Cinnamon Bun Besties

by Stacia Deutsch

  So why didn’t I feel better about it?

  My head was spinning. JJ was the one who took the coupons and bribed students to buy blobs. He was the one who blew it. He’d brought trouble on himself.

  And as the meeting went on, the knot in my belly grew tighter.

  Mrs. Choi praised me for the sales. She was proud, just like I’d predicted.

  I glanced over my shoulder at JJ while she went on to talk about the dance. They needed someone to take the lead on that part of the program. JJ was sitting on his hands. Maybe she’d told him he should never volunteer again? Would she kick him off council?

  This wasn’t how I wanted to succeed. This wasn’t what I wanted at all. It was a dumb Valentine’s Day project, not brain surgery. It wasn’t like we were trying to save something important … like the environment, or a sick kid, or the animal shelter …

  Oh.

  Wait.

  Oh … Oh … Oh!

  I had a great idea—it would do more good than anything I’d ever done. But I had to put everything that had happened with JJ for the past three years aside, and focus on a bigger goal. If this succeeded, though, it would definitely be worth it.

  “Mrs. Choi.” I took a deep breath and raised my hand. “I have a great idea about Cupid Cards.”

  She looked at me with her head tilted. “We’ve moved on from Cupid Cards,” she told me.

  “It’s important,” I said, looking serious.

  “Okay, let’s hear it,” Mrs. Choi said.

  “I’ve changed my mind.” I could not believe I was about to say this out loud. “We need to sell way more Cupid Cards than last year. There is no such thing as too many.” It was hard for me to say JJ was right about anything, but I wasn’t going to stop. This was too important.

  Mrs. Choi looked like she was about to say something, but I hurried on with my thought. “But not for the school dance! Or not just for the dance. I hereby propose that we raise the minimum we need for the dance, and then anything on top of that goes to the animal shelter. I know they could use the money—and they’re the only no-kill shelter in the area.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Marley said. Mrs. Choi was smiling and agreeing, and as I looked around the room everyone was nodding their heads in agreement. Only JJ was frowning, and looking down at his lap.

  But I wasn’t done yet. “In order to raise more money than last year … I need JJ to be back on the project again,” I said. Yeah, that was a big chance I was taking.

  Marley was gaping at me, and JJ looked confused. I ran over to where JJ was sitting.

  “Look, JJ, this competition thing isn’t working,” I said. “I’m just not feeling the same kind of joy as the last time I beat you.” I was only half-joking.

  Mrs. Choi looked at us both, confused, but I didn’t think I needed to explain the whole situation at this point.

  “I let you beat me,” he said snarkily.

  I rolled my eyes. But it was time to make peace—it was the only way for this to work. “Don’t make me change my mind here, buddy,” I said. “I thought I could do Cupid Cards alone, but actually, you were the one to motivate me to even do as much as I have now.” I realized it was true as I said it. It was only the competition that had made me work so hard on the cards. “I need your help to sell as many cards as possible. I have to admit, you’ve had some good ideas—like texting everyone—even if not all your ideas were so great.”

  He gave me a piercing look. Maybe better never to mention the pizza coupons again.

  “Truce,” I said, putting out a hand.

  He stared long and hard at my palm.

  “Shake it, you dope,” Marley said, standing up. “This grudge between you two has gone on long enough.”

  After a long beat, JJ reached out and reluctantly shook my hand.

  I could see our teacher watching us with interest. Once again, she was letting the action play out, ready to step in if necessary.

  “Let’s start over,” I told JJ. “Together.”

  JJ nodded firmly and smiled. “Let’s help those animals!”

  I looked at Mrs. Choi and asked, “Can we be partners again?”

  At first I thought she was going to give us both a lecture, since it was probably becoming clear to her that we weren’t exactly working together before. But after a second of silence, her frown faded and she nodded. “Yes. I’m proud of you, Suki,” she said. “This is real leadership.”

  I beamed. It felt so motivated. And it felt good to not be mad at JJ!

  The meeting continued, and at the end I went over to JJ again.

  “We can offer a choice,” I said. “Blobs or hearts. Everyone can choose what they want.”

  “We’re going to have to make more of both,” he said, standing up from his desk and meeting me eye-to-eye.

  “We will!” I said.

  I would gladly make a million blobs if that’s what I had to do to save the shelter.

  Chapter Fourteen

  STICKING WITH IT

  Tuesday, February 8

  “We’ve sold a combined total of about a hundred cards today,” JJ reported when I met him after the final bell. We were going to work at a table outside school, trying to get a few more sales before kids went home—and trying not to freeze. “I’ll admit that I’m not sure how we are going to get to a thousand before Valentine’s Day.”

  I had to agree. I was wearing my shelter volunteer shirt and jeans, and had made a sign about the shelter. I hoped that if we advertised we were raising money for the shelter, more kids would buy more cards.

  There were blobs for sale on one side of the table and hearts on the other. Even though it wasn’t really a competition anymore, it sort of was. Of the hundred cards we’d sold that day, it was pretty evenly split, but I planned to text JJ later that I beat his sales. (Though even if I didn’t, that was still my plan! I wasn’t even really planning to count, just text. It would be funny.)

  “Hey,” Olivia said, coming to stand behind the table and help.

  It wasn’t like I invited her or anything; she just showed up and jumped in. Maybe JJ invited her? Maybe it was Marley? Someone must have told her where we’d all be, because here she was, ready to volunteer.

  “I—” I didn’t know what to say. But now that I had a truce with JJ, I felt like I should try to make things better with Olivia, too.

  Just then, Marley leapt over me and hugged Olivia, saying, “I’m glad you’re here!” She seemed to be acting as if we were always friends with Olivia, and just hadn’t seen her in a while. Olivia looked surprised, but hugged Marley back and smiled. Maybe just acting nice would be like a big magic eraser that cleaned everything up.

  It felt like a good idea to follow Marley’s lead. I simply decided to stop being so mad at Olivia, and to remember the days when we were friends instead. I was still far more cautious about it than Marley seemed to be, but once I let myself be okay with the idea of making up, it wasn’t so hard.

  Olivia was like Marley. Three seconds into it, she acted like everything was rah-rah awesome. Maybe she was ready to be friends again, too.

  “Maybe we need different candy?” Olivia suggested.

  “Or we could offer free donuts? I think Mom has some coupons …” JJ said. I looked at him to make sure he was joking, and then we all laughed.

  “No free food,” I said, shaking my head.

  “I should have listened to you from the start,” JJ admitted. “Now I realize how hard this project is.” He shrugged. “I guess I kind of thought that it all just fell magically together last year.”

  “Right.” I choked on a laugh. “Magic.”

  It was good to know we were on the same team at last. JJ was a lot nicer when he wasn’t trying to win. I guess I was, too.

  Just then, Rotem came by.

  “There’s something I need to ask you both,” I said to him and Marley, now that they were here together.

  “Is it about finding out who sent the Buddy Blob to you?” She raised a h
and as if she had a magnifying glass in it. “I’m a great detective.”

  JJ and Rotem gave each other questioning looks.

  I ignored that comment. “So I had an idea …” I paused. “Actually, hold on.” I pulled JJ aside. If we were going to work together now, I needed to talk to him about my plan first.

  So I told JJ my idea.

  He was into it!

  We went back to Marley and Rotem and JJ explained what we were thinking.

  “On it,” Marley said. She and Rotem immediately left to plan.

  The wheels were in motion.

  Olivia had to get home, too, so she left and JJ and I stayed and cleaned up. Then we went to talk to Principal Hollis. We had a few things to arrange to make our plan work by Friday.

  I was amazed at how well we were working together. If everything went like we imagined, we’d sell way more Cupid Cards and earn a ton of money for the shelter.

  Later, when I reached the animal shelter, I was feeling great. My homework was even done, and I had time to relax.

  Mrs. Ryan greeted me. “What are you doing here, Suki? I feel like you’re always here,” she teased. “When I gave you the job, I didn’t expect you to volunteer every day.”

  I smiled. “I want to be here!” I said. I liked school fine, but if I had to choose … I’d be at the shelter all day, every day, if I could.

  “Of course, you’re welcome anytime,” she assured me. I stared toward the back when she said, “Oh, someone adopted the bunny this morning.”

  Okay, that made me a little sad, but happy, too. I was conflicted about the bunny. I liked him and had started bringing my leftover lunch carrots to the shelter for him. But a bunny wouldn’t be my choice for a pet. I wanted a pet that could fetch and sit and catch a ball. A dog, obviously.

  I decided to take my good mood and share it with the biggest grump I knew.

  “Hello, Bowzer,” I said quietly, approaching the monster’s cage. “Today, we are becoming friends, whether you want to be friends or not. I will get you adopted, if it’s the last thing I do here!”

  Instead of slipping a treat through the slot in the door, or dropping his food bowl and running away, I opened the door all the way. Bowzer was doing his “I’m so depressed” face at me and didn’t rise from the floor, where he looked more like a carpet than a dog.

  After watching all those Dog-Talker videos, I’d read more about dogs like Bowzer online. I knew he was sad. He’d been at the shelter too long and had forgotten what it was like to be in a home. This dog needed a lot of love to teach him to trust again.

  Working with a puppy like Cinnam—er, Sandy—was fun for me, but I could see that giving Bowzer new confidence was important, too. Then he could get out of the shelter and into a house where someone needed him. I wanted to help Bowzer find his forever family.

  I’d read online that talking loud to a dog like him was a mistake, so I decided not to talk at all. I stepped inside, closed the door behind me, and sat down calmly on the floor.

  He glanced up, but didn’t move.

  An hour later, Mrs. Ryan came into the back of the shelter. She started to ask what I was doing—but then she noticed that Bowzer’s head was resting comfortably on my lap. His fur was surprisingly soft. He’d eaten all his food and I was petting him while he napped.

  She was surprised.

  I said, “Did Ben tell you that our school is raising money for the shelter?”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Ryan said, still staring at me with Bowzer on my lap. She rubbed her eyes as if it weren’t possible. “It’s very nice of you, and I really appreciate it! Look, Suki, I know you’re trying so hard with everything, but I don’t want you to be disappointed if things don’t turn out.”

  I looked down at the fluff muffin now snoring and drooling on my pants. “I know,” I said. She was talking about both the shelter and the dog. I sighed. “But we have to try.”

  Mrs. Ryan gave me a small smile. “Well, you certainly have proven you’re persistent.”

  That I was … and I wasn’t going to give up.

  Chapter Fifteen

  CUPID CRUSH

  Wednesday, February 9 to Friday, February 11

  Mass text messages from JJ started dinging at dinnertime.

  The first one said:

  Don’t forget to bring $$ to buy Candy Cards tomorrow.

  Even though we were selling both Buddy Blobs and heart-shaped Cupid Cards, JJ had come up with the name “Candy Cards” for all of them, which was a great name (and easier to text).

  The next text popped up in the morning when I was eating breakfast. It read:

  Cards4sale: Do you have ur $?

  Between me, Marley, Rotem, Olivia, and JJ, we also had Candy Cards reminders on every social media site. Now that there was a real mission involved, so many people were helping pitch in!

  Wednesday, we sold 300 cards.

  Thursday more texts went out, and we sold 250 more. That brought us to about 850 cards sold.

  I was sure we were going to hit 1,000 by Friday!

  JJ was going away for the weekend with his mom, but Olivia and I talked about getting together while he was gone and cutting as many extra as the two of us could. The more we sold, the more money we’d raise for the shelter! It was all about raising as much money as possible for them. I was focused.

  And our secret plan was going to take place at lunch on Friday. I was sure it would take our sales like a rocket ship to Mars. Straight to the sky!

  Friday, there was magic in the air. I could feel it as I entered school. Seriously, like real magic, the kind in books and TV.

  We’d already sold 1,000 cards and were heading to 1,500. That meant that kids were buying more than we ever expected. Flipping amazing!

  The text reminders worked. There was a total Candy Cards craze at school. Even teachers were getting into it.

  For me … everything was going really well, at school and at the shelter.

  It had been three days since I’d first gotten into the cage with Bowzer, and I’d gone in every day since. After school today, I had permission from Mrs. Ryan to take him for our first walk!

  I was floating on clouds.

  Nothing could bring me down.

  “Suki … helloooo … Suki …”

  I blinked.

  “It’s time to start.”

  I blinked again. This time I noticed the group standing around me: Marley, Ben, and Rotem.

  “Oh right.” I stood. “Let’s go!”

  “We are Happy Little Llamas!” Ben was at the microphone in the center of the lunchroom. I could hear a slight moan in his voice, revealing that he was still unhappy with the name.

  “And today, we rock—for the animal shelter.” He pointed to the sales table in the corner. “Buy five Valentine’s Day cards and get a picture with the band.”

  Marley thought that last bit was ridiculous, but it wasn’t like we could afford t-shirts to give away or anything cool like that. Pictures with the band were free! JJ and I agreed that this was better than free pizza. Plus, no one would get in trouble.

  We’d been sending out teasers and snippets of the band’s music since Tuesday. It was my goal to make the Happy Little Llamas into rock stars by the time of the concert. It was funny how people got super into it.

  The text we’d sent out the night before said:

  Pic with HLL! Save a dog! Or cat!

  (HLL was now short for Happy Little Llamas.)

  I had an idea to also include a special original song to download for the biggest spender.

  Ben would write it. The band would play it. Rotem would upload it. And Marley would design the cover art.

  That came in a text this morning:

  Biggest spender gets a fresh song download.

  We had to limit the download contest just to people who bought cards today, since so many students had already bought them.

  The lunch line moved fast in the back of the room as students got their trays and found seats where they co
uld see.

  The band started with a bunch of cover songs. Kids were rocking. They were eating. Dancing. And they were shopping for Cupid Cards, too.

  I was selling the hearts, and JJ was selling the blobs. JJ started to high-five me after every ten cards we sold. Sales were moving so fast, half the time he’d go to high-five me, and I’d be busy selling cards myself, so he’d just give me a little smack on the back. We both laughed.

  “Trade places with me,” I told JJ after a while.

  “What? Why?” he asked.

  “Just come on, do it,” I said. We swapped seats and I began to sell his blobs instead of my hearts.

  “I don’t like hearts,” JJ said, shoving me off the chair and snagging the seat for himself. “Buddy Blobs! Get your Buddy Blobs!”

  I grabbed one of the legs of his chair and tipped him over.

  “Get your ugly blob,” I called to the nearest kid. JJ stood and dusted himself off. “I don’t want to sell lovely hearts!” he said, as he picked me up and carried me out of the chair. He went to gently set me on the cold floor, but I twisted and rolled until we both crashed down.

  We were laughing so hard, I was crying. He was holding his belly.

  When he got up again, he sprinted to the sales table and took my seat, shouting to passing kids, “Get a Cupid Card. These are way cuter than those weird-looking Buddy Blobs!”

  “What?” I laughed even harder. He was selling my hearts after all. I shoved him but he didn’t budge. He was glued to my chair, and when I went to sit in the blob sales seat, JJ reached out and hugged me.

  That was unexpected! But I didn’t hate it. I didn’t know what to do, though, so I didn’t really do anything. I ended up just kind of awkwardly flailing my arms, half around him and half wiggling in the air. I could feel my face heating up.

  The hug, thankfully, was interrupted by a kid passing by, who slammed his hand on our table as he went. “This is rockin’!” He was wearing his own handmade HLL t-shirt and screaming for the band like they were famous, performing at a stadium.

  I tried to forget the awkward hug, and my weird response, while I sold a girl Buddy Blobs for her entire science class and all her teachers. When she walked away, and the table was quiet for a second, JJ leaned over and said, “Can I ask you something?”