Emma: Lights! Camera! Cupcakes!
Page 9
Emma stopped too and nodded. “Uh-huh. I have to look up at you when I talk to you now.”
“Well, when were you going to tell me?”
Emma laughed and started walking again. “Seriously, Lexi? You need me to tell you that you grew?”
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I noticed it myself.” I unlocked my locker and was startled to see how packed my top shelf was. “Ugh. This locker is a pit. I need to clean this thing out!”
Emma laughed again. “See? Suddenly, you can see stuff that’s high up. Maybe you could check the top shelf in my locker and see if my mouth guard for soccer is up there.”
I laughed. “What, now I’m renting out my height?”
She giggled. “You could!”
“What, for locker cleanouts?”
“Yeah, you could charge. . . .”
My money-making senses tingled a little. I do have a head for business. Could I earn cash by cleaning out lockers? Probably. The bigger question is, would I want to? A thought for another day.
Speaking of money . . . “Hey, are we meeting today?” I asked. Our Cupcake Club usually meets on Fridays at lunch to plan out upcoming jobs and experiment with new recipes, as well as bake for our regular customers and any weekend jobs we might have lined up. Plus, we always get together at Friday lunch and bring cupcakes; it’s a delicious tradition.
“Yup,” said Emma. “We have our lunch meeting, obviously, and then after school we’re on for baking. Mia can come now that she’ll be at her mom’s this weekend. Let’s do it at my house.”
“Great. I brought the ledger and everything, just in case we were able to meet. I’ll see you later in the cafeteria,” I said, and we headed off to our classes.
Down the hall, I stopped for a quick gulp of water at the fountain. I swear, I’ve never noticed how low that thing is. It’s, like, elementary school–size! They should really have it raised.
“Lexxxiiiiii!” called Mia from our table in the corner. I cringed a little and glanced around to see if anyone else had heard her call me that. It’s not that I really mind if my family or my very closest friends call me “Lexi” in private, it’s just that lately it has been rubbing me the wrong way. It sounds babyish, and I don’t want it to spread. And also, just secretly, it does bug me a teeny, tiny bit when Mia and Katie call me “Lexi” because it’s really my childhood nickname from before I knew them. Like, they don’t really have the right to call me that. But whatever.
I crossed the lunchroom with my tray and went to sit beside Mia.
“What’s up?” asked Mia. “Cute pants. Haven’t seen those before.”
Mia is a major fashionista (her mom is a professional stylist), so I always pay close attention to her fashion advice.
“Seriously? Do you like these pants?” I asked, looking down. “I’ve had them for a while, but they were always too big. Now they fit. They cover my ankles, anyway.” I shrugged.
“Definitely cute. My faves are your pale pink ones, though.”
I sighed and picked up a forkful of chili. “They shrank. Or, actually, I grew. They don’t fit anymore already!”
“Can’t you get them shortened a little more and wear them as capris?” she asked. “They’d be cute with a white sleeveless blouse.”
I chewed my chili and thought about it. “Maybe. The thing is . . . I don’t look so good in cropped pants.”
“Oh, come on! With those long, thin legs of yours, you’d look good in anything,” said Mia.
I couldn’t help but smile a little, since a compliment from Mia means a lot. “Thanks. I’m not sure that’s true, but whatever.”
“Oh please, I’d kill to be tall and thin like you.” At that point in the conversation, Emma and Katie joined us. I did feel a little better after what Mia said about my figure, even though I was still frustrated about my wardrobe.
“Hey, listen, we got a good order over the weekend,” said Katie. “Remember Mrs. Dreher who had the baby shower? She’s having a summer kick-off barbecue slash pool party next Sunday, and she wants us to bake six dozen ‘beachy’ cupcakes.”
“Great!” I said. “Did you quote her a price or should I follow up?”
Katie smiled. “I gave her a ballpark price and said our CFO would follow up with an e-mail once we knew for sure what we were baking.”
“Excellent.” I nodded happily. I love it when our business runs like a well-oiled machine.
Mia started brainstorming. “Remember those cool pool cupcakes we did for the swim team fundraiser? Maybe we should do those again?”
“Oh, but remember how the frosting melted on those when it got hot in the indoor pool area?” reminded Emma. “We wouldn’t want that to happen if it’s a hot day for the barbecue.”
I groaned at the memory. That swim team episode had almost been a major catastrophe. We’d almost ended up losing money, which is something I hate!
“Let’s do something with light brown sugar around the edges—like fake sand?” suggested Katie.
“Ooh, that’s good!” agreed Mia.
Emma’s eyes sparkled suddenly. “I think we need a field trip!” she said. “Let’s go to the beach!”
“Yes!” exclaimed Mia. “When?”
Emma shrugged and looked around at all of us. “This weekend?”
I thought about my schedule. We have exams next week, and I have a big paper due. Of course, I’ve been studying, so I’m in pretty good shape for the tests. And I’m more than halfway done with the paper. Plus, I have the rest of it mapped out. I knew Mom and Dad would be okay with the plan. “I’m up for it!” I said.
Everyone agreed. We’d go tomorrow, providing all the parents said it was okay, and we’d still have Sunday for homework.
“Yay!” said Katie, clapping her hands. “I can wear my new swimsuit!”
Hmm. Mentally, I scanned my closet to think about what I’d wear. I guess I wouldn’t know until I went home and tried things on. I was not looking forward to it.
All About Emma!
How well do you know Emma Taylor? Take this quiz and find out!
1. Emma is
A. a tomboy.
B. a girly girl.
C. a baseball champ.
D. a science whiz.
2. Emma has a crush on
A. George.
B. Dan.
C. Diego.
D. Joe.
3. Besides baking cupcakes, Emma works as
A. a dog walker.
B. a model.
C. a fashion designer.
D. both A and B.
4. Alexis has a crush on one of Emma’s brothers. Which one?
A. Jake
B. Matt
C. Sam
D. Frank
5. What is Emma’s favorite color?
A. Purple
B. Pink
C. Turqoise
D. She doesn’t have a favorite color.
6. Emma loves all the Cupcake girls, but who is her BFF?
A. Mia
B. Alexis
C. Katie
D. Olivia
7. What is Emma afraid of?
A. Spiders
B. Mice
C. Blood
D. Snakes
6. What movie star considers Emma her friend?
A. Angelina Jolie
B. Sandra Bullock
C. Kate Winslet
D. Romaine Ford
Did you get the right answers?
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. B 6. B 7. C 8. D
How did you do?
All 8 correct: You’re Emma’s new BFF! Three cupcakes for you. Yay!
6-7 correct: You did very well. Emma is sure you’ll get all the answers right next time. Two cupcakes for you!
4-5 correct: Emma thinks you need to learn a little more about her. But you get a cupcake for trying!
Fewer than 4 correct: Emma says you’re not paying attention! You need to reread the Emma stories right now! No cupcake for you until you do—but Emma says you ca
n have a cookie.
Want more
Cupcake Diaries
Visit CupcakeDiariesBooks.com for the series trailer, excerpts, activities, and everything you need for throwing your own cupcake party!
Coco Simon always dreamed of opening a cupcake bakery but was afraid she would eat all of the profits. When she’s not daydreaming about cupcakes, Coco edits children’s books and has written close to one hundred books for children, tweens, and young adults, which is a lot less than the number of cupcakes she’s eaten. Cupcake Diaries is the first time Coco has mixed her love of cupcakes with writing.
LOOK FOR MORE CUPCAKE DIARIES AT YOUR FAVORITE STORE!
CupcakeDiariesBooks.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/Coco-Simon
authors.simonandschuster.com/Abigail-Halpin
Simon Spotlight
Simon & Schuster
New York
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Text by Elizabeth Doyle Carey
Chapter header illustrations by Maryam Choudhury
Jacket design by Laura Roode
Jacket illustrated by Abigail Halpin
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc
Designed by Laura Roode
ISBN 978-1-4424-9930-0 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4424-9931-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4424-9932-4 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2014930061