Mia's Baker's Dozen

by Coco Simon

  “I think I’ve got all the details down so we can re-create this for the party,” Alexis said. “Otherwise, we’re meeting at my house on Saturday morning to do the Valentine’s cupcakes, right?”

  “Right,” Emma said.

  “My mom said she’d help us drop them off at the bookstore,” I told them.

  Alexis shut her notebook. “Just one more thing,” she said. She gave each of us a sheet of paper. “Let me know what you think, and then I’ll get the ad up on the PTA website next week.”

  We all read Alexis’s ad:

  Need a sweet treat for your next party or event? Let us do the baking for you! Click here to contact the Cupcake Club. We can do any flavor or amount you want. And we’re having a baker’s dozen special for all new customers! Buy a dozen cupcakes and get one free!

  “I like the ‘sweet treat’ part,” Katie said.

  “It’s really good, Alexis,” Emma said.

  I nodded. “The baker’s dozen was a great idea, Katie,” I said. “I’ll bet we’ll get lots of new business from this.”

  When the meeting was over, Eddie picked me up and brought me home. Mom was home, but she was working in her office. And at dinner she seemed really distracted. So I decided it wouldn’t be fair to give her the note while she was so busy.

  The next day was Friday, and I was glad it was the last day of the week. No tests, and we had our leftover snowy cupcakes for Cupcake Friday.

  But then something really unexpected happened at lunch. Here’s how it went down. While I was eating lunch, Sydney Whitman actually came up to our lunch table.

  “Mia, can I talk to you a minute?” she asked. “I need a favor.”

  “Sure,” I said. I turned to my friends and raised my eyebrows, giving that I don’t know what she wants look. Then I followed her over to the wall.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I got this text from Jackson Montano, and it’s in Spanish. Usually I’d ask Callie, but she’s home because she’s sick today.”

  What could I say? Should I launch into my entire “I can speak Spanish really well, but I have problems reading and writing it” explanation? Meanwhile, Queen Sydney stood in front of me with her arms crossed, waiting for me to say something.

  “Uh, sure,” I said, a little nervously. I hoped it wasn’t too complicated.

  Sydney handed me her phone, and I checked the message.

  Te quiero.

  Now, if you read Spanish you probably know that this means, “I love you,” which is what my parents say to me, and my abuela says all the time. But when I saw “quiero” I got it mixed up with the word “queso,” which means “cheese.”

  Yes, that’s right. That’s what I thought. And here’s what I told Sydney.

  “He says you’re cheesy,” I said.

  Honestly, I didn’t think that was strange. Jackson is on the football team, and he says mean things to kids all the time. Sydney and Jackson actually would make a perfect couple. Jackson thinks he’s supercool just because he’s a football player, and Sydney thinks she’s supercool because . . . well, because she’s Sydney.

  Sydney’s face turned bright red. “Cheesy? Really? I’ll show him!”

  Then she stomped away. She went back to her table, and I could see her talking with Maggie. While Sydney talked, she looked shocked and kept glancing down at her phone and looked like she was getting angrier by the minute.

  I went back to the table.

  “What did she want?” Alexis asked.

  I shrugged. “She wanted me to translate some text message for her from Jackson Montano. He told her he thinks she’s cheesy.”

  “Cheesy? That’s a weird thing to say,” Emma said.

  “Hmm. Well, at least that’s one less boy drooling over Sydney,” Katie said. “So yay for that.”

  “It figures he’s texting her,” Alexis said. “Those two think alike.”

  And then I forgot all about it—for a little while, anyway. In a split second, I had made a terrible mistake—one that would haunt me forever. (I know that sounds totally dramatic, but it’s true!)

  CHAPTER 10

  Katie Is Still Acting Weird

  That night at dinner Mom made an announcement.

  “I just got the e-mails about the parent-teacher conferences next week,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet all your teachers!”

  I almost choked on my pork chop, and started coughing.

  “Mia, are you okay?” Mom asked.

  I nodded and took a sip of water.

  “Do not believe anything Mrs. Caldwell tells you,” Dan said. “She’s always accusing me of messing around in class, but it’s Joseph, not me.”

  Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, we’ll see about that,” he said. “Any other teachers we should look out for?”

  Dan shrugged. “They’re all pretty cool, I guess. Mr. Bender gives us tons of homework, but I always do it all.”

  “What about you, Mia?” Eddie asked.

  I shrugged too. “They’re all cool.” Normally, I would have told them about how much fun Ms. Biddle’s science class is and how strict Mrs. Moore is in math class, but I didn’t feel like talking. I couldn’t keep my secret about Spanish class much longer. I decided I’d have to tell Mom after dinner.

  But then Eddie said something that really made me mad.

  “Mia, I’m looking forward to meeting your teachers too,” he said.

  I almost choked again. Why was Eddie going to my parent-teacher conference? Dad is the one who should be going!

  I was too angry to say anything. I kept quiet until the end of dinner. Then after, when Mom and I were cleaning up, I confronted her.

  “Why is Eddie going instead of Dad?” I asked her. “Dad’s still my parent, right? Shouldn’t he be going?”

  Mom looked really startled. “Well . . . ,” she said, like she was trying to figure out an answer. “I didn’t think of it. It might be hard for Dad to get here from the city during the week. I’ll ask him. But is there a reason you don’t want Eddie to go?”

  “Because he’s not my dad!” I blurted out.

  Mom sat down on the nearest chair. She thought for a minute.

  “You’re right about that,” she said finally. “But he’s still your parent. He cares about you very much. And he takes an active role with you. He helps you with your homework and projects. So it’s important for him to meet your teachers and know what’s going on in your school.”

  I nodded grudgingly, feeling a little guilty. After all, Eddie did drive me all over the place, and he made me lunch and dinner and snacks. But I was still mad. “Fine. But Dad does those things too. He should be there.”

  “I promise I’ll talk to him,” Mom said. “And if he can’t go, I’ll make sure he gets all the information, okay?”

  “Okay,” I mumbled. Then I went up to my room. I decided to do some sketching. Sketching always relaxes me and makes me feel better when I’m in a bad mood.

  I started to sketch some Valentine’s Day outfits. First I drew a really girlie pink dress with a short, full skirt that I knew Emma would love. Then I drew a denim skirt paired with a loose sweater, with a big bold red heart embroidered on the front. It looked very “casual cool.” Out of the blue I wondered how I would write “casual cool” in Spanish. I drew a complete blank. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I found myself getting more and more upset. Great, I thought. Now even my sketch time is ruined by Spanish. Meanwhile, I had forgotten all about giving Mom the note from Señora Delgado.

  The next morning I woke up early, and Mom drove me to Alexis’s house. She has the neatest, cleanest kitchen of all of us. We had to get the cupcakes to the bookstore by one o’clock, so we got to work right away.

  Katie and I worked on the cinnamon-frosted cupcakes, and Emma and Alexis worked on the pretty pink cupcakes. Emma blasted some music, and we didn’t talk much while we worked. Katie calls it “being in the baking zone.”

  When we were done, we had four dozen perfect, beautiful cupcakes pack
ed neatly into boxes. I had designed labels for us on the computer that said THE CUPCAKE CLUB, and there was a picture of a cupcake on each one. I carefully stuck a label on each box, and we stepped back to admire our hard work.

  “Perfect!” Alexis said with satisfaction.

  I looked at the clock, and it was ten minutes to noon. “Mom will be here soon. She’s going to take Katie and me to lunch, and then we’re going to drop off the cupcakes and then see the movie. Are you sure you guys don’t want to go?”

  “I’ve got three dog walking clients today,” Emma said. “Otherwise I would.”

  “And we’re all going to my grandmother’s house today,” Alexis said. “But text me when the movie’s done! I’m dying to see it.”

  “Even though I already know how it ends, I still can’t wait,” Katie said. She looked really excited.

  Then Alexis handed me an envelope. “I printed out some business cards on my computer using your label design,” she said. “See if you can leave them out on the cupcake table. That way if anyone likes the cupcakes and wants to order some, they know how to reach us.”

  My mom then came in, and she helped us carry the boxes to the car. We have an organizer in our trunk now, so the boxes don’t slide around. The bookstore, Harriet’s Hollow, is in downtown Maple Grove. There are a bunch of other stores on Main Street besides Harriet’s. There’s also a little café where they have the most awesome tuna melts. That’s where we went for lunch.

  “Mmm, melty!” Katie said when her sandwich came, and we all laughed.

  Then it was time to deliver the cupcakes to Harriet’s. The owner of the store is named Harriet. She’s tall and has long brown hair that she always piles on her head, and she has a very global sense of fashion. Today she was wearing a really flowy purple-and-orange dress that looked like it was made from Indian saris, and she had lots of silver bracelets jangling on her wrists.

  “It’s the cupcake girls!” she said when she saw us. “And right on time, too. Come here, let me show you the display.”

  We walked through the store to the place in the back that Harriet called the reading nook. It’s filled with comfy couches and beanbag chairs, and Harriet doesn’t mind if you sit there and read all day. Today she had decorated it with pink and red flowers on the end tables, and in the middle was a round table with a pink tablecloth on it.

  “We’ll set them up for you,” Katie said, and we started by putting out four round, clear plastic trays that we got from a party store. They don’t cost much, and the cupcakes look good on them. Then we carefully placed the cupcakes on them: two trays of my spicy dark chocolate with cinnamon frosting, and two trays of Emma’s fluffy pink cupcakes.

  “They look too good to eat!” Harriet exclaimed, but then she picked up a spicy one. “But of course I can’t resist.”

  Katie and I held our breath while Harriet took a bite. We always get a little nervous when someone tries our cupcakes for the first time.

  Harriet smiled. “Fantastic!” she said. “What’s in this?”

  Katie and I explained the flavors of the two cupcakes, and Harriet nodded in approval. She walked to the register and came back with an envelope for us.

  “Thank you so much, girls,” she said. “I’ll be sure to recommend you to my friends.”

  Then I remembered Alexis’s cards. “We have some business cards,” I said. “Would it be okay if we put some out on the table?”

  “Of course!” Harriet said. “My, you girls certainly are professional.”

  I made a mental note to tell Alexis that later. She would love that compliment!

  Next Mom dropped us off at the movie theater, which is in the mall. Now that we’re in middle school, our moms have decided that we can go to the movies by ourselves, as long as we don’t leave the theater. (Eddie didn’t like that idea much, but Mom convinced him.)

  Soon Katie and I were sitting in our seats with sodas and a bucket of popcorn between us. They were showing some commercials or something on the screen, so I started to tell Katie about my problems with Mom and Eddie and Spanish.

  “It’s bad enough that everyone’s going to find out that I’m failing, but I don’t really get why Eddie needs to go,” I said. “My dad should go, right?”

  “I guess,” Katie answered. She really didn’t seem interested, but I kept talking.

  “Plus, I have to check in with everyone all the time,” I said. “It’s like I have three police officers watching my every move or something. I feel like a prisoner sometimes. We’re lucky Eddie’s not sitting here right now.”

  “Shh,” Katie said. “The previews are coming on.”

  I have to admit I was a little bit hurt about that. It’s like Katie didn’t care at all, which isn’t like her. Usually she’s a great person to talk to.

  As the previews played, I tried to figure out what might be bugging her. I know Katie’s parents are divorced too, so I figured she’d understand.

  Then it hit me—Katie never talks about her dad, ever, and she doesn’t visit him the way I do. I don’t know why, but she just doesn’t. Maybe her dad lives far away or something. I’ve never really asked her.

  So maybe Katie can’t understand my problems. Maybe she has some of her own—different ones.

  I almost asked her about it but then the lights went dark, and we both got transported to the Emerald Forest.

  CHAPTER 11

  Sydney’s Revenge

  Katie was like her old self again after the movie, so I didn’t bring up anything about her dad. I figured she’d talk to me when she was ready.

  Nothing much interesting happened until Monday morning, during my first period math class. Mrs. Moore was explaining a problem on the board when suddenly a note fell onto my desk.

  I looked up, alarmed. Mrs. Moore is superstrict, and it takes guts to throw a note in her class. I looked around and saw Bella looking at me.

  Bella is in the PGC (Popular Girls Club) with Sydney and Maggie and Callie. She’s pretty quiet, but everyone knows she loves vampires—after all, she changed her named from Brenda to Bella because of that series with the sparkly vampires. She dresses in black a lot and wears pale makeup.

  Bella nodded for me to open the note, and I opened it.

  Jackson Montano is going bald! Seriously, it’s true!

  I gave Bella a strange look. What was that about? But then I saw Mrs. Moore turn away from the board, and I quickly stashed the note in my book.

  As Mrs. Moore kept explaining fractions, I suddenly realized what the note was about. Sydney had said that Jackson would be sorry about calling her cheesy, and she meant it.

  I showed the note to my friends at lunch, but nobody was surprised.

  “There are these texts going around saying that Jackson has foot fungus,” Alexis reported.

  “I heard it in the hallway,” Katie said. “Sydney, Bella, and Maggie were telling everyone who would listen.”

  “Poor Jackson,” Emma said sympathetically.

  “I don’t feel sorry for him,” Alexis said. “He always calls me ‘copper top’ and asks if my brains are rusting.”

  “And George says he’s mean to the younger kids on the football team,” Katie added. George is her friend from elementary school, and Jackson is one grade above us, so I guess he must pick on George.

  “Still, nobody deserves the Sydney treatment,” I said.

  “Well, nobody actually believes this stuff, do they?” Katie asked. “Maggie told me that he has false teeth. I mean, come on.”

  “It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not,” Alexis pointed out. “It still looks bad for Jackson. Just imagine if Sydney were spreading those rumors about us.”

  I shuddered. “That would be awful. But I guess Jackson brought this on himself. He shouldn’t have called her cheesy.”

  I still didn’t know that I was the one who was causing Jackson so much trouble. But in the meantime, I still had plenty of other things to worry about—namely, my Spanish.

  I had
to tell the truth before the parent-teacher conference. It was the only thing to do. And that wasn’t going to make anybody happy.

  CHAPTER 12

  A Really, Really Bad Day

  As you can probably guess by now, I like to avoid bad situations. There didn’t seem to be a time all week that I could talk to my mom. But that weekend I went to my dad’s, and that’s when it all came out.

  It was after dinner on Friday, and I knew I had to bring up the note from Señora Delgado. But as you know, I love to put things off. So I decided to bake a batch of cupcakes first. My dad loves chocolate, so I made a quick, easy batch of chocolate cupcakes. Soon a delicious, chocolaty aroma was wafting through the entire apartment.

  “Something sure smells good, mija,” Dad said with a smile as he walked past the kitchen.

  “They’ll be ready soon,” I promised.

  When Dad walked out of the kitchen, I took the note out of my notebook. For the millionth time, I replayed in my head what I would say and how I would say it. I remembered how proud Dad had been of my Spanish at the tapas bar. He was going to be so disappointed in me. I dreaded giving him this note, and I dreaded telling my mom, too.

  As I sat staring forlornly at the note, my dad came running back into the kitchen.

  “Mia! Don’t you smell that?” he shouted. I looked up, confused, and was shocked to see black smoke coming out of the oven. The cupcakes were burning! My life really was in shambles. Now I couldn’t even bake cupcakes anymore. Dad quickly turned off the oven and turned to look at me.

  “Mija, is something wrong? You’ve never burned a batch of cupcakes before—especially when you were sitting two feet away from the oven. Is there anything you want to tell me or talk about?” I couldn’t put it off any longer. Taking a deep breath, I took the note from Señora Delgado and handed it to him without saying anything.

  Dad read it and raised his eyebrows. “Mia, what is this? You’re failing Spanish? How is that possible?”

  Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t help it.

  “You guys put me in Advanced Spanish,” I said. “It’s really hard. I know I can speak it, but reading and writing it is different. My essays and homework are just too hard for me.”