The Mystery of the Birthday Basher

by Amirah Kassem

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-4197-4028-2

  eISBN 978-1-64700-035-6

  Text copyright © 2020 Amirah Kassem

  Book design by Brenda E. Angelilli

  Flour Shop branding and illustrations by TPD Design House

  Published in 2020 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved.

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  To everyone with a half-birthday!

  Together we have the power to make the world a happier place!

  Anything is possible if you follow

  your heart and keep believing.

  “Amirah! Phone call!”

  Mama’s voice carried through the open window, all the way to the backyard, where Amirah was watering a small patch of purple violets.

  Amirah jumped up and dropped the watering can, which tumbled onto its side and spilled water all over her bare feet. Amirah didn’t mind, though. Now that summer was here, the weather was hot, hot, hot! The cool water felt wonderful as it cascaded over her toes.

  Amirah dried off her feet at the back door and walked inside. Mama was holding out the phone.

  “Who is it?” Amirah asked. But Mama just smiled mysteriously as she gave Amirah the phone.

  “Hello?” Amirah said into the phone.

  “Hey, it’s me,” her friend Paulina replied.

  “Paulina! What’s going on?” Amirah exclaimed. She wandered into the next room and flopped onto the love seat.

  “That’s, uh, that’s actually what I called to ask you,” Paulina said.

  Amirah tilted her head. There was something odd in Paulina’s voice. She usually sounded so cheerful; her sunny laugh was one of Amirah’s favorite things about her. But today, there was no sunshine in Paulina’s voice. Just sadness.

  “Oh, you know, not much,” Amirah said. “I planted some violets in the backyard. I want to make candied violets! It’s not that hard, but you need super-extra-fresh flowers, and then you dip them in a . . .”

  Amirah’s voice trailed off when she realized that she was the only one doing any talking. She took a breath. “Hey,” she said, trying to start over. “What’s wrong?”

  There was a long silence. Amirah started to fidget, not sure what she should say next.

  At last, Paulina spoke. “I was just wondering why you didn’t come to my birthday party,” she said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I thought—I really thought—you’d be there.”

  Amirah sat up straight, her heart pounding. “You had a birthday party?” she asked. Of course, Amirah knew that it was about time for Paulina’s birthday—she kept a list of the birthdays of everybody she’d ever met—but this was the first she was hearing about a birthday party.

  “It was yesterday,” Paulina said in a small voice. “I mailed the invitations a month ago.”

  “A month ago?” Amirah repeated, racking her brain as she tried to remember if she’d received an invitation to Paulina’s birthday party. No. She hadn’t. That was something Amirah would never forget. “But—I—I never got one!”

  “You didn’t?” Paulina said in surprise. “I know I sent one. Yours was the first one I made! You’re the birthday princess of Chihuahua after all.”

  Amirah tried to smile, but her mouth couldn’t quite manage it. “I’m so sorry, Paulina,” she said. “I would never have missed your birthday party if I’d known about it.”

  “The invitation must’ve gotten lost in the mail,” Paulina mused. “You know, looking back, it did seem a little weird that you didn’t RSVP. But I figured you’d just show up anyway.”

  “I always RSVP for a birthday party,” Amirah said firmly.

  “Don’t I know it!” Paulina said with a laugh. Now that she knew Amirah hadn’t skipped her party on purpose, the sunshine had returned to Paulina’s voice. But Amirah was feeling worse and worse about what had happened.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” she told Paulina. “I promise I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Paulina said. “These things happen. Besides, I’ll have another party next year—and I know you’ll be there!”

  “You can count on it,” Amirah promised.

  After Amirah hung up the phone, Mama came into the living room. She could tell right away that something was bothering Amirah. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Oh, Mama,” Amirah said. “Paulina had a birthday party yesterday and I didn’t show up because I never got the invitation and I know it’s not my fault but I feel terrible about it!”

  Mama wrapped her arm around Amirah’s shoulders. “You didn’t get the invitation?” she asked. “That’s so odd. The same thing happened to your brother last month.”

  Amirah’s shoulders straightened. “Really?” she asked. “Amir was invited to a birthday party, but his invitation never came?”

  Mama nodded. “Yes, it happened during the week you were at camp,” she explained. “He was really disappointed to miss his friend’s birthday party too.”

  “It’s not just missing the party,” Amirah tried to explain. “It’s—I feel like I let Paulina down. Birthdays are really important! They deserve to be celebrated by everybody—especially your closest friends! But I didn’t even show up for her party. Like I didn’t even care.”

  Just saying the words out loud made Amirah feel even worse.

  “But you do care,” Mama reminded her. “I’m sure Paulina knows that. You know, Amir made a birthday card for his friend and we made a special delivery—”

  “Oh, I’m already on it,” Amirah assured Mama. She may not have known exactly what to say to Paulina on the phone, but Amirah had plenty of ideas for how to make it up to her.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Mama asked with that special smile she saved just for Amirah. She kissed Amirah on the forehead and added, “Just let me know how I can help.”

  “I will,” Amirah replied. “Thanks, Mama.”

  Amirah practically skipped over to her desk in the corner, where she kept all her favorite art supplies: a thick sketchbook, colored pencils in every color, and—of course—a rainbow-hued assortment of sparkly glitter. Before she got started, Amirah reached into her pocket for the vial of sprinkles she carried everywhere. Amirah was a firm believer in the power of sprinkles to make everything better, from a cupcake to a disappointing day. And she knew better than anyone exactly how powerful sprinkles could be.

  Just six months ago, Amirah had embarked on the adventure of a lifetime when she found herself transported to a wondrous world called the Magical Land of Birthdays. There, she had explored enchanted places, solved mysterious puzzles, and even befriended a unicorn! Best of all, Amirah had met her very own B-Buds—birthday
buddies who all shared the same birthday. Ever since that magical adventure, Amirah knew deep in her heart that birthdays were more special—and more important—than ever. Just as surely as she knew that someday, somehow, she’d see her B-Buds again. It was hard to imagine waiting until their next shared birthday on January 8, but at least the wait was almost half over.

  That’s why Amirah would’ve never skipped Paulina’s party—never. And that’s also why she was so determined to make things right.

  Deep in thought, Amirah picked up a pink pencil and started to sketch. Paulina’s favorite color was pink, just like Amirah’s, and her doll collection was practically a legend in their town. If only I could bake a cake that looked like a doll, Amirah thought to herself. But not just any doll. A sophisticated, elegant doll. A doll wearing a gorgeous ball gown—in sparkly pink, of course.

  And that’s what inspired Amirah to try baking a doll cake for Paulina! She sketched quickly, even though it was hard for her hand to keep up with all the new thoughts popping into her mind.

  When she finished sketching, Amirah sat back, studied her cake drawing, and smiled to herself. Yes. It was perfect—perfect for Paulina! Now all Amirah needed to do was get some special ingredients at the store. Mama and Amirah loved to bake more than just about anything else, so they kept their kitchen stocked with all the staples—butter, sugar, flour, eggs. But Paulina’s cake would need a little something extra.

  Amirah bounded out of the room and found her mother in the kitchen, putting away the clean dishes. “Mama! Can you take me to the store?” she asked breathlessly.

  “What do you need?” Mama asked, raising an eyebrow. “We just refilled the sprinkles last week . . .”

  “I know,” Amirah said with a grin. She showed Mama her sketch. “What do you think? I want to make this cake for Paulina.”

  “It’s beautiful, princess,” Mama replied. “She’s going to love it.”

  “I want to get some pink glitter candles . . . and some sugar pearls for the dress. Oh! Maybe I can even get some candy flowers too!” Amirah exclaimed, adding a few more notes to her sketch.

  Mama reached for her keys. “I’ll get Amir and meet you at the car.”

  “Thanks, Mama!” Amirah said. She impulsively stood on her tiptoes to give Mama a kiss on the cheek, then bounded out the front door so joyfully that her curls bounced. Despite the heat of the summer day, there was plenty of activity in Amirah’s neighborhood. The postal carrier was humming as he traveled from door to door, placing mail in the mailboxes. Amirah’s special friend in the neighborhood, Mrs. Maria, was enjoying a cold, refreshing drink called horchata on her front porch. And on the sidewalk in front of her home, Amirah spotted a boy from school, Billy, who was walking four dogs at the same time!

  “Billy!” she exclaimed, jogging over to him. “I didn’t know you had four dogs! They’re beautiful!”

  “They’re not all mine,” Billy replied as he pointed to a little brown dog. “Just this one. This is Fiesta.” Fiesta wagged his tail at the mention of his name. “I started a dog-walking business this summer. These other three dogs belong to some of my clients.”

  Amirah’s eyes widened. “You started your own business?” she said. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

  “It’s okay, I guess,” Billy said.

  “Fiesta is such a great name for a dog,” Amirah continued, bending over to let Fiesta sniff her hand. “Did you name him that because you love birthday parties?”

  “Well . . .” Billy shifted uncomfortably. Amirah wasn’t sure if maybe he was shy, or just in a rush to get back to work.

  Before Billy could finish his sentence, a fluffy black shepherd started to pull at the leash. A roly-poly dachshund yipped and ran in a circle around Billy’s legs, while the chihuahua pulled the leash in another direction. Soon they were all tangled up—including Billy!

  Amirah would’ve giggled, but Billy’s face had fallen into a frustrated frown. “Here—let me help—” she said, not wanting him to feel even more embarrassed.

  “It’s fine,” Billy said shortly. “It happens more than you think.”

  Then, with a heavy sigh, he began to patiently untangle the dogs’ leashes.

  “Amirah!” Mama called from the driveway, jingling her keys. “Let’s go!”

  “See you later,” Amirah told Billy. Then, with a quick wave, she hurried over to her mom’s car.

  Amirah was quiet while they drove to the market. Billy didn’t seem to think his dog-walking business was a big deal, but Amirah thought it was incredible. Maybe I’ll start a business of my own someday, she thought dreamily. A cake-baking business. Or a—a birthday business!

  Amirah wasn’t entirely sure what a birthday business would be like, but she knew she had plenty of time to figure it out.

  “Amir and I are going to get some groceries for dinner,” Mama told Amirah when they reached the store. “Why don’t you grab what you need and meet us at the checkout counter?”

  “You got it,” Amirah replied. “Thanks again!”

  Amirah could’ve found her way to the baking aisle blindfolded. After all, it was her favorite aisle in the entire store! But when she reached it, she noticed right away that something was different. There were empty spaces on the shelves, spaces that should’ve held tubs of frosting and sacks of sugar and—

  Amirah stared in disbelief.

  Where were the sprinkles?

  The shelf that normally held sprinkles—jar after jar of sprinkles in every color (not to mention Amirah’s favorite, rainbow sprinkles all jumbled up together)—was completely bare.

  The hollowness of the gray steel shelves left Amirah feeling empty inside too. She had never seen the decorating section of the baking aisle like this before.

  Maybe—maybe a lot of people are celebrating summer birthdays, she thought, trying to look on the bright side. Maybe a delivery truck will pull up first thing tomorrow morning filled with cases of sprinkles and sugar!

  With one last look at the empty shelves, Amirah turned away from the baking aisle and made her way to the party supplies aisle, another favorite spot in the store. But today, that was where she got another unpleasant surprise: The shelves were as empty as in the baking aisle, and the supplies that were still left had been roughly scattered around. Some had even fallen on the floor.

  This is terrible! Amirah thought as she knelt down to pick up some packages of birthday cake candles. There was a dented cardboard crown on the floor too; she tried to straighten it before she put it back on the shelf, but Amirah could already tell that it would never look shiny and new again.

  It’s bad enough that all of the party supplies are cleaned out, Amirah thought. But everything being such a mess too? There’s no excuse for that!

  Despite the disarray, Amirah had slightly better luck searching through the party supplies. There was one package of sparkly pink candles left, and it contained just enough candles for Paulina’s cake. Amirah held tightly on to it as she went to the front of the store to meet her mother and brother.

  “Did you find everything you need?” Amirah asked her mother.

  “Oh yes,” Mama said, showing Amirah her basket, which was brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables. “How about you?”

  “Not really,” Amirah said dejectedly. “I got the right kind of candles, at least. But the cake decorations were all sold out.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mama replied. “But don’t lose hope, princess. I know you’ll think of something just as special for Paulina’s cake.”

  I hope so, Amirah thought.

  Before bed that night, Amirah reached for her favorite book. It wasn’t a novel or a storybook, but a cookbook—a very special cookbook—that Mrs. Maria had given her six months ago: The Power of Sprinkles.

  It was, Amirah suspected, the cookbook that had started it all.

  That’s where she had found a special birthday cake recipe with her name on it, which was a big surprise. Amirah loved her name, which meant “princess,” but it was
unusual enough that she rarely saw it in print.

  The Power of Sprinkles also had unique recipes for all her B-Buds’ favorite birthday cakes. Amirah couldn’t help smiling as she thought about Mei and Elvis and Olivia. But just as quickly, the memory of the empty shelves at the store came back to her, and Amirah’s smile started to fade. More than anything, she wished she could see her B-Buds and tell them about it.

  To cheer herself up, Amirah started turning the pages of the old cookbook. No matter how gentle she was, some of the gold binding flaked off in her hands. That wasn’t the most unusual thing about this book. The first time she had turned these pages, a cloud of sparkles that only Amirah could see had appeared, dancing and twinkling up her fingers, up her hand, up her arm—an early sign of the magic within.

  That didn’t happen much anymore, though, but Amirah wasn’t worried. She knew the cookbook was just as powerful as ever.

  It had been a busy day, but not just that—it had been a day of roller-coaster emotions. And the heat was so tiring. No wonder Amirah was exhausted, flipping through the cookbook in a dreamlike state as the crickets sang their nighttime song outside her window.

  Amirah covered her mouth as she yawned. She’d go to bed soon—she’d fall asleep, whether she wanted to or not—but not just yet. She still had to read over the recipe for Mei’s birthday cake, a strawberry shortcake with sugar-syrup-soaked sponge cake that was practically bursting with juicy berries. Amirah licked her lips. As she read over the ingredients, she could almost taste them—sugar, cream, vanil—

  Wait. The word . . . it was . . . it was fading . . . right before her eyes . . .

  No . . . all the words . . . the entire recipe . . . disappearing . . .

  “No!” Amirah cried, powerless to stop the recipe from vanishing. Frantically, she grabbed the page, as if her fingers could hold the words there before they disappeared for good.

  And then, just like magic, they were back: each and every word, exactly as it had been before. Not a single letter out of place.

  Amirah’s heart was thudding in her chest as she stared at the page. That did not just happen, she thought. Printed recipes in cookbooks don’t disappear. It’s not possible. I must have dozed off . . . I was probably having one of those dreams where you don’t know you’re dreaming . . .