, and he always sits in the front row at Meredith’s hip-hop club showcases.”

  “He runs around after her like a puppy.” Lexi chuckled. “Arf ! I’d say he’s taken.”

  “What about Rodney Costello? He’s in my English class, and he asked once if he could share my Shakespeare book.”

  Lexi’s eyes brightened. “I know he just asked Emily out and she said no. Could be!”

  Jenna held up her hand. “But Bella said yes. I saw her hugging Rodney at recess yesterday.”

  Kylie sighed. This was not getting her any closer to figuring out her potential date.

  “Which brings us back to Arnold.” Sadie pointed to one of the few names still remaining on the list. “He’s available. And his initials backward are SA. Maybe it doesn’t stand for Secret Admirer. Maybe it’s Schweigel, Arnold!”

  “Pullease,” Kylie said. “He hates my guts. And he’s obnoxious.”

  “Oh, I second that,” Lexi chimed in. “He was really rude when I went to get Herbie for the meeting.”

  “He’s really rude, period,” Kylie said. “And conceited. And stuck-up.”

  “Conceited and stuck-up are the same,” Lexi reminded her.

  “Yeah, well…he’s doubly stuck-up!” Kylie insisted. “He practically bit my head off and said cupcakes were unimportant.”

  “I wouldn’t cross him off your list,” Jenna said. “Boys have a really funny way of showing they like someone. They pull your hair or tease you…”

  “Or call your cupcakes stupid,” Sadie added.

  “I’m just sayin’… He might be covering,” Jenna said. “Sneaky.”

  Kylie turned to Lexi. “Do you think so? Do you think it could be Arnold?”

  “I don’t think you should worry about who it is. Just that someone really thinks you’re special, Kylie.”

  “This is way more romantic than Jack Yu asking me out with an Oreo cookie,” Jenna said.

  “Or Lucas sending me an email,” Sadie said.

  “Or Jeremy asking my dad if he wouldn’t mind driving us to the dance—before he ever asked me!” Lexi recalled. “You’re right. Kylie wins. Her guy is the most romantic by far.”

  Kylie smiled, and Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. At last, the old smiley Kylie was back!

  “Do you think SA likes monster movies? Because that’s a must…”

  “Sometimes opposites attract,” Jenna assured her. “Jack hates peanut butter, and I have peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch practically every day. So there ya go.” She held one up and took a big bite out of it.

  “I just wish I knew more about him,” Kylie said. “Or even what he looked like.”

  “He’s a man of mystery,” Sadie said. “I think that’s cool.”

  Kylie nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She balled up the list of boys and tossed it in the garbage. “Maybe it’s more fun not knowing—at least for a little while.”

  She scanned the cafeteria, noting a few boys casually glancing in her direction. Or were they checking out the menu over the salad bar behind her? She couldn’t tell. But she preferred to think that one of them was secretly dreaming of taking her to the dance.

  Lexi read her mind.

  “Whoever he is, he’d be really lucky to go with you,” she said. “And don’t you forget it.”

  The next morning, Kylie couldn’t wait to get to her locker. But this time there was nothing inside it. Instead, a fake shrunken head with bulging eyeballs was tied to the padlock. Attached to it was a note that Kylie immediately opened:

  Dear Kylie,

  Mons
ters are creepy.

  Ghosts go “Boo!”

  I hope you know

  how much I like you!

  Love,

  SA

  She couldn’t wait to find Lexi before their math class to fill her in.

  “You won’t believe what he gave me,” Kylie said, shoving the shrunken head in her friend’s face.

  “Eww!” Lexi shrieked. “What is that thing?”

  “Are you kidding? It’s the most thoughtful gift anyone could give me! SA knows me. He really, really knows me.”

  Lexi smiled. “Okay, if you’re happy, I’m happy,” she said. “But I think that’s really gross. Couldn’t he send flowers or chocolates or something?”

  “I’m going to name him Sal,” Kylie said, dangling the head in the air. “Get it? SA, then add an L?”

  “Wait! You’re naming the creepy head? Don’t you think that’s going a little too far?” Lexi asked.

  Kylie was practically floating on air when she walked into their math room and settled into her seat.

  Her teacher, Mr. Kimmel, was busy explaining quadratic equations, but Kylie barely heard a word.

  “Do you think he’s a fan of Bela Lugosi? Or Lon Chaney? Or Vincent Price?” she whispered to Lexi.

  Lexi shrugged. She had no idea who those people were. But she had a hunch they were all actors in Kylie’s favorite old monster movies.

  “I wish I could talk to him. Ask him!” Kylie said dreamily.

  “Aren’t the notes enough?” Lexi asked.

  “Are you kidding? They’re just the icing on the cake. I’m going to figure out who he is. Just you wait!”

  • • •

  Every day for a week, Kylie raced to her locker to find yet another note tucked inside. Each one professed how special she was—and how much her admirer liked her:

  Dear Kylie,

  I think you're totally cute and great

  and deserving of the perfect date.

  A monster movie and cupcakes would be fun!

  Hope you know I like you a ton.

  Love,

  SA

  Sometimes he left a little present tied to her lock—a glittery skull key chain, a bouquet of lollipops, a bag of chocolate kisses.

  Dear Kylie,

  Hearts and treats don't begin to say

  how much I think of you every day.

  I know you're wondering who I might be.

  For now, you'll have to wait and see.

  Love,

  SA

  “But I can’t wait to meet him!” Kylie confessed to Lexi in math.

  “Well, it sounds like you have to,” Lexi said, reading the last note. “Besides, isn’t it more fun not knowing?”

  “No!” Kylie shouted. “It’s torture! I have to know!”

  Mr. Kimmel looked up from his notebook. The class was supposed to be silently solving equations. “Kylie Carson? Did you have something you wanted to say?”

  Kylie shook her head. “Nope.” She looked at Lexi and winked. Sure, she wanted to say something. She wanted to tell the whole school—if not the whole world—that she had a secret admirer.

  When the bell rang for the next period, Kylie grabbed Lexi by the hand.

  “Okay, I have a plan,” she said. “So SA leaves me notes and presents in the morning, right? Before I come into school and go to my locker?”

  “Right,” Lexi said. “What’s your point?”

  “We need to get here earlier than he does. We need to be hiding and watching to see who goes to my locker.”

  Lexi looked concerned. “You mean spy? Jump out and then scare the guy off?”

  “No! Just quietly watch and see who he is.”

  “I dunno, Kylie.” Lexi hesitated. “How do we even know what time he comes in?”

  “Well, we get here even earlier. Six a.m. We’ll ask Herbie if he could let us in. He’s always here super early working on his robotics inventions before Principal Fontina gets in and starts yelling…”

  “Six a.m.? I don’t even get up till seven!” Lexi exclaimed.

  “I know you’re a morning person, Lex,” Kylie insisted. “You’re always here before me.”

  “But six a.m., Kylie? I’ll be a walking zombie all day.”

  “Ooh! Do you think SA likes zombies? Vampires? Frankenstein’s monster?” Lexi sighed. There was no convincing Kylie otherwise. Tomorrow they would be there, waiting and watching, when SA left his next note.

  • • •

  Herbie was happy to let them in early—especially when Kylie insisted it was a major cupcake emergency. “I can’t find the white chocolate–raspberry cupcake recipe we need for the dance,” she told him. “I think I might have left it in my locker. I need to make sure before we start hunting for a whole new one.”

  Herbie was a little preoccupied with getting Connie the robot up and running in time for the statewide competition. “It’s fine. Just don’t get me in trouble—more trouble—with Principal Fontina,” he said. “If you need me, I’m in the lab.”

  Kylie pulled Lexi along behind her. “If we hide here, he won’t see us,” she said, ducking behind two recycling bins at the end of the hall.

  “Herbie?” Lexi asked, stifling a yawn.

  “No! SA. And we have the perfect view of my locker.”

  They waited patiently, but no one came. It was nearly seven thirty when the rest of teachers started to pour into the school.

  “Do you think he slips the note into my locker through a crack?” Kylie said. “Or maybe he figured out my locker combination.”

  Lexi closed her eyes and rested her head on Kylie’s shoulder. “Doubtful.”

  “He could have been watching over my shoulder one day, and I never even knew!” Kylie speculated. “He’s really sneaky—but in a sweet way.”

  “I didn’t know you could be sneaky and sweet at the same time,” Lexi said.

  “Okay, maybe sneaky is the wrong word. Clever. Smart.”

  “Try ‘really good at keeping you guessing,’ which is not easy to do—trust me!” Lexi added.

  By eight fifteen, almost all the students were in school and checking their lockers or chatting before class started.

  “I don’t get it. Do you think he knew we were spying on him?” Kylie asked.

  Lexi got up from their lookout. “I doubt he’s psychic,” she said. “He probably just has something else planned for today. Maybe he wants to mix things up a little.”

  Kylie opened her locker and checked every nook and cranny. There was no note or gift, inside or out.

  “Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he doesn’t like me anymore?”

  “Kylie, you can’t go crazy if he doesn’t write. Maybe he had a test this morning—or a ton of homework.”

  “Or he found another date for the dance,” Kylie said.

  Lexi took her by the shoulders and shook her. “Snap out of it. The president of PLC is strong, smart, and confident. She focuses on her business. She eats, sleeps, and breathes cupcakes.”

  “You’re right,” Kylie said. “I’ve gotten so swept up in this whole love-note business that I’ve been neglecting our club.”

  “There ya go!” Lexi said. “We should meet after school and try out some new recipes.”

  “Ooh! I wonder what SA’s favorite flavor of cupcake is?” Kylie said. “Do you think he likes chocolate or vanilla? Or something more exotic, like pineapple upside-down cupcakes?”

  Lexi sighed. “Kylie, you’re doing it again.”

  “Fine. My house. Three thirty. Tell the girls to bring their aprons.”

  Kylie checked her locker at least a dozen times during the day, but SA never left his mark.

  “It’s not like him,” she complained to Sadie as she set up the ingredients on the kitchen counter. “Don’t you thi
nk it’s strange?”

  “I think this recipe is strange,” Jenna said, holding up a card. “Chocolate chipotle? I’m all for caliente spices, but I think this could set your tongue on fire.”

  “I thought we would mix things up a little,” Kylie said.

  Lexi remembered she had suggested that was SA’s motivation as well. “What does this one say? Kiwi bacon?” She made a face. “That sounds really disgusting.”

  “Don’t knock it till we try it,” Kylie insisted. “I’ll go get my binder so we can take notes.”

  She brought her book into the kitchen, and a small pink envelope fell out of it.

  “What’s this?” Kylie asked, picking it up.

  “Don’t tell me…” Jenna said. “Romeo hid a love letter in your PLC binder?”

  “You see!” Lexi said. “He didn’t forget you.”

  “How’d he get it in there?” Sadie asked.

  “I had it in my schoolbag all day. So he must be in one of my classes and snuck it in!” Kylie said.

  “What does it say? What does it say?” Delaney could barely contain her excitement.

  Kylie read:

  Dear Kylie,

  Tonight I hope you'll check your TV.

  You'll see a special message from me.

  Channel 3, 9:00 p.m.

  Love,

  SA

  Kylie ran for the remote and switched on the TV cable guide. “What’s on at 9:00 p.m. on channel three?” she exclaimed, flipping through the grid. She landed on a movie title: The Phantom Creeps.

  “Okay, that’s not creepy…” Delaney said, shuddering.

  “It’s a Bela Lugosi movie. He’s telling me he likes Bela Lugosi films just like I do.”

  “Or he’s telling you that he’s a phantom and a creep,” Jenna said. “Did you ever consider that?”

  “I’m sure Kylie’s right,” Lexi said, elbowing her. “He means it to be sweet.”

  “Sweet and creepy,” Jenna muttered under her breath.

  “Now can we get back to baking?” Lexi pleaded. “The chipotle chocolate awaits. I could do some cute little sombreros out of fondant on top.”

  “I can’t. I have to figure out where this love letter came from.”

  “It came from someone who doesn’t want you to know who they are…yet,” Lexi said. “Can we just leave it at that?”