The Cupcake Diaries Collection: Katie and the Cupcake Cure; Mia in the Mix; Emma on Thin Icing; Alexis and the Perfect Recipe (32 page)

Katie patted a seat at the table next to her, and I sat down, still teary. Alexis and Mia sat across from me. Everyone looked concerned.

“You seem really stressed out,” said Katie. Her head was tilted to the side as she looked at me. I don’t know why that made me cry more.

“Are you getting enough sleep?” asked Alexis directly. Alexis was a big believer in the basics of life. If you slept well, ate well, and exercised, pretty much everything else would fall into place.

“Not really,” I admitted. “I’m pretty busy.”

Alexis sat back and folded her arms in satisfaction. “A good night’s sleep is so important,” she said. She sounded like Mom.

“It seems like you have a lot on your plate,” said Mia.

I nodded.

“You have the Cupcake Club. And babysitting. And dog walking. And orchestra. Plus homework. Can we help you?” Alexis asked kindly.

Not to mention saving money,
I thought. Then I felt badly. I didn’t really want to talk about this with them. What could they do? They would just feel sorry for me, and I didn’t want that at all.

“Do you want a break from your responsibilities
with the club?” asked Alexis. “Like a leave of absence?”

I noticed Mia watching me carefully for my response. It gave me a little chill. Did Mia want me out of the club? I thought for a second. I could use the extra time for dog walking and make some money. But if I took a break, it would be like quitting my friends. Plus, I love the club. But if I stayed with it, I’d have to really be present and do a good job—an even better job than in the past because I’d have to prove how committed I really was. I’d have to figure it out. Gee, that seemed to be a theme these days.

Finally I said, “No, but thanks. The Cupcake Club is the best part of my busyness. I’d rather be baking and working and hanging out with you guys than anything else.” It was true, after all.

I saw Mia and Katie exchange a glance.

“Well, if it starts to feel like it’s too much, just, um, let us know. We won’t cut you out of the earnings if you miss a baking session here and there,” said Alexis, but I watched her look uneasily at Mia and Katie.

“Thanks, you guys,” I said. “You’re awesome.” But I was really thanking Alexis. There was something going on that I couldn’t put my finger on.
Mia and Katie seemed like they didn’t believe me, and I wasn’t sure they were exactly on board with Alexis. Good old Alexis.

And then, “The cupcakes!” cried Katie.

She leaped to the oven just in the nick of time. They were golden brown and perfect.

The tension was cut for now by our successful batch.

“Phew!” I said, but I wasn’t only talking about the cupcakes.

T
he next day Alexis caught up with me as I was heading to the Andersons’ to walk Jenner.

“Hey! I just checked my e-mail, and we have good news!” called Alexis as she came jogging up.

I was running late, but I stopped. “What’s up?” I asked.

Alexis grinned. “Mona loved the sample minis!”

“She did?” I cried. I was so excited.

Alexis nodded. “Yup, and she wants to place an order for five dozen every Saturday for the next two months!”

“Oh my God! That is amazing,” I said, thinking about the profits. Then I thought about dropping them off at the beautiful store. “What will we charge her?” I asked. “And how will we get them to her?”

Alexis nodded again. “Already thought of all that. The minis are fifty cents each, so that’s thirty dollars a week. For eight weeks it’s two hundred and forty dollars. My mom said she’ll take me to drop them off on the way to soccer every week.”

“That is so great! Thanks, Alexis! So we’ll bake every Friday night?”

“We kind of already do, anyway,” said Alexis. “But yeah. Where are you going? Jenner?”

I nodded. “Yup. I love him and the cool part is, he seems to love me back! He behaves so well for me. Unlike Jake,” I added.

Alexis pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You know, you could really make it worth your while if you had more than one dog at a time.”

I had already thought of that as part of the dream dress plan. “I know. I just haven’t had the time to try to drum up more business.”

“Well . . . you just need to maximize your time while you’re doing it. So, like, wear a T-shirt that says ‘Dog walking, five dollars a walk’ with your e-mail address or whatever on it,” Alexis said.

“That’s a cute idea. I can do that with some fabric markers.”

“And you could make a flyer on the computer
and hand it out or put it in mailboxes while you’re out walking.”

“Oooh! Good one!”

Alexis laughed. “And . . . you could, like, spray liver perfume on you or carry a lot of doggy treats in your pockets, so when you pass a dog on the street it goes crazy for you!”

I laughed too. “I think I’ll skip the liver perfume, but thanks. Treats in my pocket is a good idea. I’ve been meaning to do that. Thanks!”

“Anytime. You know I love brainstorming about marketing,” said Alexis with a smile. But then she turned suddenly serious. “Hey, maybe you should put cupcake flyers in the mailboxes too!”

“I could do that,” I said. But something about her voice made me nervous.

“Just to, you know, help out a little,” said Alexis casually.

I felt a pit in my stomach. “Oh. Am I . . . not helping out enough?”

Alexis looked away uneasily. “No, I mean, I think you are. . . .”

“Do the others think I’m not?” I asked anxiously. Was this what was going on at that last baking session? I missed some meetings, sure. And I brought Jake a few times. But I was trying, I really was.

“No, no, not at all. I think . . . Maybe they’re just nervous about all the work we have these days, and they just want to make sure you’re committed. You’ve missed a few baking sessions. And you seem a little preoccupied.” Alexis shrugged. “That’s all. But don’t tell them I told you, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed hesitantly. “Thanks, I guess. . . .”

“Listen, Emma,” said Alexis. “I know they might think you’re flaking out a little on things. And you don’t seem into the dress at all. . . .”

“What?” I cried. I hadn’t thought about anything besides that dress!

Alexis cleared her throat. “Your mom told my mom about her job and that it’s been a little . . . well . . . a little crazy at your house lately with all the babysitting.”

I wondered how much Mom told Mrs. Becker and how much Alexis knew.

“I can help you,” Alexis said. “Anytime. Just ask, okay? My mom’s never home after school either.” Alexis smiled. It was true, Mrs. and Mr. Becker got home really late, and a lot of times Alexis just ate dinner with her sister. My mom used to invite them over a lot for dinner, but I realized she hadn’t done that since she started the new job.

I was glad Alexis knew something was up, but
I really didn’t want to talk about it. And I knew she must be sticking up for me with Katie and Mia, which made me mad to think about, but still thankful.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do,” I said honestly. “But thank you.”

Alexis saluted me. “You’re welcome, sarge,” she said, trying to lighten things up a little.

“Alexis?” I said. “Can you . . . um . . . can you not mention anything that’s going on at home to Katie and Mia?”

Alexis looked like she was going to say something, but she didn’t. She nodded yes. “Wouldn’t disobey a sergeant!” she said.

And though we both laughed as we went our separate ways, I was left wondering what else the club was discussing without me.

That night, right before dinner, I tapped on Matt and Sam’s door. “Matt?”

“Come in,” said Matt.

I poked my head in. He was sitting at his desk and Sam was out. “Can you help me with something?” I asked. “I’ll pay you,” I added before he could say no.

Matt looked at me suspiciously. “Is it something heinous?” he asked.

I came into the room, which was all blue corduroy, sports posters, and team logos. I laid down a piece of paper I had been working on on Matt’s desk. “I need to make flyers for my dog-walking business, and I was wondering if you could help me. Because you took that class and all.” I held my breath hopefully as Matt studied the information.

He looked up at me.

“Well?” I asked, thinking he was going to make me trade extra Jake days for this.

“Do you really need more responsibilities in your life?” he asked.

I sighed. He kind of sounded like Dad. “I need more money. . . .”

He looked at me for an extra minute, and then he shrugged. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

“Oh my gosh, you will? Thanks, Matt! I take back every bad thing I ever said about you! Almost.”

“No prob,” said Matt. “I can probably put something together tonight, okay?”

“Thanks. That would be great. And also”—I laid another piece of paper down on his desk—“will you do some for the Cupcake Club, too?”

Matt took the second sheet of paper. “Sure,” he agreed. “Anything that will get me extra cupcakes.”

I thanked him again and left the room before he
changed back into the Matt I knew.
Huh,
I thought to myself.
Maybe Matt wasn’t all bad.

By nine that night Matt had two drafts for me to review. He had done a really good job, using cute art and eye-catching fonts. I was psyched, and I could tell Matt was pleased too. I almost wanted to hug him. I offered to watch Jake the next day.

By ten we had printed two stacks of fifty flyers, and then our parents insisted we go to sleep.
That was okay,
I thought,
since fifty new clients would be crazy. For dog walking or cupcakes.

The next day Jake and I took Jenner on an extra-long walk around the neighborhood and handed out flyers and stuffed them in mailboxes. We stopped at the grocery store and bought a big bag of liver snaps to hand out to any dogs we saw, and Jake proudly wore a T-shirt that I had quickly created for him. It was just like mine, with all the dog-walking info, but his said
OFFICER TAYLOR
on the back. He loved it.

That night Alexis e-mailed to report they had two new inquiries from the cupcake flyers. “Good work,” she said in her sign-off. Katie chimed in with a “Way to go, Emma!” e-mail, which made me feel good.

Phew!
I thought, reading the e-mails. Later, four
calls came in for my dog-walking business, and using a chart I made, I scheduled the pickups and drop-offs for all the new dogs for the next day. It would be a lot of work, but I could handle it.

Or maybe I couldn’t.

At 4:40 the next afternoon Jake and I were sweating. I had four leashes in my hands, and I could hardly walk down the street as the dogs kept wandering around and twining their leads around one another or around a tree or, worst of all, around my ankles. I’d already had to pick up two poops and leave one behind because it was disgustingly un-pick-up-able. Luckily, the dogs were all family dogs, so they got along pretty well with one another. It hadn’t occurred to me that they might fight until we passed a neighbor’s house and their dog had run to the property line, barking like mad and baring his teeth at the pack. Two of my dogs strained at their leashes, growling and baring their teeth, and it had taken all my strength to hold on to them. Jake was rattled and teary after the experience, and I was pretty fried. I had to face it: Four dogs was too many to walk at a time. Plus, I still had one more dog to go. Still, at five dollars a walk, I needed all five dogs. I was
going to have to figure out a new walking plan.

We reached the corner of Pond Lane, and Jenner stopped to do his business. I sighed and waited patiently, glad for the brief break. Suddenly I heard a bike bell jingling, and I turned around, hoping maybe it was Alexis. It was Sydney and Mags, Sydney’s best friend.

“Hey!” called Mags.

I nodded in greeting. I had nothing to say to these girls, and honestly I was so mad that I kept running into them. For some reason they stopped and stood with their bikes between their legs.

“Wow. Are these all yours?” asked Mags incredulously.

“No, I walk them for the neighbors.” I was trying to be casual. I didn’t need to get into a long chat with Mags right now.