Hugs and Sprinkles

by Sheryl Berk

  Lexi elbowed her. “It’s not that bad. Really.”

  Jenna shook her head. “Lexi is a really bad liar. It’s that bad, chica. I’m telling it to you straight.”

  Sadie was the last to arrive and was waiting downstairs when the girls finally emerged from Lexi’s room. She was wearing a turquoise romper that showed off her mile-long legs.

  “Whoa, you look gorge!” Lexi gushed. “That color is beautiful on you.”

  Sadie blushed. “Really?”

  “You all look lovely.” Lexi’s mom beamed. “So grown-up!” Then she noticed Kylie’s long face. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  Kylie flopped down on the couch. “You all just go to the dance without me. I can’t go looking like this.”

  “You cannot stand Arnold up,” Lexi reminded her. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “Is a whole new dress not an option?” Sadie asked.

  “An hour before the dance?” Kylie exclaimed. “No. Not an option.”

  Lexi sat down next to her and picked up her sketchbook and pencil off the coffee table. “You’re like a naked cupcake,” she said.

  “Naked? You want me to go naked to the dance?” Kylie shrieked.

  “No!” Lexi insisted. “I mean you’re like a naked cupcake that needs a little frosting and decoration to dress it up and make it a masterpiece.”

  “I could ask my mom to bring over some trim and her sewing kit,” Jenna volunteered.

  Lexi smiled. “Sadie, go get the scissors in my desk drawer.”

  “Scissors? What are you going to do with scissors?” Kylie gulped.

  “We’re going to give your dress an extreme makeover, PLC style!”

  • • •

  It took Jenna’s mom twenty minutes to gather up all her materials and drive over from across town. Lexi was anxiously watching the clock when she rang the doorbell.

  “Thank goodness, you’re here!” she said, pulling Mrs. Medina inside.

  “Mami, prepárate,” Jenna advised her. “Prepare yourself. This dress is a mess.”

  Kylie stood up and spun around. Jenna’s mother’s jaw dropped.

  “I know, I know. It’s awful!” Kylie said, embarrassed. To make matters worse, Lexi had cut about six inches off the hem and chopped the sleeves off.

  “Dios mío!” Jenna’s mom said. “Where do I begin?”

  “I sketched it out,” Lexi said, jumping in. “It needs some trim here, some tapering here, maybe some gold braid and lace…”

  Mrs. Medina looked over Lexi’s design and finally nodded. “Sí, es posible. But I’ll need you girls to stand back.” She took out a cushion filled with pins and began working fast and furiously on Kylie’s dress.

  “Don’t move,” Jenna told her friend. “You don’t want to get stuck. When my mom gets in the zone, she’s a little crazy with a needle.”

  It took another thirty minutes for Mrs. Medina to shorten the hemline and sleeves, take in the waist, and stitch delicate gold-sequin trim around the collar. She also added a touch of navy lace that flowed off the shoulders like delicate petals, as Lexi had sketched. Just then, the bell rang again.

  “That’s my secret weapon!” Lexi said, racing to get the door.

  In walked Delaney, dragging a large suitcase. “I wasn’t sure what you needed, so I brought everything,” she said.

  “What? What did you bring?” Kylie asked nervously.

  “My entire costume trunk from all my school musicals!” she said. “Jewelry, shoes, hats, you name it…I’ve got it all.”

  “You’re like a one-woman department store!” Sadie exclaimed, taking a chic black faux-fur stole from the bag. “I remember when you wore this in Bye Bye Birdie. And these!” She found a pair of old-lady spectacles and placed them on the tip of her nose.

  Lexi shoved her aside. “Let me see what we can use to frost—I mean, accessorize—Kylie.”

  She chose a delicate gold-beaded headband, rhinestone earrings, a pair of gold strappy sandals, and an elegant navy satin evening bag with a gold clasp. “This should do it.”

  The girls and Mrs. Medina stepped back to admire their handiwork. “Qué bonita!” Jenna’s mother said, proud of the job they’d all done. “So beautiful!”

  “Kyles, you look like a million bucks,” Delaney chimed in.

  “You look like one of our cupcakes.” Lexi giggled. “Which is a good thing.”

  She walked Kylie over to the large mirror hanging in the foyer. Kylie’s face lit up. “I’m not ugh anymore!”

  “No,” Lexi said, hugging her. “You’re gorgeous.”

  “And we have ten minutes to get to the dance,” Sadie said, noting the clock. “Before Principal Fontina kills us for being tardy with her catering order.”

  “Everybody hop in the car,” Lexi’s mom said, grabbing her keys. “Can’t keep the boys waiting!”

  Kylie held them back for one quick group huddle. “Thank you all,” she told her clubmates. “And the moms too. What would I do without you guys?”

  Jenna tugged her out the door. “Look like a naked cupcake going to a funeral,” she teased. “Vámanos!”

  When they got to the Blakely gymnasium, there was a disco ball on the ceiling. “This is so cool,” Sadie said, admiring the twinkly lights and streamers. “It’s hard to believe it’s the same place I shoot hoops all the time.”

  The theme of the dance was Lighting Up the Night, and Herbie had done a great job of “electrifying” the space. He’d even made huge light-up letters that spelled out Blakely and flashed in time to the music.

  Each of the girls found their dates: Jeremy took Lexi’s hand and dragged her out on the dance floor. Jack traded Jenna a pink rose corsage for the dozen mint–chocolate chip cupcakes, and Lucas, captain of the boys’ basketball team, gave Sadie his favorite New York Knicks baseball cap and blushed when she put it on. Kylie scanned the room for Arnold but didn’t see him.

  “Oh, he’ll be here,” Herbie told her as he handed out cups of punch. “Trust me, nothing could keep him away. He just had a little mishap.”

  “A mishap?” Kylie imagined the entire robotics lab blowing up. “Is he okay?”

  Herbie pointed to the gym doors. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  Arnold walked in wearing a black suit and bow tie—and an eye patch.

  “Arnie, what happened to you?” Kylie gasped, running to his side.

  “Well, I guess you could say I survived a cupcake calamity,” he said. “But it’s okay. I’m alive to tell the tale.”

  “Cupcake calamity? Why were you making cupcakes?”

  “For you!” He smiled and handed her a small white box. Inside was a chocolate cupcake, decorated with a piped red rose on top.

  “It’s like a cupcake corsage!” Kylie gushed.

  “Connie and I made it, but then I got a little too close to the mixer, and flour flew in my eye. It’s really red and swollen and irritated, and my mom had to take me to the eye doctor…”

  Kylie chuckled. “You need some lessons,” she said, taking his arm. “Never crank the mixer to full speed until the wet and dry ingredients are blended.”

  “Now you tell me?”

  They found Lexi and Jeremy chatting in a corner. “I keep telling her she’s a really good dancer, but she won’t dance with me,” Jeremy said.

  “Lexi just doesn’t like to have everyone watching her, right?” Kylie said, linking arms with her bestie.

  “Exactly!” she replied. “Kylie knows me better than anyone.”

  Jenna and Jack found the group as well. “Jack, share your custom cupcakes.” Jenna elbowed him.

  “Nuh-uh!” he insisted. “They’re all mine. You guys have to get your own.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna eat a whole dozen?”

  “Nope.” Jack grinned. “I was gon
na give half to you.”

  “Oh!” Jenna giggled. “Well, that’s okay then.”

  They spotted Sadie and Lucas slow dancing. “I don’t believe it!” Lexi said. “He’s taller than her. I didn’t think anyone was taller than Sadie!”

  “Should we give it a spin?” Arnold asked Kylie. “With no wheels, I promise.”

  Kylie gulped. “I’m not the most coordinated person,” she admitted. “I once did a hip-hop move and kicked my sneaker off in Meredith’s face.”

  “Then I’m lucky it’s a slow dance,” Arnold said. “And you’re not in high-tops.” He led her to the center of the gym floor.

  “Oh, this is so adorable!” Lexi cooed. “And romantic.” She pulled Jeremy to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  “I thought you hated to have everyone watch you?” he replied, confused.

  “I do. But I gotta hear what they’re saying to each other!”

  Jenna chuckled. “Report back,” she told her friend. “I can’t leave Jack with the cupcakes, or there won’t be any left for me.”

  Lexi and Jeremy sidled up next to Kylie and Arnold. “Can you hear what they’re saying?” Lexi asked her date.

  “The music is kinda loud,” Jeremy answered. “Do you read lips?”

  “I wish!” Lexi replied. It was very frustrating, but she could see that Kylie was smiling and laughing. She looked so happy.

  When the music finally stopped, Lexi pulled Kylie aside. “So? How’s it going?” she asked, pumping her friend for details. “Is it a match made in heaven?”

  “More like a match made in the robotics lab, but it’s good,” Kylie said. “Arnie said he really likes me.”

  “OMG!” Lexi squealed. “That’s amazing!”

  “I told him he could come to our next PLC meeting and bake with us.”

  Lexi’s face fell. “You did what? Boyfriends don’t come to PLC meetings. I’ve never taken Jeremy to a PLC meeting. It’s club members only.”

  “I know,” Kylie said. “But Arnie is really interested in learning to bake. He might even join now that he doesn’t have so much work to do for a robotics competition.”

  “Join? Join our club?” Lexi couldn’t believe her ears.

  “I know it’s really soon, but he’s great and I like him.” She hugged Lexi tight. “I owe it all to you. You made me realize I could have a boyfriend, Lex.”

  Before Lexi could say another word, Principal Fontina found them. “Fabulous job on the cupcakes as always,” she told Lexi and Kylie. “I’ve had two of the cotton candy ones already!”

  “Oh, you have to try one of the strawberry–goat cheese,” Kylie insisted. “They’re our new flavor!” She led her principal back to the cupcake table. Jeremy found Lexi still standing on the dance floor by herself.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked her. She looked like she was in shock. “Didn’t Principal Fontina like the cupcakes?”

  Lexi nodded. “She liked them. It’s Kylie.”

  “Kylie didn’t like them?” Jeremy asked.

  “No, she likes Arnold.”

  “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  “I did,” Lexi insisted. “I wanted Kylie to be happy, but not if it means destroying Peace, Love, and Cupcakes…forever!”

  Three days later, the entire fifth grade was still buzzing about how much fun the dance had been. Kylie couldn’t stop talking about it—and all things Arnold.

  “Did I tell you Arnie is into bugs?” she asked Lexi over lunch in the cafeteria. “The creepier and crawlier, the better.”

  “Bugs? Can we not talk about bugs while I’m eating?” Jenna grumped. “It’s ruining the enjoyment of my mac and cheese.”

  “Can we not talk about Arnold while I’m eating?” Lexi muttered. “It’s ruining everything.”

  She was sick of how Kylie’s new BF was all she ever wanted to discuss. There were dozens of cupcake orders to be planned, baked, and delivered, but all Kylie had on the brain was Arnie. It was just like when she had obsessed over her secret admirer—but worse, because now he was real!

  “So I was thinking of inviting him over Friday night to watch The Fly,” Kylie continued. “It’s one of my fave monster movies and very buggy.”

  The conversation was bugging Lexi. “Kylie, we have that delivery Sunday for the ninety-six-year-old’s birthday party. We were going to bake all day Saturday,” she reminded Kylie.

  “Oh, that’s perfect! Arnie can help us make the order, then watch The Fly!”

  Lexi bristled. She was hoping Kylie would forget the whole idea of Arnold joining PLC. None of the other girls even seemed to mind! She waited till Kylie went to get seconds on her chicken nuggets to try to convince them this was a very bad idea.

  “Jenna, you don’t want an outsider baking with us—getting in your ingredients and stuff, right?” Lexi asked her.

  Jenna shrugged. “Lex, you didn’t want Delaney to join us either, and now look how important she is to PLC. I’m cool with giving Arnold a chance.”

  Lexi looked to Sadie. “But too many cooks spoil the cupcakes, right?”

  Sadie thought for a moment. “I dunno. I mean, Arnold is really smart. How bad a baker could he be?”

  • • •

  They found out at noon on Saturday, when Arnold arrived at Kylie’s house for his very first PLC cupcaking session.

  “Okay, Mrs. Lewis requested lemon–poppy seed cupcakes with vanilla–cream cheese frosting.” Kylie read the order carefully. “Arnold, you’re with Sadie on egg cracking.”

  Sadie handed him a bowl and a dozen eggs. “Careful to crack the egg exactly in the middle with one firm tap.” She demonstrated. “If the crack is clean, you won’t get shell bits in the batter.”

  Arnold tried the first egg, and it shattered into the bowl. “Um, I think I got a few splinters in there,” he said, trying to pick them out. The egg whites were way too slippery, and they kept escaping him.

  “Here, you use half of the shell to scoop ’em out.” Sadie showed him. “It’s like a magnet. It gets them right up.” Instead, Arnold dropped several whole shells into the bowl while trying to weed out the tiny pieces. He took a wooden spoon and tried to mash the shells in so no one would notice.

  “Maybe you should help me on the batter,” Delaney suggested. She handed him a measuring cup and the bag of flour. “It needs to be exactly one and a half cups,” she said. “No more, no less.” Arnold nodded, but when he picked up the bag of flour and started to pour it into the cup, he accidentally spilled the entire pound all over the counter.

  “This is a lot harder than it looks,” he said, trying to mop up the mess. The more he wiped, the more the flour wafted in the air. “Connie made it look so easy.”

  “I’d rather Connie be here than him,” Lexi whispered to Jenna. “He’s a disaster.”

  Jenna took him under her wing and tried to teach him about tasting. “So when we’re making lemon cupcakes, we have to be very precise about how much zest and juice goes into the batter. Otherwise, you get a really sour cupcake.” She handed him a grater and a lemon. “You zest.”

  Arnold looked at the strange flat tool with holes in it. “I don’t know how,” he said. “What do I do with this?”

  Lexi grabbed it out of his hand. “You scrape the outside of the lemon carefully.” Arnold spent the next half hour scraping the lemon till it filled a measuring cup with pieces of lemon rind. He dumped the entire cup into the batter.

  “No! The recipe calls for two teaspoons finely shredded!” Delaney exclaimed.

  “These are chunks,” Jenna said, looking into the mixing bowl. “Gigante chunks. And this is way more than two teaspoons. We’ll have to toss this batter out and start again.”

  Lexi couldn’t stand it one more minute. “Okay, enough. Arnold can’t join PLC. He’s ruining everything!”

  “Wait! I can fix it
!” he said, flipping the switch on the mixer. “If we just mix it all up, it’ll be fine.” He turned the speed to high, and the batter splattered everywhere.

  “Stop! Stop!” Lexi said, trying to push him out of the way. The girls all stepped back because this was about to get messy.

  “Oh, you’re right!” Arnold said. “I forgot the poppy seeds!” He dumped a cup of seeds into the spinning mixer—and they immediately flew out as well. Lexi was now covered in lemony poppy seed goo.

  “You are awful! Just awful!” Lexi cried. “You can’t bake!”

  “Never said I could.” Arnold started laughing. “Robots are more my thing.”

  “And bugs!” Kylie joined in, cracking up. “Don’t forget bugs.”

  “It isn’t funny,” Lexi said, trying to wipe the sticky batter out of her hair.

  “Oh, it is!” Kylie insisted. “Nice job, guys.” Everyone was high-fiving.

  Lexi was confused. “I don’t understand. You did this on purpose?”

  Kylie put her arm around her. “We thought maybe we should give you a little lesson in what it feels like when someone butts into your batter.”

  “Oh,” Lexi said. “Like how I meddled in your love life.”

  Kylie nodded. “Exactly. It was my idea, but Arnie and the girls agreed to help.”

  “You should have seen your face, chica, when he poured in the poppy seeds.” Jenna laughed.

  “Wait, so this was all a plan? You don’t want to join our cupcake club?” Lexi asked Arnold.

  “Huh? No way! I mean, I know now that cupcakes aren’t stupid, but I’m not a baker. I’m a robot maker.”

  “And we like it that way.” Kylie gave his hand a squeeze.

  Lexi looked down at her batter-stained apron, jeans, and sneakers. “Could you have found a way to make your point without covering me in cupcake batter?”

  Kylie handed her a towel. “Sorry we made a mess of your clothes.”

  “Sorry I made a huge mess of our friendship,” Lexi said. “No more meddling. I won’t even ask for any more details of your love life.”

  Arnold blushed. “Well, that’s a relief !” He turned to Kylie. “I’ll go home and leave you guys to your baking.”