Cupcake Queen

by Marci Peschke

  Table of Contents

  All About Me, Kylie Jean!

  Chapter One - Saturday Sales

  Chapter Two - Teatime Treats

  Chapter Three - In Business

  Chapter Four - Hello, Cupcake!

  Chapter Five - Cupcake Queen

  Chapter Six - Bake-Off

  Chapter Seven - Puppy Chow

  Chapter Eight - Getting Ready

  Chapter Nine - Garage Sale Heaven

  Chapter Ten - Puppy Love

  Chapter Eleven - Out of Business

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Talk!

  Be Creative!

  From Momma's Kitchen

  Copyright

  My name is Kylie Jean Carter. I live in a big, sunny, yellow house on Peachtree Lane in Jacksonville, Texas with Momma, Daddy, and my two brothers, T.J. and Ugly Brother.

  T.J. is my older brother, and Ugly Brother is . . . well . . . he’s really a dog. Don’t you go telling him he is a dog. Okay? I mean it. He thinks he is a real true person.

  He is a black-and-white bulldog. His front looks like his back, all smashed in. His face is all droopy like he’s sad, but he’s not.

  His two front teeth stick out, and his tongue hangs down. (Now you know why his name is Ugly Brother.)

  Everyone I love to the moon and back lives in Jacksonville. Nanny, Pa, Granny, Pappy, my aunts, my uncles, and my cousins all live here. I’m extra lucky, because I can see all of them any time I want to!

  My momma says I’m pretty. She says I have eyes as blue as the summer sky and a smile as sweet as an angel. (Momma says pretty is as pretty does. That means being nice to the old folks, taking care of little animals, and respecting my momma and daddy.)

  But I’m pretty on the outside and on the inside. My hair is long, brown, and curly.

  I wear it in a ponytail sometimes, but my absolute most favorite is when Momma pulls it back in a princess style on special days.

  I just gave you a little hint about my big dream. Ever since I was a bitty baby I have wanted to be an honest-to-goodness beauty queen. I even know the wave. It’s side to side, nice and slow, with a dazzling smile. I practice all the time, because everybody knows beauty queens need to have a perfect wave.

  I’m Kylie Jean, and I’m going to be a beauty queen. Just you wait and see!

  On Saturday mornings, my favorite thing to do is go to garage sales! As soon as I wake up, I get excited. Today I get to go with Momma, Granny, and Pappy. I love garage sales!

  I look out my window and notice that the sky is streaked with gray, gold, and pink. Then I notice something else. Granny and Pappy are already parked in front of our house on Peachtree Lane, waiting for me and Momma. I bet Pa’s rooster hasn’t even crowed yet.

  I better hurry up! If I take too long, Pappy will honk the horn and wake up Miss Clarabelle, my neighbor.

  I hurry to get dressed. Momma calls, “Kylie Jean, are you ready to go yet?”

  “Almost,” I yell. “Don’t leave without me. Okay?”

  I just need my pink purse. It’s not anywhere in my room. When I go downstairs, Ugly Brother is waiting by the front door.

  I ask, “Did you see my purse?”

  He barks, “Ruff.”

  One bark means no.

  If I have to go to the sales without any money, it won’t be much fun.

  “Come on, Kylie Jean,” Momma calls from the kitchen. “Granny and Pappy are waiting.”

  “Ugly Brother, please, please help me look for it!” I beg.

  Then I see something pink poking out from under his tail, so I run over and pull out my purse. It has a sparkly cupcake on the front.

  “Ugly Brother!” I yell. “Were you lying to me?”

  He whines and lies down on the floor. He looks sad. Then I realize why he hid my purse.

  “You don’t want me to leave, do you, boy,” I say, giving him a pat.

  Ugly Brother agrees. “Ruff, ruff!”

  I grab my purse. When I shake it, I can tell there’s money inside, so I don’t need to go back to my room and get money from my piggy bank. A girl has to have money to go shopping, right?

  “Ready, Momma!” I say. She walks into the living room and we head outside.

  Momma slides across the giant back seat of Pappy’s old-timey car. I scoot in beside her.

  Momma announces, “Sorry, everybody. We’re running late because Kylie Jean lost her purse again.”

  Pappy laughs. “It always takes that pretty little girl a while to get ready,” he says. “I was getting ready to honk, but then you came on out.”

  Granny asks, “Who’s hungry for pancakes?”

  “I’m so hungry for pancakes I could eat a full stack all by myself!” I say.

  Pappy smiles. “Okay, first pancakes, then garage sales,” he says.

  Before I know it, we’re pulling in to the Pancake Palace. It’s a funny building that looks like a castle. Outside, it is covered with stone. It has heavy wood doors and a tower with a tiny window. Inside, the floor is red and white like a checkerboard, and the tables are red, too.

  We sit down. Our waitress comes to take our order right away. “How are y’all?” she asks. “What are you having today? Coffee, right?”

  I say, “We’re peachy keen, and today I’m a garage sale queen. I would like a short stack and juice, please, ma’am.”

  Momma, Pappy, and Granny all order their breakfasts. Our waitress scratches it all down on a notepad with her pencil, and then disappears into the kitchen. Faster than you can say “flapjacks,” she comes back with a tray loaded down with our food.

  My plate is piled high with pancakes. I pour syrup all over the top of my pancakes, and it runs down over the edge of the plate and onto the table.

  “Oops!” I exclaim.

  Momma dips her napkin in her water glass and hands it to me. She says, “Wipe up that mess right away, Kylie Jean, or you’ll be too sticky to go to garage sales.”

  It’s quiet while we eat. We are all too busy chewing to do much talking!

  Once Pappy and I are done eating, he leans over and whispers, “If you’re going to garage sales, you gotta have a plan.” Then he shows me the sale ads in the paper.

  Using a pink marker, we circle the ones that say “huge” or “big sale.” Sometimes more than one family or even a group like a church will have a sale. You have to know the best neighborhoods for sales, too. Some places only have junk, and you want to find the really good stuff.

  We map out our route and load into the car. We are ready to shop, shop, shop!

  At the first sale, Momma gets a fancy new dress with the tags still on it for five dollars.

  While she pays, I notice that there’s a boy selling ice-cold water in bottles for one dollar each. It is already hot out, so lots of people are buying water while they wait to pay.

  In the car, Momma says, “Wasn’t that little boy selling water cute?”

  “He was a born salesman,” Granny says. “He asked everyone who walked up to buy water.”

  The next sale is on River Road.

  Granny digs through a box of junky jewelry and buys an old necklace for fifty cents. After she pays, Granny puts the necklace in the palm of my hand. I like the sparkly fake diamonds on it. They twinkle like stars in a night sky.

  As we leave, I see that at this sale, there’s a boy sitting behind a card table. He’s selling some watery pink Kool-Aid for fifty cents a cup. His pitcher has flies buzzing around it. Ick! Flies remind me of Pa’s cow pasture.

  On Dogwood Street, Pappy bu
ys an old camera for two dollars. A little bitty girl and her big sister are out front selling lemonade for twenty-five cents.

  Granny tells the girls, “You sure do have a good price on your lemonade. I’ll take a cup.”

  The sister helps the tiny girl pour Granny a cup. We head to the car.

  Granny takes a sip and makes a terrible scrunched-up face. She cries, “They forgot to put the sugar in this! It’s so sour, it will curl your hair.”

  The last sale we go to is at my friend Cara’s house. I find the cutest orange stuffed kitten for a dollar.

  I show the little kitty to Momma. “Isn’t this little cat adorable?” I ask.

  Momma doesn’t say anything because she does not want me to have any more stuffed animals. I count out all of my change and Cara helps me count, too. I only have sixty-eight cents.

  “Please, Momma, can I borrow some money?” I ask sweetly. “I just need a little bit more. I can pay you back when we get home.”

  Momma shakes her head. “No way, little lady,” she says. “You have too many stuffed toys already!”

  Pappy says, “I’ll lend you the money. If you’ll make me a promise.”

  “Okay,” I say. “I’ll do anything for this cute little kitten!”

  Pappy looks me in the eye and asks, “Do you promise to give away one of your stuffed animals to your cousin Lucy?”

  Right away, I agree. “Yup! I promise.” Then he grins and gives me a loan.

  Borrowing money is not easy. I think I better get my very own job. Then I can buy any ol’ thing I want!

  As we are leaving, I see sodas in a cooler full of ice. There’s a sign that says, “Cokes for $1.50 each.”

  Cara asks, “Do you want to buy some Cokes?”

  “They sure do look icy cold, sweet, and delicious!” I say, glancing at Pappy.

  “We’ll take four of those drinks,” Pappy says, handing Cara six dollars. “Here you go!”

  Cara is getting RICH! And she’s not the only one. At almost every sale there has been a kid out front selling something! I need to get a business, too!

  On Sunday, we go to church, but we don’t go to Lickskillet Farm for Sunday dinner afterward. Instead, we’re going to a tea party at Miss Clarabelle’s! Lucy gets to come, too.

  Miss Clarabelle sent us a fancy invitation and everything. The invitation had pink roses on it and smelled like roses, too. We had to R.S.V.P., which means telling her if we are coming or not.

  On the way home from church, Lucy and I sit all the way in the back of the van so we can have a little chat. T.J. sits in the middle. Daddy and Momma sit in the front.

  I ask Lucy, “Did you know kids can get rich?”

  “I never thought about it much,” she says. “How do they do it?”

  T.J. turns around and says, “They probably have to get a real job like me.”

  “They were not mowing lawns,” I say. “They were selling stuff to drink at garage sales.”

  I explain all about the water, Kool-Aid, lemonade, and sodas.

  “So that’s how I figured out I need to start a business,” I tell Lucy.

  “What kind of drinks are you going to sell?” she asks.

  I shake my head. “I like to be different, so I don’t want to sell stuff to drink,” I explain.

  Lucy raises an eyebrow. She says, “We have all afternoon to think of something.”

  I know she’s right. Pa always says that two heads are better than one.

  When we pull in to our driveway, Ugly Brother is sitting right in the middle of it waiting for us. I think he would like to go with us on Sundays, but Momma says dogs do not belong in church.

  As we climb out of the van, Momma warns us, “You girls, don’t go gettin’ all dirty before your tea party.”

  We say, “Yes, ma’am!”

  We can hardly wait until two o’clock for teatime. But we have things to do before the party. First we all sit down at the kitchen table for some leftover fried chicken and potato salad for lunch.

  When we’re done eating, I ask, “Is it time yet?”

  Momma says, “No. Run along and play. I’ll call you when it’s time.”

  Lucy, Ugly Brother, and I go upstairs so Lucy can pick out one of my stuffed animals to take home. I promised Pappy I would give her one, and I always keep my promises.

  In my room, Lucy looks at dogs, bunnies, kittens, bears, an elephant, and a pink pony. She says, “I sure do like this pony, but you probably want to keep it.”

  She keeps on looking. Finally she finds a cute little turtle. “Can I have this one?” she asks.

  “Yup!” I say.

  We play for a while. Then we hear Momma holler that it’s time for tea. We jump up, fluffing out the skirts of our church dresses. My dress is pink with white trim and fluffy sleeves. I’m going to wear my little white gloves, too. Lucy has on a polka-dot dress.

  Downstairs, Ugly Brother also wants to go to the tea party, but he is not invited. Momma says bringing an extra guest is rude. Poor Ugly Brother! He has been stuck at home all day!

  Lucy and I cross Miss Clarabelle’s yard, being extra careful not step on her pretty flowers.

  On the porch, there is a fancy iron table set with a polka-dot tablecloth. On top of the table there’s a sparkly glass vase full of pink roses.

  I say, “I bet those roses are from Miss Clarabelle’s garden.”

  When we get closer, I can see the teapot with little pink flowers on it and the little teacups.

  “Ooh la la!” Lucy whispers. “This is a fancy party.”

  I ring the doorbell. Miss Clarabelle comes to the door carrying a silver tray.

  “Well, good afternoon, young ladies,” she says. “I am so glad you could come for tea.”

  “Good afternoon,” Lucy whispers.

  I add, “Thank you for inviting us.”

  Miss Clarabelle asks, “Can one of you hold the door, please?”

  I swing the door open and Miss Clarabelle puts the tray on the table. We follow her. She says, “Please have a seat and I will be right back.”

  The tray has teeny tiny cucumber and chicken salad tea sandwiches. Yum!

  There is also a plate of juicy red strawberries and glistening green grapes.

  Lucy says, “Everything looks so tasty.”

  I agree, “Yup.”

  Then we don’t talk much. And that’s weird for me and Lucy. Usually we’re talking all the time! That tells you this tea is real special.

  When Miss Clarabelle joins us, she’s carrying a little silver stand with cookies shaped like teapots and tiny pink cupcakes. She notices my white gloves and says, “Kylie Jean, ladies remove their gloves for tea.”

  I slip my gloves off as Miss Clarabelle sits down. Then I ask, “Ma’am, are there other rules for having tea?”

  Miss Clarabelle says, “Oh my, yes! Would you like to learn about them?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” we exclaim.

  She tells us all about the tea rules.

  Tea Etiquette

  1. Ladies always remove their gloves before enjoying tea.

  2. Ladies put their napkins in their laps.

  3. The hostess always pours tea once the guests are seated.

  4. Ladies stir their tea gently, careful not to tap the sides of the cup.

  5. Ladies do not stick out their pinky fingers while drinking tea.

  Now that we know our tea manners, we are ready for tea.

  First we put milk and sugar in our teacups. Miss Clarabelle pours the tea from her momma’s china teapot. She is careful not to fill our cups too full. Then she looks at me and says, “Please pass the tea sandwiches.”

  The silver tray is heavy, but I do my best. She puts two tea sandwiches on her plate. Lucy and I do the same. Then we pass the sweets around.

&n
bsp; I ask, “May I please have two cookies?”

  Miss Clarabelle replies, “Yes, since you asked so nicely.”

  Lucy asks, “Then may I please have two cookies, too?”

  Miss Clarabelle smiles and agrees. We each add a cupcake to our plate and then it’s finally time to eat.

  Lucy takes a big bite of her cookie and mumbles, “This cookie is scrumptious.”

  I remind her, “Momma says don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  Lucy swallows and says, “Sorry.” I smile at her so she won’t feel embarrassed.

  We keep eating our delightful treats. My favorite things are the strawberry cream cupcakes. The frosting is so sweet and creamy. They are just delicious!

  “It’s nice of you to come to tea,” Miss Clarabelle says. “Sometimes I get so lonely in this old house.”

  We smile. “Thanks for inviting us,” I say. “Tea parties are fun!”

  “What have you girls been doing lately?” Miss Clarabelle asks.

  I explain all about my plan to start a business.

  “What a wonderful idea!” Miss Clarabelle says. “It’s important for young women to learn about business.”

  Lucy says, “Now she just has to think of something to sell.”

  Just then, an idea hits me faster than buttercream frosting on red velvet cake! I’m going to sell cupcakes!

  I can’t wait to tell Momma and Ugly Brother all about my plan to sell cupcakes!

  After we’re done with our tea party, Lucy and I thank Miss Clarabelle for inviting us. Then we skip all the way across the yard.

  At my house, Aunt Susie is already here to pick up Lucy. She and Momma are having coffee in the kitchen.