by Coco Simon
“Of course!” the mom replied. She pulled a napkin from the dispenser. “I should clean up her face first, though.”
“No, it’s perfect, trust me!” I said. Sophie had ice cream all over the outside of her mouth, with flecks of coconut and sprinkles stuck to it. I pointed my phone at Sophie. “Smile and say ‘ice cream’!”
“Ice cream!” Sophie cried, scrunching up her eyes. When she opened her mouth to smile, I noticed that she was missing her two front teeth. How cute was that? This was social media gold!
“Okay, now pick up the spoon and pretend you’re going to put it into your mouth, but stop just before you get there,” I instructed.
Sophie obeyed, and I snapped away.
“That was great! Thanks!” I said. “You can find the photos on the Molly’s Ice Cream website.”
Sophie’s mom nodded, and then I moved to the dad and his two boys. I took a few shots of them eating their ice cream cones. And the teenage girls let me shoot them sipping their milkshakes with our new paper straws—aqua, to match the cushions on the chairs.
“Wait, let us see!” one of the girls demanded before I could walk away. I handed them my phone, and they huddled together, scrolling through the photos.
“Wow, these are all good!” the girl said. “You should be, like, a professional photographer or something.”
“Thanks. It’s part of my job,” I replied. I knew I was good, but it was nice to hear it out loud.
No new customers had come in, so back behind the counter I began to upload the photos. First I posted them on the website, and then on the social media accounts, which were all linked, so I only had to do them once.
For Sophie, I wrote: Cute alert! Order a Bird’s Nest Sundae and you’ll be smiling too. #sundaysundae #icecream #MollysIceCream #Bayville #cute
For the dad and the boys: Open till 9 every Sunday! #icecream #sundaysundae #icecreamcone #MollysIceCream #Bayville
For the teenage girls: Milkshakes taste better with our new planet-friendly straws. #milkshake #savetheplanet #MollysIceCream #Bayville
I could have come up with at least ten more hashtags, but I heard Allie call out behind me.
“Incoming!”
A group of little girls in soccer jerseys came in with their coach. I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“On it!” I said, and I turned on the charm with a big smile for the coach. “Welcome to Molly’s. How can I help you today?”
The rush lasted for about an hour, but I had a chance to check the accounts before our shift ended and it was time to clean up.
“Wow!” I said. “Sophie’s photo has forty-five likes online already.”
“Who’s Sophie?” Sierra asked.
“That little girl who ordered the Bird’s Nest. With the two front teeth missing,” I replied.
Sierra nodded. “She was cute!”
“Twenty-eight likes on the milkshakes,” I reported. “Oh, and here’s a comment: ‘How late are you open tonight?’ ”
I rolled my eyes. “Duh. It says right in the caption that we’re open till nine.”
“Don’t write that!” Allie warned.
“Of course not. I am the queen of social media. I know exactly what to say,” I responded, and then I typed.
Open till 9. Hope to see you soon, and bring a friend!
Sierra grinned. “The queen of social media, huh? Was there an election?”
“Queens don’t get elected. They are born,” I pointed out. “And anyway, I am killing it with the website and the other accounts. Molly’s has a legit social media presence now. Kai says we’re on the way to becoming a recognizable brand.”
Kai is my business-obsessed older brother. I get a lot of good advice from him.
I checked out the photo of the family eating ice cream cones. “Okay, now here’s a sensible comment. ‘How come your chocolate ice cream tastes so much better than the kind I make at home?’ ”
Mrs. S. walked into the room as I was saying this. “Wow, that’s flattering. So what kind of thing do you say to respond to a comment like that?”
I thought for a minute. “How about this?” I said, and I read out loud as I typed. “Don’t even try to duplicate it. Why torture yourself and waste time and money trying to make it at home? Life is short! Come to Molly’s and enjoy all the best tasting chocolate ice cream you want!”
Everybody laughed.
“That is perfect,” Mrs. S. said. “People tell me they love following Molly’s on social media, not just to see what’s new, but to see ‘Molly’s’ funny responses. You are a star, Tamiko!”
“Actually, she’s a queen. Queen of social media,” Allie corrected, laughing.
“All right, I was just kidding before,” I said. “I might be good at social media, but I’m not exactly a star.”
“Even kids at school treat you like you’re a celebrity,” Sierra said.
“No, they don’t,” I protested.
She turned to Allie and her mom. “People stop by our table at lunch and compliment her on the website. Even Eeee-wan,” she teased.
I rolled my eyes. Earlier in the year Ewan and I got paired up in art class, and we had to draw each other’s portraits. I wasn’t exactly psyched about it because he’s a popular kid who hangs out with a bunch of jerks. But it turns out he’s not a jerk—he’s nice and a really good artist, and I ended up drawing a lot of pictures of him in different styles. So of course Sierra and Allie assumed that means I have a crush on him, and they’ve been torturing me about it forever.
It’s kind of annoying. They’re my friends, and I love them, but just because they’re obsessing about boys all the time doesn’t mean I have to. I have no interest in dating right now. And so what if sometimes my stomach does this weird flip when I pass by him in the hallway? That doesn’t mean I have a crush on him, all right?
Allie walked over with one of those pointy paper cups that you put on the end of your ice cream cone to prevent drips, and placed it on top of my head, giggling.
“I crown thee Tamiko, Queen of Social Media!” she said. “What is thy command?”
“I command you to stop calling me the queen of social media,” I said, taking the paper cone off my head. “I’m sorry I ever brought it up.”
Allie’s face got thoughtful. “You know, Tamiko, now that you have a following, you should maybe create a blog of your own. You know, do something more than just post friend stuff on SuperSnap. You could post photos of all the stuff you create.”
I liked the sound of that. “I’m not sure why I never thought of that before,” I admitted. “But I like it. I could post outfits I’ve made and get people to rate them and stuff.”
“You could even do videos,” Sierra suggested.
Mrs. S. nodded. “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. And a successful website would be a wonderful thing to show to prospective colleges in a few years. It will be here quicker than you expect!”
“I didn’t even think of that,” I said. “I love these ideas. Thanks!”
“Now, if you girls don’t mind cleaning the tables, I’ll get your pay for this week,” Mrs. S. said, and she headed to the back room of the shop.
We cleaned up the tables and divided up the tips we’d gotten that afternoon. I heard a beep and saw Mom outside in her car.
“Need a ride, Sierra?” I asked. “You can come over for dinner if you want.”
“Sounds good, but I can’t,” she said. “I’m going straight to band practice.”
“Cool,” I said. “Bye!”
After getting my pay from Mrs. S., I took off my apron and headed outside. Normally, I might be mildly annoyed that Sierra had band practice—her schedule is so crazy, and she doesn’t always have time to hang out with me. But that night my mind was whirring with plans.
I couldn’t wait to start my blog!
Continue Reading…
Banana Splits
Coco Sim
on
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From cupcakes to ice cream! Having written more than thirty books about middle-school girls and cupcakes, COCO SIMON decided it was time for a change, so she’s switched her focus from cupcakes to her second-favorite sweet treat–ice cream. When she’s not daydreaming about yummy snacks, Coco edits children’s books and has written close to one hundred books for children, tweens, and young adults, which is a lot fewer than the number of cupcakes and ice cream cones she’s eaten. Sprinkle Sundays is the first time Coco has mixed her love of ice cream with writing.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
Simon & Schuster, New York.
visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Coco-Simon
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
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www.SimonandSchuster.com
This Simon Spotlight edition May 2019
Copyright © 2019 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.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
Text by Elizabeth Doyle Carey
Series cover design by Alisa Coburn and Hannah Frece
Cover design by Laura Roode
Cover illustrations by Alisa Coburn
Series interior design by Hannah Frece
ISBN 978-1-5344-4042-5 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-4041-8 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-5344-4043-2 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2019937279
