Katie Sprinkles and Surprises (8 page)

The rest of the pictures showed Emily in her soccer uniform and Emily making a sand castle on the beach. She was smiling in every picture.

“She looks nice,” I remarked.

“She is,” Jeff said. “I think you girls would like each other.”

I nodded, thinking. If Emily and I did meet, that might mean that Mom and Jeff were really serious. I was slowly getting used to that idea, and it wasn't so bad.

O
kay, class, who's ready for a math test?”

“Me!” I called out cheerfully. Most of the other kids in class, including Mia, just groaned. But I felt pretty excited. As soon as Jared Fogelson, who sat in the seat of front of me, handed back the test sheet, I got started.

I looked at the first problem, and I knew what to do! I took my time, just like Jeff had suggested, and when I finished with all the answers, I went back and checked the hard ones. Even after all that I was still one of the first ones done.

Mr. K. was checking his e-mail when I got to his desk.

“That's fast for you, Katie. Did you check your work?” he asked.

“Yup,” I said.

“Awesome!” said Mr. K. with a smile.

I went back to my desk, feeling really good. To pass the time until class ended, I took out my notebook and started drawing rainbows and shooting stars.

When I sailed into the lunchroom later that day, I was in a great mood. And as soon as the whole Cupcake Club was seated together, we started talking about Mr. Green.

“I can't believe how nice he is in person!” Emma said.

Alexis giggled. “Emma, you see him in person every day in math class.”

Emma blushed a little. “You know what I mean. What other math teacher has ever made icing with us before?”

Then Mia nodded her head to the side, and we realized Mr. Green was heading our way.

“Hi, Je—Mr. Green,” I said, stopping myself from calling him by his first name.

“Hi, girls,” he said pleasantly. “Katie, how did you do on your math test?”

“I think I aced it!” I reported.

“Great work!” Mr. Green said, and then he winked and moved on to the next table.

“That was weird,” Alexis said after he walked away. “He acted like we didn't all hang out together yesterday.”

“Maybe he's trying to keep the Mr. Green at school separate from the Mr. Green at home,” Mia reasoned.

I thought about this. That made sense, but I didn't like it very much. “So that means every time I see Mr. Green in school, I have to pretend he's not dating my mom? And eating at my house? And helping us make cupcakes?”

Alexis nodded sympathetically. “It's like you've got to turn a switch on and off all the time. That kind of stinks.”

I sighed. “Well, at least I think I did okay on my test.”

We dug in to our food, and I noticed Mia was picking at her salad. It occurred to me that she had been quiet on the bus this morning too.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I guess,” she said. She put down her fork. “Last night I got into this fight with Eddie. Mom was out and I was home with Eddie, and he asked me to empty the dishwasher. But I said it was Dan's turn, and then Eddie said no, it wasn't. And I couldn't believe he didn't believe me. It was so unfair.”

“Did he yell at you?” Emma asked.

Mia shook her head. “No, but he said annoying stuff, like, ‘I expect a better attitude from you, Mia.' I already have to hear that from Mom and Dad. And now there's a third person saying it too? It's too much!”

I let this sink in. Mia almost never complained about Eddie. I guess it was normal they wouldn't get along all the time. But then I thought, what if Mr. Green was, like, telling me to clean my room one minute, and then I'd have to see him in school the next day? That would be so not cool.

Yesterday had been fun and shiny and happy, but now I was starting to have different thoughts. I liked that Mom was dating Jeff. But I didn't like that she was dating Mr. Green.

When Mom got home from work later that day, I asked her, “So, does Jeff need to borrow any more books?”

Mom gave me a kind of funny look, and then she said, “No, Katie, it's just you and me tonight.”

“Cool,” I said, trying not to sound too excited or anything, but honestly I was relieved it was just going to be me and Mom. “So what's for dinner?”

“I thought we could do Pajama Dinner,” Mom answered.

“Yes!” I yelled. That's one of my favorite things. Mom and I put on our pajamas early and eat breakfast for dinner. Yes, it's dorky, but the breakfast almost always includes bacon, and bacon is basically the best food ever. And everything is better when you wear your pajamas. I think everyone should try a Pajama Dinner at least once.

“What's your homework situation?” Mom asked.

“Finished it,” I told her. “I only had social studies and Spanish tonight.”

“Good,” Mom said. “Time for pj's!”

I ran upstairs to get on my pajamas. It helped that a rainstorm had started to whip up outside, so it was already dark, and a little chilly—perfect pajama weather.

Mom and I cooked together. She fried up some bacon, and I made French toast with cinnamon and vanilla, and we also took some leftover potatoes and made hash browns. Yum!

We could hear the rain dancing on the roof as we ate our delicious food in our cozy kitchen, and Mom and I talked about school and her favorite patient, Mrs. Greenberg, who just turned ninety,
and a whole bunch of stuff—except for Jeff. After we cleaned up we watched some TV, and I snuggled up on the couch next to Mom and sighed.

It was a perfect night. And then I thought, what if Jeff was here all the time? Would Mom and I still do Pajama Dinners? That would be weird.

I was starting to feel like there was a tennis match going on in my head. Last night it felt good having Jeff around. Today it felt really good
not
having him around. It was so confusing!

I tried to push those confusing feelings away. Right now, on the couch with Mom, everything felt perfect.

“I wish things could be like this forever,” I said sleepily. Mom squeezed me a little and gently pushed a strand of hair away from my face, but she didn't say anything.

T
he next morning I got on to the bus and sat next to Mia, like I always do. Emma and Alexis live close to the school, so they walk every morning. I'm really glad Mia takes the bus with me, because we can talk and talk for the whole ride.

That morning I had something on my mind.

“So are you still mad at Eddie?” I asked.

Mia shrugged. “No. I was just in a bad mood yesterday, I guess. He's mostly okay. It just stinks sometimes when your parents are divorced, you know? It's hard to figure out everything.”

I nodded. I wasn't in Mia's situation, but I knew how complicated things could get. My own dad suddenly reappeared in my life a little while ago, sending me an e-mail saying that he wanted
to see me again. He has this whole new family with three daughters and everything. I told him I wasn't ready to see him yet, and I'm still not sure if I'm ready.

So the whole time I'd been worrying about Jeff becoming my stepdad and what it would be like to have a stepsister, I've had this whole other situation that was always in the back of my mind. It was a lot to worry about, and it was kind of all happening at once. But at least I had a friend like Mia who understood what I was going through.

George stuck his head over the back of our seat. “Hey, Katie,” he said.

“Hey, George,” I replied.

“So Mrs. Kratzer said we have to pick partners for the social studies project today,” he said. “Want to be mine?”

Next to me, Mia had this big grin on her face. I tried not to blush.

“Well, Mia is usually my partner,” I said.

“That's okay,” Mia said quickly. “I already partnered with someone else.”

“You did?” I asked, surprised.

Mia gave me a look telling me to just go with it. “Yeah, remember? So you can partner with George.”

“Oh, right,” I said, and now I was definitely blushing. “Sure, I'll do it.”

George smiled. “Cool! I have some ideas already.”

Then he disappeared back behind the seat, and Mia turned to me, still grinning.

“Why did you do that?” I hissed.

“Because he so likes you, and you like him,” she whispered. “Why doesn't he just ask you out again already? I mean, after you went to the pep-rally parade together, I thought you'd be, like, going out.”

“The pep-rally parade wasn't a big deal,” I answered. “Anyway, it doesn't matter because Mom says I can't date until I'm a junior in high school.”

“But that's practically forever!” Mia looked horrified.

“It's not so bad,” I told her. “My life is complicated enough without having a boyfriend to worry about.”

“Definitely,” Mia agreed. “Still, you guys make a cute couple.”

I nudged her. “Don't let him hear you!” And then we were both giggling again.

The bus pulled up in front of the school. It may have rained the night before, but the morning was
beautiful, with fluffy white clouds in the bright blue sky. It was the kind of day that just makes you feel happy, you know?

So my morning got off to a good start, and it got even better when math class started, believe it or not. Mr. K. started off by passing out the graded math tests.

“Nice effort on this test, class,” he said. I anxiously waited for him to hand mine to me. I was sure I had done pretty well. Seeing a B on the top of the paper would have made my day.

“Here you are, Katie,” Mr. K. said, handing the paper to me. I couldn't believe the grade on top: 94. I got an A! An A on a math test! I don't think that has happened since I mastered the multiplication tables in third grade.

I almost jumped out of my seat and did a happy dance. Mia looked over at me, and I held up my paper.

I got an A!
I mouthed, and then I saw Callie looking at me. If anybody would understand how much this A in math meant to me, it was Callie. She smiled at me and I smiled back. It's hard for me to stay really mad at her, you know?

I was still feeling superawesome about my A at lunchtime. When Mia, Alexis, and Emma were all
seated, I produced the test and put it on the table with a flourish.

“Check it out,” I said. “I got an A on my math test!”

My friends all cheered for me.

“I should have gone for extra help too,” Mia said. “I studied, but I only got a B.”

“You definitely need to go,” I said. “Mr. Green is great. He really explains things well.”

“So
that's
how you got an A!”

I turned around to see Olivia standing there with her hands on her hips. She must have been listening the whole time.

“You cheated!” she bellowed, loud enough for half the cafeteria to hear her. “Just because your mom is dating Mr. Green, he helps you get good math grades. I should have known!”