The Cupcake Diaries Collection: Katie and the Cupcake Cure; Mia in the Mix; Emma on Thin Icing; Alexis and the Perfect Recipe (41 page)

I quietly moved closer to the table, trying not to miss a word.

“So I wore the sweater you suggested,” Meredith told Skylar.

Skylar nodded. “Good,” she said. “And?”

“Well, it looked good, and like you said, it’s very . . . soft and fluffy, and it’s a girlie color. I guess guys really do like that stuff because he did touch my arm when we were talking, like he wanted to feel the material.”

“And the perfume?” asked Dylan.

“Yes,” said Meredith. “I did just what you said. I wore that vanilla spice from Bath and Body Works. I felt like a doughnut! But I noticed him kind of
sniffing the air—in a good way!—when I bent over to stack some books on the cart.”

“Well, I told you about the study! Men love vanilla and pumpkin pie above all other scents! It has been tested!” Dylan said, laughing. I was surprised. Boys love Dylan, but I never thought it was something she put any thought or effort into!

“They’re all just little boys at heart. They want baked goods and fuzzy things!” Dylan added. She sounded so mature saying that, like she had done it all. She did have a lot of boy friends, but Mom and Dad had just started letting her go out on dates this year. I knew Skylar had a boyfriend over the summer, but I didn’t think he was still in the picture. I remembered hearing about some breakup story, but that was way before I was interested in that kind of thing. Like, more than a week ago.

Okay, I thought, the baked goods part sounded easy, especially for me: smelling like them, providing them, describing them in tantalizing detail. No problem! Next I mentally raked through my closet. I didn’t really own anything that could be described as fuzzy. I definitely had to do something about that.

My data collecting was going so well that I grew a little bolder. I jumped up to sit on the kitchen
island to make sure I didn’t miss a word they were saying. I couldn’t tell if they noticed me and were ignoring me, or noticed me and were kind of putting on a show for me, or if they just didn’t notice me at all (most likely). I waited for Dylan to order me to leave while they finished their drinks. But she didn’t.

“And how about your hair?” Skylar asked Meredith. “Was it ‘touchable’?” She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

Meredith nodded. “I didn’t blow it out that day. I set it in rollers, just like we discussed, so it was all springy and curly. He said that it looked different and he actually told me he liked it!” She blushed. “So getting up extra early was worth it!”

“Good.” Dylan nodded. “The
Seventeen
survey said that men prefer wavy or loosely curly hair above all else.” Boy, I had no idea my sister knew so much about this stuff!

I started thinking about curls. I have a little pack of rag curlers my grandma gave me one Christmas when I was in a
Little House on the Prairie
phase. I had wanted to create curls the way the Ingalls girls did. I could find those and see if they still worked!

I wished I had my notebook so I could write all this stuff down. I tried to visualize equations in
my mind to help me remember what the older girls were saying:

Fuzzy texture + girlie color = boy touching your arm

Loopy curls – straight hair = compliment

Food scents / vanilla + pumpkin = boys sniffing

I was intrigued by the studies the girls were saying they had read about boys and what they liked. I had no idea that actual research dollars were being spent on this kind of thing! But now that I thought about it, it made sense. For instance, perfume companies spend a fortune developing perfumes that are supposed to make men fall all over the women who wear them (if you believe the ads). So why wouldn’t they put lots of dollars into researching which smells men like best? And shampoo companies of course research what kind of hair men like best. Then they release that information right at the same time they’re releasing the new products that make women’s hair do just that! I liked figuring
out businessy things like this. When things fit neatly into place, it makes me very, very happy. But I also liked the fact that people—scientists, even!—were spending valuable time and money on just the kinds of experiments I was conducting myself. It made what I was doing seem worthwhile.

But more important, I couldn’t believe that I’d never paid any attention to the magazines and websites that Dylan and her friends liked to read. It was crazy to think that they were chock-f of all this scientific information about attracting boys, and I’d never known it! Well, I made a mental note to borrow some magazines from Dylan and go online as soon as I could.

Just then Emma came back into the kitchen holding my copy of
Jane Eyre
. She also had a funny look on her face. But I didn’t want her interrupting my fascinating information session, so I kind of ignored her. But she just kept standing there, like she wanted to say something to me.

“What?” I finally whispered.

Emma looked at Dylan and her friends, then she shrugged and turned to go back to the TV room.
Whatever,
I thought, and sighed loudly.

Dylan turned to me. “Is that really a hint?” she snapped.

“What?” I was alarmed. I wasn’t trying to get rid of them! “Oh, no, not at all!” I said quickly. “Take your time. I wasn’t rushing you. . . .” My fear must’ve been obviously genuine, because Dylan’s face softened.

“We’re ready, actually,” she said. “Come on, girls. Let’s go outside for a few minutes to work on cheering before we start the chem review.”

Meredith and Skylar gathered their mugs and things and, still chatting, went out to the yard. I wish I could have gone with them. I had really gotten some good intel, but it only left me hungry for more.

Then Emma and Katie wandered in. “Ready?” they asked.

“I guess,” I said, then realized how I sounded. What was I thinking? We were here to work on our business! We were here to make money! Why was I moping about some boy and filling my head with silly tricks and tips? This was so not me at all! “I mean, yes, I’m ready!” I said brightly. “Let’s make some money!”

“Well, all righty then!” said Katie. And we eagerly set to work.

It wasn’t until I got upstairs after everyone left that I found my Project M. T. notebook on top of
my desk. I had forgotten to put it away last night, not thinking anyone would see it. My heart raced as I thought about Emma. She must have seen it; that’s why she gave me that look.

I flipped through it. Luckily, I never mentioned Matt’s name. I only called him “The Crush.” I actually shivered in relief, but that was a close call. And now I’d have some sort of explaining to do with Emma if it came up (I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up myself). I picked up the notebook and looked around the room. Everything in my room was as neat as a pin. All except one place.

I lifted a key out of my desk drawer and used it to open the top drawer in my antique wood dresser. It is a wide and deep drawer, and inside is total chaos. It’s the only place in my world that’s not organized . . . well, until now with this Matt thing. My messy drawer is where I stash makeup, cheap trinkets, sunglasses, and old candy. I dropped the notebook in and shoved the drawer closed, then relocked it. I was probably too late, but better late than never (which is definitely
not
one of my mottoes).

Mall Madness

T
he music they play at Icon is so, so loud, and the air freshener or incense or whatever they use to scent the store makes me gasp for clean air. Plus, it’s dark. I mean almost pitch-dark. It is not a place I like to spend any time. But there I was on Saturday, with all the Cupcakers (including Emma, who was being a little weird), looking at the dresses that Dylan had placed on hold for me as “pre-approved” attire for her party.

I couldn’t believe it. All three of the dresses she chose matched her party decor: black and gold. Was she trying to tell me that I was simply part of the decor? Whatever it was, I was annoyed. Black is really not my color. I don’t think it makes me stand out, and I would like
to stand out a little—especially if Matt might be there.

Most of all it just got on my nerves that Dylan felt she could pick what I wore. As if otherwise I would wear something that would embarrass her.

Katie scrunched into the corner of the dressing room. “Can you make some room, please?” she shouted over the music. I don’t think Mia could hear her, even though she was wedged right up against her. The attendant had warned us we wouldn’t all fit, but we had insisted. I didn’t want to do this alone.

The room was so tight that Emma was basically sitting on Mia’s lap. I was in a corner, trying to pull the first dress over my head.

“What do you think?” I asked after I finally—after struggling for five minutes—got the dress on.

“What?” shouted Mia.

I sighed. Talking was pointless. I jerked my thumb at the door and then went out into the communal viewing area, which was packed with other girls. We waited our turn in front of the only mirror. Finally we got a spot with a spotlight right above it. At least I could now see myself!

I tipped my head to the side and looked at the dress. It was horrible, all black and droopy. Not my style at all.

“It’s fine,” I said with a shrug, “if lumpy is the look I’m going for.”

“What?” yelled Emma.

“Never mind!” I shouted, then looked at the price tag. “Really never mind!” I added, though no one could hear me.

Katie, Emma, and I went back into the dressing room, but Mia decided to wait outside for my “reveal.” I looked at the other two dresses. One was short and flouncy. It had a black tulle skirt and a gold bodice. It was kind of prom dressish. The other one was strapless (nightmare!) and long, with a slit up one whole leg. I couldn’t imagine my mother approving that one, but it was the kind of dress that a guy might like to see a girl in. Hmm. That would be my next choice. I grunted my way out of the first dress and slid the leg-slit dress over my head. It was no more than a thin piece of satin, with some gold details at the top in a kind of bandeau bathing suit style. Luckily, because it was so slinky, it slid down easily.

I went back out to look at the dress, then gasped when I saw myself in the mirror. Mia, Katie, and
Emma gasped too. I looked like I was twenty-five years old!

“Wow! You’re a hottie!” yelled Katie.

“Yeah, you just need to take off the socks!” Emma said in my ear. I looked down. I had on fuzzy pink crew socks. That part did not look so good, but the rest of me screamed
Dancing with the Stars
!

Mia was nodding, but she had her head tipped to the side. “You look amazing, but you do not look like Alexis Becker.” She reached over to a dress hanging on a hook. “Here, I grabbed this from a girl who was going to put it back. Try it.”

I looked at the dress in her hand. It was not black. It was not gold. It was not too mature. It was a deep raspberry pink V-neck sweater dress—fuzzy and touchable!

“Look,” said Mia. “It has slits up each side to make it dressier, and you’d wear it with pale or gold heels, a gold belt—maybe a chain, even—and a great-looking chunky necklace. Go on! Try it!”

I took the dress from her and went back in alone. Seconds later I was out again and staring in the mirror. The color looked amazing on me. The fabric felt amazing. I really, really loved it!

Suddenly someone tapped me on my shoulder.
I turned around and it was Meredith, with Skylar.

“Hi, Alexis!” they yelled, waving.

“You look awesome!” said Meredith.

Skylar nodded. “If you don’t get that, I’d love to try it on!” she said in my ear.

I smiled. “Sorry, but I am getting it!” I replied. “Even though it’s not black and gold!”

“I can’t hear you!” Skylar shouted, giving me two thumbs-up. “But you look great!” she yelled.

I suddenly felt warm and happy, even though I was a little nervous about what Dylan would say. But I decided that she couldn’t control everything!

On my way to pay with the money Mom had given me, I looked around—and spotted the only other nonblack clothing in the store. It was a really nice ice-blue long-sleeved V-neck shirt. And it was marked down from $40 to $19.99! I held the shirt up in front of me. It was my size. And I did have enough cupcake money saved up. I decided I couldn’t pass up this great bargain, so I looped it over my arm and walked toward the long line at the cash registers.

“We’ll wait for you outside!” called Katie.

I nodded and waved to her. As the line snaked around, I looked at what other people were buying. I couldn’t believe how many people liked dressing
all in black, and they weren’t all Goth girls! Icon clearly knew what they were doing and how much people like buying cheap black clothes in a dark, loud, and stinky store.

I stood in line and found myself right behind Sydney and Callie. Before I could decide what to do, Callie said hi. She’s kind of nice. I think if Sydney wasn’t around to boss her, and Katie was okay with it, she might even be good in the Cupcake Club, but that just won’t happen. I just hoped she liked Joe Fraser and not Matt Taylor. I didn’t think I could compete with her.