by Coco Simon
“She sure got you, Alexis!” said Katie, laughing.
“I’m just psyched for Dylan to do my makeup!” crowed Mia.
We all laughed.
“Okay, I am sorry. I went too far. I just was surprised she kept saying yes, and that party planner thing was, like, Plan Z in case she said no to the other things.”
“Alexis, you have to clear stuff like that with us first,” Emma said quietly but firmly. “I mean, the playlist and the makeup and hair . . . Those are one-offs. But when you’re talking about basically adding a new member to our club, someone we’ll have to split profits with and whatever, you can’t just go ahead willy-nilly like that.”
I hung my head. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that without discussing it with you first.”
“Well, she said no, so it’s not an issue,” said Katie, who is always our peacemaker.
“I think Dylan is on the mend,” I said. “She seems more back to her usual self.”
“I hope so,” said Mia. “Now let’s get baking!”
Emma picked up her phone to clear off the table as a workspace, and then she cried, “Oh no!” with such alarm that we all gasped. “What?”
CHAPTER 10
Three Cheers for Me
“My music teacher’s daughter broke her ankle playing soccer at her college, and my teacher has to fly there to be with her for surgery!”
“Oh no! The poor thing!” said Katie.
“No, poor me! She won’t be able to play the piano for me tomorrow in our duet at the talent show!” Emma sank down into a chair and put her face in her hands.
“Oh, Emma!” said Mia, sitting down next to her and patting her back.
“Can you play something else?” asked Katie.
“I’ve been practicing this piece for weeks,” said Emma. “It’s too late.”
We all sat there grimly for a minute, lost in thought.
Then reluctantly, I said, “How hard is the piano part?”
Emma took her hands off her face and sighed. “Not too bad. It’s really just chords, set to a certain rhythm. The flute part that I play is the complicated part: the melody.”
I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath. “Do you want me to try to play it with you?”
Emma looked at me. “You? I mean, thanks, but . . . can you really play?”
I shrugged. “I can play better than . . . an empty chair!”
Emma looked confused, and then she laughed. “You mean you’re better than no one?”
I shrugged and smiled. “What you see is what you get!”
Katie stood up. “Mia and I are going to make the cupcakes now. You girls go in the living room and get started on the duet.”
“Let me print out the sheet music, and I’ll get my flute,” said Emma, popping over to our family computer on the desk in the corner of the kitchen.
Minutes later, the two of us were sitting on the piano bench together in the living room, and Emma was showing me what to do.
It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard, if you know what I mean. Emma was scribbling notes in the margins of the music to dumb it down a little for me, and I was picking it up as I went along.
“Okay, let’s try it together.” Emma picked up her flute and began to play a beautiful melody. I started listening to her and forgot to move my hands over the piano keys so she stopped playing.
“Um, Alexis?” she asked.
“Right! Sorry! It just sounds so good!”
We started up again and inched our way through the piece, stopping and starting and tweaking it. Then we did it again and again. Soon, we were flowing along, and the smell of baking cupcakes wafted through the air.
“Good old Katie and Mia,” I said, sniffing.
“Good old Alexis, you mean. Thank you so much for being willing to help me.”
“Let’s just keep practicing until we get it right,” I said.
“Okay,” agreed Emma. “But you can’t spend all of tonight and all day tomorrow on this. What about studying for the history test?”
“Please,” I said. “I’ve been studying for that thing for ages!”
“Oh, Lex. You’re so organized!” Emma laughed. “That’s just one of the things that makes you such a great friend!”
“So that was a bit of an epic Cupcake Club session,” I said, two hours later.
There were racks of cupcakes cooling all over our kitchen. My fingers were sore from the piano practice; Katie and Mia both had flour in their hair; and we still had to get to the grocery store to buy some toppings for tomorrow. Then there was the frosting to make and use, and dropping off Mona’s minis in the morning, then dressing and primping, and all the practice that Emma and I could fit in in time for the talent show. Plus, they all needed to study for the history test.
“Guess what? Alexis already studied for the history exam,” said Emma.
“Of course she did!” Mia said with a laugh.
“That’s our girl!” Katie giggled.
“Well, a stitch in time saves nine, that’s what I always say. And a good thing I did it in advance, anyway, or I wouldn’t have time to practice for the talent show tomorrow.”
“Guys, guess what? She’s really good on the piano, too!” said Emma.
“I’m not surprised,” said Mia, hugging my neck.
“Please, this is going to my head!” I joked.
“You deserve all the compliments in the world!” said Katie, just as Dylan walked into the room.
I braced myself for some snarky Dylan comment, but she just smiled and nodded.
“She does,” said Dylan.
I waited for the zinger, but one didn’t come. Was that it? Dylan refilled her water bottle from the cooler and left the room, and I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“That was pretty nice, right?” Emma said quietly.
“Really unexpected,” I agreed in wonder. “And nice.”
Everyone needed to go home and get on with their lives. I was going to take a study break now (meaning, a break from piano, to study!), and then I’d practice some more piano before the night was over. I agreed to go to the store with my dad later for the topping supplies. Katie was going to come first thing tomorrow to pick up Mona’s minis for delivery. Emma would come back in the morning for another duet practice session, and then the other girls would come over to help with frosting. We’d break for lunch, then regroup to get dressed and have our hair and makeup done.
After everyone left I went upstairs to my desk to just catch my breath for a minute. I spied my half-written note for Matt and felt bad. It was overdue, and Emma had implied that he felt weird about the gift. Sighing, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the pen box and opened it, hoping for some inspiration for my note. I went to lift out the pen from its box, but I fumbled, and it dropped on my rug. As I bent to pick it up, I saw something glinting on the side of the barrel, something golden. I lifted the pen and saw an inscription in gold letters: M + A
Wow! Matt plus Alexis? It had to be! How could I be so silly? This was an amazing present! Matt had basically put it in writing that he liked me! Plus, let’s face it, what my mom had said was true! I didn’t want some frivolous junk—some random gift that said my closest friends (or crushes!) didn’t even know me. This was a thoughtful gift, with a sprinkle of romance on top, and it was just perfect for me!
I reached over and without even struggling, finished the note to Matt, thanking him profusely for such a wonderful, beautiful, useful pen and thanking him for knowing me so well.
I signed it just A. I figured he’d know that meant I’d seen the inscription and liked it. I slid the card into the envelope, wrote “M” on the outside, and sealed it up. I’d have my dad swing by the Taylors’ house so I could drop it through their mail slot on the way to the grocery store tonight. Now that I’d seen the real romantic nature of Matt’s gift, I didn’t want to delay my acknowledgment even one minute longer!
To say the next day
was a frenzy would be an understatement. I woke up at the crack of dawn to make the vanilla icing and frost Mona’s minis, then pack them up. Katie and Katie’s mom came by at nine to get them, and Emma arrived not long after they left, to start practicing. We had to make the most of the day.
Fortified with my dad’s buckwheat pancakes, we practiced and practiced until we hit a wall. As we stopped after our tenth time in a row, there was a slow clap from the hall. It was Dylan, standing in the doorway.
“You guys sound great,” she said. “Totally in sync and smooth, just like best friends should.”
I squinted, trying to decide if she was being sarcastic or serious, but she smiled. “I mean it, Alexis. You don’t have to look so suspicious.”
“Thanks,” said Emma. “Are you coming to the talent show tonight?” she asked. “I hope so!”
“I wish I could,” said Dylan. “I know you guys will be amazing. It’s just . . . I have a meeting for the middle school cheerleading. Actually, middle and high school.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Are you . . . happy about the high school part? I wasn’t sure . . .”
Dylan nodded. “The new girl, Jenna, who our coach promoted to be my cocaptain? She’s actually pretty nice. So, I invited her to come meet Ceci Shanahan with me and see if we could maybe do some combined practices this year. Kind of a mentoring thing, but kind of also for brainstorming. Sometimes the younger girls have fresh ideas.”
I smiled. “That’s great, Dylan. What a good idea.”
“Thanks. Well, I’m going to see if there are any pancakes left. See you girls later for the makeup and all.”
She left, and Emma and I looked at each other and smiled. “I’m proud of our little party planner,” she said.
“Me too.”
Everyone showed up with wet hair, as instructed by Dylan, and she lined us up in her room and blew out our hair, one by one. Then she told us to put on our outfits, and she’d do our makeup. She was supernice to us all.
I hurried to grab my new velvet dress she’d given me. It was just the perfect thing to wear tonight. I was so psyched.
“Is . . . um, Matt coming tonight?” I asked Emma, gently pulling the dress over my head. I couldn’t wait and wonder anymore.
“Yup,” said Emma. “My whole family’s coming!”
I felt the butterflies take flight in my stomach, and my hands grew cold. Matt would see me perform tonight.
Emma shot me a look. “Don’t get all nervous. This time you’re prepared.”
“I know, I know. Deep breaths. Yoga poses!” I said, thinking of Ceci’s little brother.
“Hey, everyone, look what I brought!” said Katie. “Feather tattoos from Lit Beauty!”
We put them on, in the same spot on our arms, and we held them out to admire, all in a row.
“Birds of a feather, stick together!” I said.
“Quack!” Dylan said as she entered the room with her makeup kit. And we cracked up.
The talent show bake sale was a huge hit, and Mr. Imbelli was thrilled. We sold so many cupcakes before the show even started that he asked us to bring even more next time, which meant there would be a next time for sure, or ten next times!
It was fun seeing everyone come in for the show, including teachers, all dressed up, and the whole Taylor family, and my family. Matt looked so handsome in a pale blue button-down shirt that matched his eyes.
“Thanks for the note,” he said with a huge grin.
I blushed furiously and said, “Thanks for the pen,” and we both laughed.
“You look great,” Matt said.
“So do you,” I said, smiling so hard I thought my cheeks would fall off.
Emma’s little brother, Jake, looked back and forth between the both of us and said, “You two are weirdos,” which made us crack up even more. I had a smile on my face for the whole night after that.
When it came time to go in for the show, we put up a little sign on our table that said THE CUPCAKE CLUB IS CLOSED UNTIL INTERMISSION, then Mia and Katie ran to take their seats, and Emma and I scooted around backstage.
Behind the curtain, Emma and I hugged tightly until our names were called, and then we took deep breaths and smiled, and walked out onto the stage holding hands. Beyond the bright lights, I could make out my parents, Mia, and Katie with the Taylors, all sitting together in the same row, smiling at us. Instead of making me feel nervous, it made me feel brave. Our families and friends had our backs.
Off to the side, someone was waving at me, and it caught my eye. It was Dylan, sitting with Ceci Shanahan and a redheaded girl I didn’t recognize, who must’ve been Jenna. I couldn’t believe they came. Dylan gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled at them and sat down at the piano to play.
Emma and I made eye contact as she settled in front of her music stand and lifted the flute to her lips. Then, just as we’d practiced, she nodded once, and we began.
It went perfectly! We played like we’d been playing together for years, and the billowing sound filled the theater and washed over us all, filling us with happiness. Before I knew it, it was over, and everyone was cheering and giving us a standing ovation! We hadn’t messed up once.
We left the stage but ran back out for a curtain call, and suddenly, Matt was coming up the steps at the edge of the stage, with big bouquets of roses for each of us. He gave Emma a hug as she accepted the roses, and then he turned to me and gave me mine. He leaned in and gave me a kiss, right on my cheek, and I nearly fainted away with happiness. He smiled as he pulled back, and I grinned so hard it hurt.
Later, we celebrated in the lobby with more cupcakes (we sold out! I couldn’t believe it! After all my careful planning!), and Matt and I chatted the whole time. It was one of the best nights of my life.
We were some of the last people to leave, and as Emma and I lugged our cupcake carriers to my car, I stopped in the parking lot.
“Em, thanks so much for taking a chance on me,” I said. “That was an amazing night, and I never would have been a part of it if it weren’t for you.”
Emma laughed. “It’s me who needs to be thanking you! You’re the best friend a girl could ever have! You’re organized and generous and persistent. I can’t believe you learned that whole song just to help me! Plus organizing the cupcake sale and all the hair and makeup and whatever. You’re amazing!” She put down her cupcake carriers and flung her arms around me.
“Thank you so much, Lexi!”
I hugged her back, sort of, since my cupcake carriers were awkwardly still in my hands. “No problemo,” I said. “I guess that’s just who I am.” I tried to act as if it was no big deal, but inside I felt pretty great.
That night, after the show, I opened an e-mail from my granny. It had sheet music attached, so I printed it out, then snuck off to the living room to give it a try. What the heck? I was on a roll!
A couple of minutes later, I heard someone at the door. It was my dad, and he had tears in his eyes.
“Oh, Alexis, I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to hear that piece again! It was my favorite when I was a boy.”
I grinned and kept plugging away at it.
When I looked up again, my mom was standing with him in the doorway, her arm around his waist.
“We’re so proud of you, Alexis. You are a wonderful kid, a great sister, and friend,” she said.
I put my hands in my lap and smiled. “I’m just trying to be the best Alexis I can be.”
“That’s all we’d ever hope for you,” said my mom.
“Me too,” I agreed. “Me too.”
Here’s a small taste of the very first book in the
series written by Coco Simon:
SUNDAY SUNDAES
PLOT TWIST
A hot August wind lifted my brown hair and cooled the back of my neck as I waited for the bus to take me to my new school. I hoped I was standing in the right spot. I hoped I was wearing the right thing. I wished I were anywhere else.
My toes curled
in my new shoes as I reached into my messenger bag and ran my thumb along the worn spine of my favorite book. I’d packed Anne of Green Gables as a good-luck charm for my first day at my new school. The heroine, Anne Shirley, had always cracked me up and given me courage. To me, having a book around was like having an old friend for company. And, boy, did I need a friend right about now.
Ten days before, I’d returned from summer camp to find my home life completely rearranged. It hadn’t been obvious at first, which was almost worse. The changes had come out in drips, and then all at once, leaving me standing in a puddle in the end.
My mom and dad picked me up after seven glorious weeks of camp up north, where the temperature is cool and the air is sweet and fresh. I was excited to get home, but as soon as I arrived, I missed camp. Camp was fun, and freedom, and not really worrying about anything. There was no homework, no parents, and no little brothers changing the ringtone on your phone so that it plays only fart noises. At camp this year I swam the mile for the first time, and all my camp besties were there. My parents wrote often: cheerful e-mails, mostly about my eight-year-old brother, Tanner, and the funny things he was doing. When they visited on Parents’ Weekend, I was never really alone with them, so the conversation was light and breezy, just like the weather.
The ride home was normal at first, but I noticed my parents exchanging glances a couple of times, almost like they were nervous. They looked different too. My dad seemed more muscular and was tan, and my mom had let her hair—dark brown and wavy, like mine—grow longer, and it made her look younger. The minute I got home, I grabbed my sweet cat, Diana (named after Anne Shirley’s best friend, naturally), and scrambled into my room. Sharing a bunkhouse with eleven other girls for a summer was great, but I was really glad to be back in my own quiet room. I texted SHE’S BAAAACK! to my best friends, Tamiko Sato and Sierra Perez, and then took a really long, hot shower.
It wasn’t until dinnertime that things officially got weird.
“You must’ve really missed me,” I said as I sat down at the kitchen table. They’d made all of my favorites: meat lasagna, garlic bread, and green salad with Italian dressing and cracked pepper. It was the meal we always had the night before I left for camp and the night I got back. My mouth started watering.
