Love Stinks!

by Nancy Krulik

  That was why Katie didn’t make wishes anymore. She didn’t want them to come true.

  Luckily, Jeremy’s wish hadn’t come true. All of the kids’ beanbag chairs were covered with hearts, cupids, and other Valentine’s Day decorations.

  There would be a Valentine’s Day. At least in class 4A.

  Chapter 4

  “Can I come to the mall with you today after school?” Suzanne asked Katie as the girls left school together at the end of the day. Suzanne knew that Katie often hung out at the mall on Thursdays. That was the day Mrs. Carew worked late at the Book Nook.

  “Sure. My mom’s picking me up in a few minutes,” Katie told her. “Don’t you have to ask permission?”

  Suzanne nodded. She pulled a small silver phone from her backpack. “My mom said I could borrow her phone today,” Suzanne told her. “Just in case I wanted to go home with someone after school.”

  “I thought cell phones weren’t allowed in school,” Katie reminded her.

  “I kept it hidden in my backpack,” Suzanne replied. “No one even knew it was there.”

  “Hey, what are you guys doing?” Jessica asked as she, Mandy, and Becky walked over.

  Suzanne put her finger to her lips. “Shhh. I can’t hear.”

  “She’s calling her mom to see if she can go to the mall with me,” Katie whispered.

  “Cool,” Jessica said. “Can I come, too?”

  Katie nodded. “If your mom says it’s okay.”

  “How about me?” Becky asked.

  Katie shrugged. “Sure. And you, too, if you want, Mandy.”

  “Oh, this will be great!” Becky exclaimed. “When we get to the mall, we can talk to Cinnamon about Suzanne’s secret admirer. Since Cinnamon made the heart, she’s got to know who he is!”

  “Do we have to keep talking about Valentine’s Day?” Katie asked them.

  “What else is there to talk about?” Becky asked her.

  Katie sighed. The girls were really making her crazy. She wished she could spend the day with Jeremy. She was sure he wouldn’t bring up Valentine’s Day once.

  As the girls borrowed Suzanne’s cell phone to call home, Katie spotted Jeremy, George, Kevin, and Manny walking in the distance. She ran over to them.

  “Hey, guys,” she said. She turned to Jeremy. “I’m going to the mall. Cinnamon said I could help her put the new lollipops into the display case. Do you want to help?”

  Jeremy looked over to where the girls were all gathered around Suzanne and her cell phone.

  “Not if they’re going,” he told her, pointing to the girls.

  “Why not?”

  Before Jeremy could answer, George puckered up his lips really tight. “Oh, Jeremy, I love you!” he said in a fake Southern accent.

  “You’re such a lover boy,” Kevin added.

  “Lover boy, I love you,” Manny joked.

  “That’s why I’m not going to the mall,” Jeremy groaned. “Cut it out!” he warned the boys.

  “We were just joking,” George told him.

  “It wasn’t funny,” Jeremy told him. Then he turned to Katie. “I’m not going anywhere near Becky.”

  “Why don’t you go off with the other girls, Katie Kazoo,” George said, using the nickname he’d given her. “You can try and figure out who Suzanne’s secret admirer is.”

  “Whoever he is, he’s pretty dumb,” Kevin said. “Who would want Suzanne for a valentine?”

  “Maybe it’s Jeremy,” Manny suggested. “He’s the fourth-grade lover boy.” He kissed the air again.

  Now Jeremy was really angry. He rolled his hand up into a fist and stared angrily at Manny. “I dare you to say that again,” he warned, staring Manny straight in the face.

  Katie was surprised. She’d never seen Jeremy this angry. “Gosh, I’m sorry,” Manny said, quickly stepping back.

  “You’d better be,” Jeremy said, walking away. “I’m going home.”

  Katie watched as Jeremy stormed off by himself. Valentine’s Day was supposed to be about love. Instead, it was making everyone hate one another.

  Valentine’s Day was a real pain!

  Chapter 5

  “Hi, girls,” Cinnamon greeted Katie, Suzanne, Becky, Mandy, and Jessica as they arrived at the candy store later that afternoon.

  Katie sniffed at the air. “Mmm. It always smells so yummy in here.”

  “You must be hungry for some candy,” Cinnamon teased.

  Katie grinned. Cinnamon was just the kind of person who should own a candy store. Her short brown hair was tinted with just a little bit of spicy red, sort of like gingerbread. Her eyes were as blue as blue raspberry lollipops, and her lips were as red as Red Hots. Most important of all, Cinnamon was a really sweet person.

  “Forget the candy,” Jessica interrupted. “We have something more important to talk to you about.”

  “More important than candy? Impossible,” Cinnamon joked.

  “Seriously,” Becky told her. “This is big. We have a mystery to solve.”

  “Oh.” Cinnamon sat down on a stool. “It does sound important.”

  “Suzanne has a secret admirer,” Becky confided. “And you’re the only person who may know who he is.”

  “Me?” Cinnamon asked. “How would I know?”

  “Because he sent her one of your candy hearts,” Mandy explained.

  Katie looked over at Suzanne. She was busy looking at the penny candy. She wasn’t at all interested in the conversation the girls were having with Cinnamon. That seemed strange to Katie. She would have thought Suzanne would be dying to hear what Cinnamon had to say.

  “Can you check your receipts and see who bought that heart?” Jessica asked Cinnamon, interrupting Katie’s thoughts.

  “I can’t do that,” Cinnamon told her.

  The girls all looked at her, surprised.

  Cinnamon shook her head. “I never tell secrets. Especially secrets about secret admirers.”

  Just then, Suzanne walked over to the group. “I just remembered I have to ask my mother something. I’m going to call her from outside the store. The reception is better outside the shop. I’ll be right back.”

  As Suzanne left the store, the girls all began picking out penny candy. “Hey, Katie, can you do me a favor?” Cinnamon asked.

  “Sure,” Katie replied. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Could you go over to Louie’s and get me a slice of pizza?” she asked. “I’m starving.” She handed Katie some dollar bills from her purse.

  Katie was amazed that Cinnamon could be hungry with all the candy around! Still, Katie was always willing to do a favor for Cinnamon. “Sure,” she said, taking the money. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Louie’s Pizzeria was next to the Book Nook, just across the way from Cinnamon’s Candy Shop. It took Katie only a minute to get there and buy a slice of pizza.

  As she walked back toward the candy store, Katie spotted Suzanne. She was hunched down, hiding behind a tall plant. It was pretty obvious she didn’t want anyone to see her sitting there.

  “Operator, I think I’m having trouble with my cell phone,” Katie overheard Suzanne whispering into her phone. “I don’t think the calls are getting through. Could you please try ringing the phone for me?”

  As Suzanne gave the operator her cell phone number, Katie quietly snuck into the candy shop and handed the slice of pizza to Cinnamon.

  “Thanks, Katie,” Cinnamon said. “You’re the best.”

  A moment later, Suzanne walked back into the store.

  “Did you get your mom?” Jessica asked her.

  Before Suzanne could answer, her cell phone rang. “Hello?” she answered the phone. Then her eyes opened wide with surprise. “How did you get this number?”

  “Oh my gosh, is it him?” Jessica squealed.

  Suzanne nodded but put her finger to her lips to make Jessica be quiet.

  “But how did you know I would have a cell phone with me today?” Suzanne asked. Then she giggled. “Y
ou are smart.”

  “Ask him what his name is,” Becky suggested.

  “What’s your name?” Suzanne said into the phone. She listened for a minute. Then she said. “Oh, come on, tell me.”

  Katie turned away and frowned. Of course the person on the other end wasn’t going to tell Suzanne his name. That’s because there wasn’t any person on the other line. It was just the operator testing the ring on Suzanne’s cell phone.

  Now Katie understood why this whole secret admirer thing had seemed so weird. Suzanne didn’t have a secret admirer at all! She’d made the whole thing up just to get attention. She’d probably even sent herself that candy heart! And the other girls had fallen for the whole thing!

  “Suzanne, this is so exciting,” Becky cooed as Suzanne hung up the phone. “You know what? I’m going to order a special candy heart for Jeremy. Can I do that now, Cinnamon?”

  Cinnamon handed Becky a form. “Just fill this out,” she told her. “I’ll make sure it’s delivered to your valentine by Saturday. Be sure to give me his address.”

  “Oh, I don’t have his address,” Becky said. “Can’t you deliver it to school?”

  “Hmm,” said Cinnamon, looking at her watch. “I don’t have much time, but if I hurry I can have it delivered to your school tomorrow,” Cinnamon answered.

  Katie gulped. She knew Jeremy would be really mad if a heart got delivered to him right in front of all his school friends. “No, don‘t,” she warned Becky. But the girls just ignored her!

  “I’m going to order a special candy heart, too,” Jessica said, taking one of Cinnamon’s forms.

  “For who?” Suzanne and Becky asked together.

  Jessica grinned. “I’m not telling. I’m going to be someone’s secret admirer.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Mandy said. She took a piece of paper from the counter and began scribbling down her message. “I know just who to send one to.”

  “I didn’t know you had a crush on anyone,” Suzanne told Mandy.

  “Andrew didn’t know it, either. But he will now,” Mandy laughed.

  Suzanne, Becky, and Jessica all started to giggle.

  But not Katie. “This is a bad idea,” she warned. “None of the boys will like getting candy at school.”

  “You’re just saying that because you don’t have a crush on anyone,” Jessica told her.

  “And no boy likes her, either,” Becky added.

  “They do, too,” Katie said.

  “Sure they do, Katie,” Suzanne assured her friend. “But the boys like you as a pal. Not like a valentine.”

  Katie wanted to shout out that no one liked Suzanne like a valentine, either. Her secret admirer was a big fake! But Katie couldn’t do that. It would be too mean.

  Instead, she turned and walked out of the store. “I’m going back to Louie’s for a veggie slice,” she told the other girls angrily.

  As Katie stormed across the mall, she grew madder and madder. She was sick and tired of Valentine’s Day. It was nothing but trouble!

  That was it! Katie wasn’t celebrating Valentine’s Day. She wasn’t going to eat any little candy hearts, wear red all day, or make any more cards! As far as Katie was concerned, there was no Valentine’s Day. She was calling the whole thing off!

  Chapter 6

  “Hey there, Katie!” Louie exclaimed cheerfully as she walked into his restaurant. “Back again so soon? Cinnamon must be really hungry.”

  Katie tried to smile. But it was hard. “This time I’m getting a slice of pizza for myself. My mother gave me five dollars to spend while I’m at the mall.” She sighed and plopped onto one of the stools at the counter.

  “Bad day, huh?” Louie asked her.

  “The worst,” Katie agreed. “I hate Valentine’s Day.”

  Louie nodded and ran his finger over his thick, dark mustache. “Ah. So you have a love problem. Do you have a crush on someone?”

  Katie made a face. “Louie! I’m only in fourth grade. I’m too young to be in love.”

  “I agree,” Louie said.

  “I wish somebody would tell that to Suzanne, Becky, Mandy, and Jessica though,” Katie sighed. “Love is all they talk about these days.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  Katie nodded. “Really bad. Because of them, Jeremy won’t hang out with me. He doesn’t want to be near Becky. And some of the other boys are going to be really upset when they find out that they’re getting candy hearts at school!”

  “They’re definitely not going to like that,” Louie agreed.

  “You wouldn’t believe all the weird stuff Suzanne’s been doing just because it’s Valentine’s Day,” Katie continued.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Louie said. “I’ve seen Suzanne do some pretty odd things.”

  “Not like this,” Katie assured him.

  “Well, I know what will cheer you up,” Louie told her. “I’ll make you a super veggie special—with extra spinach.”

  Katie looked around. The restaurant was empty. “You’re going to make a whole pie, just for me?” she asked him, surprised.

  Louie nodded. “You’re my favorite customer. You deserve it. Besides, I just had a huge crowd of college boys in here. They ate all the ready-made pies I had. I’ve got to make a few new ones. You can help me. I’ll let you sprinkle on the cheese.”

  Katie smiled. Louie always made her feel better.

  “Wait here. I’ll go in the back and get some more mushrooms and veggies.”

  “Okay,” Katie told him. She sat back in her seat and watched as Louie headed into the back room. She was glad to be alone for a minute. At least she wouldn’t have to hear anyone talking about Valentine’s Day.

  Suddenly, Katie felt a light breeze blowing on the back of her neck. She pulled the collar of her jacket up. But that didn’t stop the breeze from blowing on her. In fact, it seemed to get stronger.

  Whoosh! Within seconds, the breeze was no longer light and airy. It was more like a powerful burst of wind. A tornado-like wind ... that was only swirling around Katie.

  Katie gulped. This wasn’t just any wind. This was the magic wind!

  The whirling tornado grew stronger and stronger, blowing around Katie so powerfully that she had to hold her hands over her face to keep her hair from being blown into her eyes. She tensed up her body and tried to keep from being blown away.

  And then it stopped. Just like that. The magic wind was gone. And so was Katie Carew.

  Chapter 7

  Katie sat there for a minute, afraid to open her eyes. She sniffed at the air. Mmm. Something smelled good.

  It wasn’t a tangy pizza smell, though. It was sweeter and richer ... like chocolate.

  Slowly, Katie opened her eyes and looked around. She was surrounded by vats of warm melted chocolate, fresh strawberries, and boxes of candy. Katie was in the tiny kitchen in the back of Cinnamon’s Candy Shop.

  Okay, so that explained where she was. But it didn’t explain who she was.

  “Cinnamon,” Katie heard Suzanne’s voice coming from the front of the store.

  “Cinnamon, where are you?” Suzanne called again. Her voice got louder as she came into the kitchen. “Oh, there you are.”

  Katie looked around. Cinnamon wasn’t in the back room.

  Or was she? As Katie looked down, she could see she was wearing Cinnamon’s cheery red-and-white checkered apron over a pair of cherry red pants. The green nail polish Katie had been wearing was gone. Instead, her fingernails were coated with traces of chocolate.

  Katie had turned into Cinnamon!

  “Are you okay?” Suzanne asked her.

  Katie gulped. She was definitely not okay. She didn’t want to be Cinnamon. Not right now. Not when she was supposed to be making Valentine’s Day candies!

  “Cinnamon?” Suzanne repeated.

  “Yes?” Katie answered finally.

  Suzanne handed Katie three sheets of paper and fifteen dollars. “Here are their order forms and the money from Jessica, Mandy,
and Becky. We’re going to go now. My mom’s picking us up.”

  Katie was surprised. “I thought you were going home with my ... I mean Katie’s mom,” she told Suzanne. Whoops. That was close.

  “Her mom doesn’t leave work until seven o‘clock, and Becky, Jessica, and Mandy don’t have any money left to spend. If they can’t shop, we may as well leave,” Suzanne explained. “Besides, we’re going back to my house to talk about our crushes. Katie wouldn’t want to do that.”

  That made Katie mad. Suzanne was her best friend. And she was leaving her out of everything!

  “Yeah, well, I’m glad you’re going,” Katie said angrily.

  “What?” Suzanne asked.

  Oops. Katie gulped. The real Cinnamon never would have gotten mad at Suzanne. “I mean, as soon as you leave, I can make those hearts. I’ve got to hurry. The mail carrier will be here soon.”

  The minute the girls left the candy shop, Katie locked the door and turned the sign on the door so it read CLOSED. She didn’t want to have to pretend to be Cinnamon for all the store’s customers.

  Then she plopped down on the floor near the penny candy bins and frowned. Everything had gone wrong today. And to top it all off, the magic wind had come and turned her into Cinnamon!

  Hmmm. Katie thought about that for a minute. Actually, being Cinnamon wasn’t all bad. At least she could eat as much candy as she wanted. After all, she owned the store.

  Katie walked over to the lemon-drop bin, and took a big handful. Next, she decided to munch on jelly beans. Mmm ... the red ones tasted like strawberries. Katie took two handfuls of those.

  After the jelly beans, Katie popped two Red Hots in her mouth at the same time. YIKES! Those were hotter than she’d thought they would be. Just then, Katie spotted some heart-shaped, chocolate-covered mints on the counter. A cool mint was the perfect thing to soothe a hot mouth. Katie took a handful of those, too ...