by Simon, Coco
I think that’s the biggest problem I have here at Park Street Middle School. I don’t feel like anyone really gets me. Not like Ava does, anyway. The Cupcake Club is great, but Ava has known me since first grade. She knows everything about me. I try not to think about it too much, but it can be a bit lonely sometimes.
The Monday madness continued after school. When I got home, my dogs, Tiki and Milkshake, ran up to greet me like they always do. They’re little, fluffy, white dogs with black noses, and I think they are perfectly adorable. Mom and I adopted them after the divorce when we went to live in a new apartment, one that allowed dogs. After I petted them both, I went over to my mom’s office to talk to her.
Mom’s starting up her own fashion consulting business, so she works out of the house, which is nice. I see her a lot more now.
But Mom wasn’t there. Then I heard Eddie’s voice behind me.
“Sorry, Mia. Your mom had to go into the city for a meeting. She won’t be home till late,” he said.
Eddie is my soon-to-be stepdad. Mom and I live in the house with him and my soon-to-be stepbrother, Dan. Eddie is a lawyer whose law firm is over in the next town. When my mom left her job to start up her consulting company, Eddie asked her to marry him. They’re getting married this spring.
“How late?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But there’s good news! I’ll be cooking tonight. You’re in for a real treat. It’s my famous mystery meat loaf!”
It looked like I was not going to escape meat loaf, no matter how hard I tried. “Why is it a mystery meat loaf?” I asked.
“Because the recipe is very mysterious,” Eddie said in a fake mysterious voice. Then he made spooky noises. “Oooh, whooo . . .”
Eddie is always trying to make me laugh. Sometimes I do, but it’s not easy. His jokes can be pretty awful at times.
“Just let me know when it’s time to set the table,” I told him.
I walked up the stairs to my room, and Milkshake and Tiki followed me. Before Mom and I moved in with Eddie and Dan, the room was supposed to be a guest room, but it was mostly filled with boxes of stuff that Dan had when he was a kid. It has weird flowery wallpaper, like something you’d find in an old lady’s house. Eddie keeps saying he’ll paint it, but he’s always busy. So is Mom. Between getting ready for the wedding and starting her new business, she doesn’t have a lot of extra time.
So for now, I’m stuck with the room with the weird wallpaper. My room at my dad’s apartment is much more me. We decorated it with a Parisian Chic theme. The walls are pale pink with black-and-white accents. My headboard is this twisted flowery iron, and my bedspread and pillows have a cool black-and-white pattern on them. I have a really pretty white vanity where I can keep all my hair stuff, and I can actually sit down to do my hair in the morning. One day I can put makeup in there . . . if my mom ever lets me wear anything other than lip gloss.
In this room the bed has a green quilt and the curtains are blue and they don’t match at all. My old quilt doesn’t fit because this bed is big—a double bed—which is nice, but the quilt is ugly. There’s no vanity, but there’s an old wooden dresser, which is brown, and a desk for my computer and a small table for my sewing machine in the corner. My table with my sewing machine on it is the only piece of furniture from my mom’s old apartment. Since everything is so much bigger at Eddie’s house, Mom said it was a perfect chance for us to leave my old furniture behind and update and redo my bedroom. Which she promises to do soon. But until that happens, I’ve just been covering up the wallpaper with fashion spreads that I tear out of my favorite magazines. It’s not great, but at least it covers up most of those ugly flowers.
The one good thing about this room, though, is the closet—it’s three times the size of my closet in New York. Which is good, because I keep most of my clothes at this house anyway.
The way my room is decorated isn’t the only thing I don’t like about it. The other bad thing is that it’s next to Dan’s room. And Dan loves heavy metal music—the loud kind, where the lead singer screams like there’s a fire or something. He listens to it all the time.
Like right now. The loud music (if you can call it music) blared from behind Dan’s door, shaking the walls and the floor. All I wanted to do was call Ava, but I’d never be able to hear her on the line.
I knocked on Dan’s door. “Dan, can you turn it down, please?”
It was no use. He couldn’t hear me. So I went into my room, sat on my bed, and stuck in my earbuds. I pressed play on my iPod, and a song by my favorite singer filled my ears—but I swear I could still see the walls shaking.
Tiki and Milkshake curled up in the purple dog bed I keep for them in my room. Then I texted Ava.
FabMia: Miss you! How’s ur Monday going?
Avaroni: Not good. U know those boots I got last week? The heel fell off rite in the middle of school! I almost fell.
FabMia: Oh no! U okay?
Avaroni: :( I hate Mondays!
FabMia: Me 2!
Avaroni: Hey, gotta go. Me n Delia r going to that xhibit at the Met.
FabMia: Jealous!
Avaroni: Peace out.
FabMia: Talk soon. Bye.
I clicked off the phone with a frown. I was happy for Ava, but I was jealous too. If I were still living in Manhattan, I would be going to that exhibit. I didn’t even know who Delia was, either. I think Ava told me she met her in French class or something.
So . . . no Mom. No Ava. And mystery meat loaf in my near future. I couldn’t wait until Monday was over.
I took off my shoes and searched for my sketchbook, which I found under a pillow at the foot of my bed. I opened it up and started to sketch an idea for a dress I’d been thinking about. As I moved the pencil across the page, I didn’t notice the shaking walls or the mysterious smell of meat loaf wafting up the stairs.
That’s how it always feels when I sketch. The whole world melts away. And that is a nice feeling, especially on a Monday.
CHAPTER 3
We’re in Business!
For the record, let me just say that “mystery meat loaf” probably got its name because it’s a mystery why anyone would eat it. But I didn’t want to hurt Eddie’s feelings, so I didn’t tell him that. Instead I managed to sneak most of it to Tiki and Milkshake, who always hang out under the table while we’re eating, hoping to get some scraps.
Thankfully that was the last annoying thing that happened on Monday. And the next day, Tuesday, was much better, of course.
To start with, even though Mom got home late, she still packed me a lunch, and I didn’t forget it this time. My mom made my favorite: a turkey and Brie wrap with a side of red grapes. Yum!
While we were eating, Alexis started talking about the school fund-raiser. People were still talking about it.
“You won’t believe what just happened in French class,” she said, sticking a fork into her spaghetti. “Before class, Mademoiselle Girard came up to me and congratulated me on the Cupcake Club winning the contest. Sydney was standing right there, and she gave me such a nasty look!”
“I kind of feel bad for them,” said Katie. “I know they worked really hard on that makeover booth.”
“It’s a shame that their makeovers were so terrible,” I added. “Remember when Sophie showed us what Bella had done to her? She had on so much white makeup that she looked like a clown.”
Alexis shrugged. “Well, I think their problem was that they didn’t work out the numbers first. Each makeover must have cost five dollars if you add up all the makeup they bought, but took twenty minutes to finish. That’s only fifteen dollars an hour. But our cupcakes cost two dollars each, and we could sell one every minute. Do the math.”
“Do I have to?” Katie groaned.
I’ve never known anybody who loves numbers as much as Alexis. It’s probably because her parents are accountants. Actually, that’s something we have in common, in a way. My mom works in fashion, and I love fashion. I wondered if I
would be like Alexis if my mom had been an accountant. . . .
“I hope the girls in the PGC don’t feel too bad,” Katie said, and I knew she was thinking about Callie. “At least they tried.”
While we were talking, Ms. Biddle came up to our table. She teaches science, and we all agree that she’s the best teacher in our grade. She’s really funny, and she has cool blond hair that she spikes up with gel. Every day she wears a different science T-shirt. See? Her clothes tell me she likes science! Today she was wearing a shirt with the periodic table of the elements on it.
“Hey there,” she said. “Do you young entrepreneurs mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
I know what “entrepreneur” means because my mom is one. It’s somebody who starts their own business.
“Sure,” Katie said.
Ms. Biddle slid into the empty chair at the end of the table. “Next Saturday—not this one, but the next one—I have to throw a baby shower for my sister. She loves cupcakes. And I have never made a cupcake in my life that wasn’t burnt or dry as toast. So I was wondering if the Cupcake Club would like the job.”
“We would love it!” Katie said quickly. “I mean, if everyone agrees.”
“Isn’t baking cupcakes just like chemistry?” Alexis asked. “I thought you’d be good at making cupcakes.”
“You’re right,” Ms. Biddle admitted. “Baking is a lot like science. It’s a total embarrassment. I can make anything in a science lab, but put me in a kitchen and I lose all of my mojo.”
“We should definitely do it,” I said.
“I think so too,” Emma chimed in.
Alexis took a small notebook out of her backpack. “Can you please give us the details? Time? Place? Number of cupcakes?”
Ms. Biddle gave Alexis the address. “I think four dozen should do it. How much do you charge?”
“Two dollars per cupcake is our normal price,” Alexis answered. “But you qualify for the teacher discount. That’s half price at one dollar each.”
“Perfect!” Ms. Biddle said with a grin. She stood up to leave.
“One more thing,” I said. Alexis is good with numbers, but she’d forgotten the most important detail. “What kind of cupcake do you want? And do you want any special colors?”
“We don’t know yet if the baby is a boy or girl, so the decorations are going to be yellow and green. I guess the cupcakes should match,” said Ms. Biddle. “But you can make any flavor you want, as long as it’s delicious.”
“They will be!” Katie promised. “Thanks so much.”
After Ms. Biddle walked away, Katie let out a happy squeal.
“This is amazing!” Katie said. “Our first paying job!”
“Don’t forget we’re doing the PTA luncheon in the spring too,” Emma added.
“This will be good practice,” I pointed out.
“I hope you don’t mind me offering the teacher discount,” Alexis said. “I thought it might help us drum up more business.”
“No, that was a good idea,” Katie told her.
“And it’s a nice thing to do for teachers,” Emma added.
Alexis tapped her pencil on her notebook page. “We should still be able to make a nice profit. I’m still working out how much it costs per cupcake. Our parents donated the ingredients for the fund-raiser, but we’ll have to start paying for our own now.”
“How will we buy the ingredients if we don’t have any money to start with?” Emma wondered.
“Maybe my mom could lend it to us,” Katie suggested. She always has good ideas for how to solve problems. “Then we could pay her back when Ms. Biddle pays us.”
“That could work,” Alexis agreed.
I had been thinking about what Alexis said about profit. I was excited because making cupcakes is fun, but the idea of making some extra money was pretty nice. I could finally buy that great pair of jeans that Mom said were too expensive.
“So what will we do with our profits?” I asked, thinking about how those jeans would look really good with my favorite shirt.
“We should probably save some to make more cupcakes, and then divide up the rest,” Alexis replied. “But we should talk about it.”
“Can we have a meeting tomorrow?” Katie asked.
“Good idea,” I said. “Maybe we could meet at the food court at the mall. Then we could go window-shopping afterward.”
I’ll find any excuse to go to the mall. It makes living in the suburbs a lot more bearable.
But Alexis wrinkled her nose. “The food court is too noisy for a meeting, don’t you think?”
“Why don’t we meet at my house? We haven’t met at my house in a long time,” Emma said.
Alexis rolled her eyes. “Your little brother is way noisier than the mall.”
“No, let’s go to Emma’s!” Katie said.
I was disappointed we weren’t going to the mall, but I was out-voted.
“Cool,” I said.
Katie turned to me. “Joanne’s picking me up tomorrow. I’ll ask my mom if she can take us to Emma’s house.”
“Sounds good,” I said. I was feeling pretty excited about the whole thing.
The Cupcake Club makes living out here a whole lot easier.
CHAPTER 4
Emma’s House
After school the next day I met Katie on the school steps. Park Street Middle School is a big concrete building with two sports fields in the back, a little kids’ park on one side, and trees on the other side. There’s a big, round driveway in front where the school buses line up. If someone is picking you up in a car, you have to follow the sidewalk down to the street.
“I think I see Joanne,” Katie said, pointing to a shiny red car.
Katie’s mom is a dentist, and Joanne works in the office there. Most days, Joanne picks up Katie from school and brings her back to the dentist’s office until Mrs. Brown gets off work. Katie’s mom is really nice, but she’s really overprotective, too.
“I’m so glad we have a meeting today,” Katie told me as we walked. “Otherwise I’d be stuck in a dentist’s office.”
“That does sound really boring,” I admitted.
“It is,” Katie said. “But you know what I hate the most? That dentist’s office smell. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”
“I know what you mean,” I told her. “Every time I smell it, it reminds me of that time I got my cavity filled. That was seriously painful!”
“You should go to my mom,” Katie said. “Her patients all say it hardly hurts at all when she works on them. Although you should hear her lecture about the importance of flossing. Now that’s painful.”
Joanne stuck her head out of the car window when she saw us approach. “Hey, girlfriends! How are you doing today?”
“Good,” Katie and I answered at the same time.
We got into the backseat together. Joanne’s red car is really sporty, and she always plays good music. It’s much better than taking the bus.
“So what’s going on at Emma’s today?” Joanne asked.
“A Cupcake Club meeting,” Katie replied. “We got hired by Ms. Biddle to bake cupcakes.”
“Is that the cool science teacher you told me about?” Joanne asked.
Katie nodded. “Yeah, she’s really nice.”
Joanne sighed. “I wish I was going to a cupcake meeting. Instead, I’ve got to go back to the office and try to explain to Mr. Michaels why he can’t put his false teeth in the dishwasher.”
Katie and I giggled. Then Joanne pulled up in front of Emma’s house. “Have fun,” she said. “Katie, your mom will get you on her way home.”
Katie and I thanked Joanne and walked up to Emma’s front door. She lives in a two-story white house with a porch that wraps all the way around it. It’s a really pretty house, except for the big pile of sports equipment in the driveway. There were bats and gloves and basketballs, even a lacrosse stick. There’s also a basketball hoop in the driveway, and Emma’s two older brothers, Matt and Sam, we
re shooting baskets with their friends.
The ball bounced on the walkway in front of us, and Sam, who’s a senior, ran up to get it.
He stopped when he saw me. “Hey, aren’t you Dan’s little sister?”
“I’m going to be his stepsister,” I replied. Katie kind of gave me a look. But I wasn’t really Dan’s sister. Or Dan’s real sister. I don’t know, it’s all confusing. It was a lot simpler when I was an only child.
“Yo, Sam! Over here!” one of the boys called.
Sam ran off without another word. Then Emma opened the front door.
“Come on in. Alexis has us set up in the kitchen,” she said with a smile.
We walked through the living room, stepping over a giant city of blocks surrounded by plastic dinosaurs. Emma’s little brother, Jake, was standing in front of the TV, watching a cartoon. I think he’s completely adorable.
Emma turned off the TV. “Jake, come into the kitchen with us.”
Jake frowned. “I wanna watch TV!”
Jake is completely adorable—when he’s not crying and whining. Emma says that happens a lot, but he’ll grow out of it.
Emma gave us an apologetic look. “Mom’s at work,” she explained. “She’ll be back soon. I said I didn’t mind watching him since we’re not baking today. He’ll be good.”
“I wanna watch TV!” Jake demanded.
Emma took his hand. “Later, Jake. We’re going to color now.”
That seemed to satisfy him. Emma led us all into the kitchen, where Alexis had a bunch of papers spread out on the table.
“Hey,” she said. “So I’ve worked out how much it will cost us to make each cupcake if we use basic ingredients. We need to figure out what we’re making in case we need to add other stuff.”
That’s Alexis for you. She loves to get right down to business. We all sat down at the table, and Emma sat next to Jake. She gave him a banana and opened up his dinosaur coloring book.
“I was thinking about that,” Katie said. “Ms. Biddle said the decorations will be yellow and green. So maybe the cupcake flavor could sort of match. You know, like a banana or a lemon cupcake.”