Cake Pop Crush

by Suzanne Nelson

  I stared at the ground, feeling his eyes searching my face.

  “Are you still going to come to Sarah’s party on Saturday?” he asked. “It’d be fun if you were there.”

  “You know, my wardrobe’s sadly lacking in pink and red,” I said, as if that were the main reason. “I think I’m going to pass.”

  “That’s a bummer,” he said. “But, we’re okay? I mean, we’re still … friends?”

  “Of course!” I said brightly. I put the smile on again and held it there for proof. “See you in class!” And then I walked away before he could see my face cave in on itself.

  I kept my head down, and nearly slammed into Gwen and Tansy.

  “Oh, Ali,” Tansy said shakily. “We drove by Say It With Flour this morning and saw the sign. It makes me want to cry.”

  I winced, recalling the forlorn GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sign that Dad had hung in our bakery window. “I know. It’s awful.”

  Gwen patted my shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

  I shook my head. “I just saw Dane.”

  “I figured as much,” Gwen said. “You have your Dane face on.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “I have a Dane face?”

  “Sure,” Gwen said. “Kind of a tortured, ‘I don’t know whether to kiss him or punch him’ look. You’ve had that face a lot lately.”

  I gawked at them. “I have?”

  Tansy nodded. “Yes, you have.”

  “You’re the only one who doesn’t know you like him.” Gwen rolled her eyes. “I even told Harris all about my Ali/Dane, love/hate theory, and he totally agreed. Of course, that was when we weren’t busy planning our date for Valentine’s Day.”

  Tansy gaped at her. Gwen smiled slyly.

  “He asked you out?” I gasped, faking surprise.

  She nodded, her face beaming with a very un-Gwen-like sappiness. “But you already knew he was going to, didn’t you?”

  I shrugged, smiling for real. “Maybe Cupid told me.”

  “That’s amazing!” Tansy shrieked, hugging Gwen.

  “Of course, he had to be a total oblivious guy and confuse the heck out of me first … and you,” Gwen said to me. “I’m sorry I got weird about it.”

  “I’m sorry it got so confusing,” I said. “But for the record, I never would’ve gone out with him anyway.”

  “Oh, good.” She laughed. “I thought I would be okay with you and Harris together, but as it turns out, I’m not that crush-immune.”

  “Maybe no one is,” Tansy said thoughtfully, and I could suddenly feel myself blushing. Tansy could be more insightful than people realized. She snuck a look at me and added, “Cupid might still have some arrows left for you, too.”

  “Nah,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I don’t think so.”

  But when I took my seat next to Dane in world science, my friends’ words rung in my ears. My heart started to pound wildly. Maybe it was time to admit to myself that what Gwen had said was true — I did like Dane, more than I wanted to admit to myself.

  But it didn’t matter much now. Whatever chance I’d had with Dane I’d lost along with the bake-off. Because now there was something strung so tight between us, it was impossible to shift back to normal.

  Nothing else felt normal the rest of the week. The kids at school were working themselves up into a frenzy about Sarah’s birthday party. Valentine’s cards, flowers, and candy exploded from everyone’s lockers. Even Gwen wore a silly, crush-struck grin when she discovered a Dragonlore Valentine in her locker from Harris.

  By the time I left school on Friday afternoon, I was sick of Valentine’s Day. When I walked into the bakery, I should’ve been relieved that there wasn’t a single paper heart in sight. I should’ve been relieved that I could lose my stuck-on smile. But I wasn’t. The bakery was quiet, still, and sad. Sure, Mrs. Kerny, Mr. Salez, and Mr. Johnson were there in their usual seats. But none of them were talking. They sat glumly, like they were in mourning for a dear, departing friend. This was the new normal, and it was awful.

  I set down my bag and mechanically began helping my dad with inventory in the back. We had to get a count of everything in the shop before we could sell anything. I was in the middle of tallying canisters of flour in the back pantry when a loud shout from the front of the shop nearly made me fall off my step ladder.

  “Ali!” There it was again.

  I froze. I knew that voice. I jumped off the ladder and hurried through the swinging door.

  And sure enough, there was an out-of-breath Dane, his face flushed with excitement.

  “Ali,” he said, gulping air. “I ran over here from school. I have to tell you something. You’re not going to believe it.”

  “Okay,” I said uncertainly.

  Dane grinned. “Perk Up’s not going to cater Sarah’s party. I backed out of the job.”

  My eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

  “Sarah rigged the bake-off,” he said. “She didn’t tally the votes correctly after the taste test. Your cake pops actually got the most votes, but she lied and announced me as the winner.”

  I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all. “But why would she do that?”

  “She wanted me to win the bake-off,” he said. “She was the one who put the black food coloring in your pops at the jewelry show, too! She was hoping if you looked like a horrible baker, she could drop you from the bake-off altogether and just hire me. But her dad wouldn’t let her.”

  I collapsed into the nearest booth, stunned. “But … how did you even find out about all of this?”

  Dane sat down across from me. “I overheard some of the kids who were the judges saying that they’d voted for you and you should’ve won. It bothered me all week, so finally today, I tracked down all the judges and asked them how they voted. We tallied the votes again, and your cake pops had the most.” He paused, and I tried to let this reality sink in. “So I asked Sarah about it,” Dane went on, drumming his long fingers on the tabletop. “At first she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about, but then when the judges called her on it, she broke down and confessed everything.”

  “That is complete craziness,” I said. “I don’t get it. I’ve never done anything to Sarah! Why would she have it out for me?”

  Dane’s cheeks blazed red, and a look of embarrassment crossed his face. “Well, it turns out …” He laughed a little. “She has, or had, a crush on me. She thought if she made sure I won the bake-off and catered her party, she could get me to like her, too. And you know Sarah. She’s used to getting what she wants.”

  “Oh.” I dropped my eyes to the table, a leaden weight sinking my stomach. “I guess that makes sense.” I gulped, knowing I had to ask the next question, but not sure I wanted to hear the answer. “So … do you? Like her, I mean?”

  Dane stared at me for a second, and then burst out laughing. “Of course not! Why would I ever go for a girl like that?”

  I smiled, feeling a bubbly hope rising again. “I don’t know. She’s so pretty and popular. I thought maybe …”

  He leaned toward me, serious now. “Real is better than popular any day.”

  He held my eyes until I dropped mine, flustered. All week we’d been tiptoeing around each other, politely chatting in class, nodding in the hallways. But I’d missed the easy way we’d fallen into talking before the bake-off ever happened. I even missed our fights. Now, it was like the old Dane was back, and I was thrilled to see him again.

  He stood up. “So we’d better get to work. I hope your dad hasn’t gotten rid of any baking equipment yet.”

  “He hasn’t,” I said. “Why?”

  He took my hands and pulled me up out of the booth. “Because, since I’m not catering Sarah’s party tomorrow, you are.”

  I adamantly shook my head. “No way! That’s not possible! She invited the entire school. At two cake pops per person, I’d have to make …” I paused, doing the numbers in my head.

  “Five hundred,” Dane finished
for me. “You have to make five hundred cake pops by ten o’clock tomorrow morning, and I’m going to help you.” He grinned devilishly. “So why are you standing around? The cake pops aren’t going to bake themselves!”

  I snapped out of my haze of disbelief, smiled at Dane, and then ran into the kitchen, a thrilling giddiness coming over me.

  “Dad,” I yelled, laughing. “Fire up the oven. We’re back in business.”

  The next morning, I stepped out of the bakery truck into the world’s biggest Valentine. Even the drive leading up to Chan Manor was covered in pink gravel and rose petals. Two massive tents with pale pink drapes bordered the Olympic-size swimming pool, clusters of pink balloons bursting up from their corners. Two-foot centerpieces of blushing roses sat at every table, and heart confetti was strewn across every pale pink tablecloth. A lot of kids from school were already there, swimming in the pool and taking turns riding Sarah’s horse. (Yes, Mayor Chan had given Sarah an actual live horse for her birthday. Yeesh.) To keep in the spirit of the party, and to keep on Sarah’s good side, everyone was wearing red and pink clothes or bathing suits.

  “Well, at least I made the cake pops the right color,” I said. I slid a box holding a bouquet of fifty red and pink heart-shaped cake pops out of the back of the truck. They were an all-new recipe — black forest ganache with the teeniest hint of chili powder for a little kick. I’d used an edible ink pen to write “We ♥ Sarah” on each one (even though I’d wanted to write quite the opposite). But they looked fantastic, if I did say so myself.

  “This is not a birthday party,” Gwen said, balancing another box of pops in her arms. “This is Cupid overload.”

  “It’s not so bad, Gwen. You do look pretty in pink,” Harris said, making her blush with such uncharacteristic sweetness that the rest of us couldn’t help staring.

  I leaned my head on Gwen’s shoulder. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Then I turned to Dane, Harris, Tansy, and my dad, who were each holding boxes of pops. “I couldn’t have done this without any of you.”

  Last night, all of us had worked in the bakery until three in the morning to make the five hundred cake pops for the party. Even Abuelita Rosa and Roberto had helped for awhile, until Roberto fell asleep with his cheek in a puddle of batter. I knew my friends were all exhausted today, but they’d hung in there for me and my dad. I was exhausted, but filled with hope. If I could pull this off, maybe, just maybe, we could still save the bakery.

  “Well,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s get these set up on the tables.”

  We carefully placed one pink vase on each table with a bouquet of pops nestled inside. When everything was ready, Sarah came over to see. I wanted to stomp on her foot — and from Gwen’s and Tansy’s expressions, they looked close to doing it themselves — but we all remained aloof and civilized. Sarah scrutinized every bouquet with shrewd eyes, and then cautiously took one of the pops and walked toward a microphone that had been set up on the lawn. Her father stood nearby, watching.

  “What is she doing?” Tansy whispered.

  “I have no idea,” I said, suddenly worrying that this could go very badly.

  “If I could have everyone’s attention for just a moment,” Sarah said into the microphone. “I just wanted to say a big thank-you to Alicia for making these cake pops on such short notice.” She bit into her cake pop.

  I held my breath as she chewed, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, she nodded.

  “Mmmm … they’re perfect.” She smiled brilliantly, clapping in my direction. “Thanks, Ali.” She started to walk away from the mike, but Mayor Chan cleared his throat loudly. Sarah froze, blushing madly.

  I stared in disbelief. It was the first time I’d ever seen Sarah lose her cool composure. She returned to the mike, stuttering her words out.

  “Um, I also wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding at the bake-off,” she added hurriedly. “Alicia was, of course, the true winner. I still don’t know how on earth I managed to miscount the votes, but I guess I need to pay more attention in math from now on!” She laughed lightly, and a few kids in the pool area joined in politely. But most of them were eyeing her suspiciously. Word of her meddling and tricks had spread throughout the school — and even Lissie and Jane were angry at her for turning their teeth black. I realized Sarah had finally lost some of her influence. It would be a nice change of pace at OCMS.

  Mayor Chan gave a slight nod of approval, and Sarah finished with, “Enjoy the pool and the pops!”

  She tossed her empty cake-pop stick in the trash, brushed the crumbs daintily from her fingers, then walked back to us.

  “I hope you all enjoy the party.” She looked at each of us in turn, dwelling on Dane’s face a teensy bit longer than the rest. Then she turned back to me. “My dad has your check ready for you. He added in a little bit extra, since you were able to take the job on such short notice. See you later!”

  She started prancing across the lawn in her pink chiffon dress, but Mayor Chan stopped her, and to Sarah’s obvious mortification, brought her right back to me. One stern glance from him, and Sarah’s composure wilted.

  “Um, Ali, there is one other thing I forgot to tell you,” she mumbled, staring at the ground. “To make up for everything that happened, I’m supposed to … I mean, I have to …”

  “She’d like to volunteer to help out at the bakery,” Mayor Chan finished, since Sarah was clearly at a loss for words. “Every Saturday for the next month. I’m sure you could find a good job for her.”

  I smiled. Oh, this was too good to be true. “Sure,” I said cheerfully. “We could always use extra help in the kitchen with dishes and cleanup.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Mayor Chan said, patting Sarah on the shoulder. “She looks forward to it. Don’t you, sweetie?”

  “Sure, Dad,” Sarah muttered.

  “Great!” I said. “So I’ll see you next Saturday at six A.M., then.”

  “Six!” Sarah practically shrieked, and Gwen snorted a laugh into her elbow.

  I nodded. “We always open bright and early!”

  “She’ll be there,” Mayor Chan said, then lead Sarah away as she hissed protests under her breath and the rest of us broke into fits of giggles.

  “Sweet justice at last,” I said. “I wonder if I can put her on bathroom detail?”

  “Be nice, Ali,” Tansy mock-scolded.

  “But not too nice,” Gwen said. “Seeing Sarah eat humble pie just made this whole pinkified party worthwhile.”

  “Anybody want to dive into the pool?” Tansy asked.

  “Are you kidding me?” I laughed. “I wouldn’t pass up a chance to swim at Chan Manor. Let’s go.”

  Within ten minutes, we had changed into our swimwear (I was a little shy wearing my new red bathing suit in front of Dane, but after a while I relaxed). Tansy, Gwen, Harris, Dane, and I splashed and swam in the pool. My dad had gone inside to settle up the invoice with Mayor Chan. It was a cloudless California day, and the water was bathtub warm. We swam for over an hour, but then I looked over to see my dad beckoning me over to the side.

  “Dad?” I swam over to him, watching his pale face with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I think I’m just in shock.” He smiled at me. “Mayor Chan just told me that he wants us to make a thousand cake pops for the grand opening of the mall next month. And apparently, some cooking-show woman named Renee Denada wants to interview you on her show. She called Mayor Chan this morning to get more information about Sarah’s party pops. She’s doing a segment on young entrepreneurs.”

  I almost fell backward and underwater.

  “Do you mean Renata DeLuca?” I gasped. “But how did she find out about me?”

  “Her show called Perk Up to interview me after the bake-off,” Dane said, swimming up beside me. “But then I told them that you were actually the winner, and they needed to talk to you.”

  “She wants to talk to me about my baking,” I whispered, letti
ng it sink in. Then I whooped and yelled, “Renata DeLuca wants to talk to me!”

  My dad beamed. “Alicia, with the cake pops from today’s order and the mall opening,” he said, “we’ll have enough revenue to stay open through the spring. And then we can see what happens from there.”

  Without thinking, I jumped out of the pool and hugged my dad, not caring one bit that I was getting his pants and shirt soaking wet. He laughed, so I figured he didn’t care, either.

  “That’s amazing, Dad,” I said, kissing his cheek. “We’ll keep it open. I know we will! I thought of this great new idea, just this morning. I can open a baked goods delivery service. I can call it Bake ’n’ Bike. I can deliver cake pops and pastries to people on my bike around town, and then maybe we can branch out even more….”

  My dad held up his hands, chuckling. “Slow down, slow down. We can talk about all this later. Right now, I’m going to the bakery to take down that awful ‘Going Out of Business’ sign. You enjoy your time with your friends, and I’ll come back to pick you up later.” He gave me one last hug, and then walked away just as Gwen and Tansy erupted in wild screams, splashing through the water to pull me back into the pool and drown me in hugs.

  “Perk Up’s in serious trouble now,” Dane said with a grin.

  “So I guess this means we’re guaranteed all-you-can-eat pops for life,” Gwen said.

  “I’ve already decided I’m going to have my birthday party at Say It With Flour,” Tansy said.

  “And Gwen and I want to have a twenty-four-hour Dragonlore marathon.” Harris grinned at me. “Now we have the perfect place.”

  “But, it’ll cost you,” I teased. “Can’t give away services for free, you know.”

  They all blinked at me, and when they realized I was joking, they sent a tidal wave of splashes in my direction. I threw my head back, laughing, and feeling the heavy load of worries I’d carried with me for the last month flying away. The bakery was ours again, and it would stay that way. I was sure of it. Someday, it would be mine, and maybe Roberto’s, too. Just the way Mom had wanted it.