Alexis and the Missing Ingredient (3 page)

We took a taxi to the mall, and it was ten thirty by the time we were inside and scoping out Sneakerocity from a hidden perch inside Soapy Chic, which is a fancy soap and bath store, where no boy would ever tread. I was uncomfortable in an itchy funnel-neck sweater of Dylan's and some skinny jeans that were so cropped, I looked like Pippi Longstocking. Dylan and Meredith had assured me I looked “good enough” (thanks a lot), so I was allowed to be with them rather than left on my own at Homeschooling, where I like to play with the colorful math manipulatives.

I moved around Soapy Chic, sniffing bath salts and sampling hand lotions. I felt that if we were going to use their store as a launching pad, we could at least pay some sort of rent by buying one little item or another.

A saleslady materialized at my side. “Hello, dear. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

I smiled. “I'm just looking, so far. Thanks.”

She smiled kindly. “Okay. I know one thing I can point out is our sample area, where we have trial sizes of all our bestselling products. They make great party favors and are lots of fun to bring on sleepovers—a different one for each girl, so everyone can try them!” She pointed toward the area and then moved across the store to straighten some marginally unaligned body creams.

Sleepovers. Party favors. I missed my friends.

I selected four different little hand creams, each $1.99, and put them on the counter.

Suddenly, Dylan called to me, “Alexis! Move out! Now! He's on the loose!”

My heart leaped in my chest, like I was on a real spy mission, but I still needed to pay. Oh, and I didn't give a darn. There was that, too.

“I'll . . . I'll catch up!” I replied.

“Your loss!” Dylan rolled her eyes at me and dashed out of the store with Meredith.

“I'm sure . . . ,” I muttered.

The saleslady wrapped each lotion beautifully and really took her time, which was fine with me, since I had nothing else to do. We talked about how
they merchandise—which is how they display the items—and price reductions, and I learned quite a bit. That kind of info will be handy if the Cupcake Club ever opens a retail store, which is one of my little dreams. Finally, I took my bag and left, promising to visit Nancy, the nice saleslady, soon.

Back out in the mall, I swung my bag and window-shopped, knowing I had Meredith and Dylan to fall back on if I got lonely but not feeling like I urgently needed to find them yet. Mom never really let me walk around the mall by myself . . . well, ever.
Huh,
I thought. Then I found myself outside my favorite store, Big Blue, and as I put my hand on the door to open the big blue double doors, I saw something at the back of the store that caught my eye. It was Mia and Katie!

Relief and happiness flooded me, but then I suddenly felt shy and also a tiny bit mad. Like, why didn't they call me to go to the mall? Of course, I was supposed to be at my grandparents', but still. Then I remembered our PTA cupcake fight, and I got even more shy. I hesitated, even contemplated turning around to flee. But then Katie turned and caught sight of me, and there was no escape.

A
  lexis?” Katie cried.

“What are you doing here?” Mia called, then added, “Great outfit!” (Mia worships Dylan's fashion sense, so this wasn't a surprise comment.)

I took a deep breath and smiled as I walked toward them. “Hey, guys!”

“We thought you were at your grandparents',” said Katie, a look of confusion on her face.

“Oh. Yeah. Well, it got canceled. My grandma is in the hospital, so the visit was postponed.”

“Wait,
what?
Is she okay?” Mia asked, very concerned.

“You should have told us! That's terrible,” said Katie. “What's going to happen? And how's your granddad?”

I filled them in, having forgotten that they'd met my grandparents on a few occasions. Their concern was really touching, and I was surprised they were annoyed I hadn't told them. But then the worst part came.

“So, wait, you've
been here
the past two days?” asked Mia.

“Well . . . yeah. I mean, I didn't have anywhere else to go.” I shrugged and looked away.

Katie frowned. “So what have you been doing?”

I now felt uncomfortable. I cleared my throat. “Uh . . . well. I've been doing homework and Cupcake Club business . . . ,” I offered lamely.

Mia was looking at me carefully. “The whole time?”

“Why didn't you call us?” asked Katie in a quiet voice.

I tried to make light of it. “I was embarrassed I couldn't remember when you guys were going to the city. I'm such a knucklehead!” I thumped myself on the skull to illustrate my point. I wasn't about to mention anything about the PTA cupcake war, either.

Mia and Katie exchanged a quick glance. I gulped and looked away.

“Wow,” said Mia. “I think we should be hurt.”

“Right?” agreed Katie. “We thought we were your best friends!”

“You are!” I said in a rush. “I'm sorry! I just . . . I felt like a loser, and I really couldn't remember your exact plans, so, like I said . . .”

Katie and Mia exchanged a questioning look that I thought was like,
Should we let her off the hook?
But it turned out that wasn't what they were silently asking each other, because they both seemed to reach the same decision and turned back to me with smiles.

“So you'll come to the city with us, then,” said Mia definitively.

Katie nodded. “Totally!”

I could feel a blush pinken my face. “Oh . . . I . . . but . . .”

“No. It's decided. You have absolutely no say in the matter,” said Mia, folding her arms across her chest.

I felt a swirl of emotions inside. If I had been a cupcake right then, I would have been tie-dye flavored—all mixed up. I wanted to go to the city, of course, but I didn't want to intrude, and I felt like a third wheel. And I was honestly a touch annoyed at not being invited in the first place. On the other hand, I had absolutely no plans, and I was dreading
the rest of the weekend alone. I knew it would be a relief to my parents if I had something fun to do. I took a deep breath. “Okay! I'll come! Thanks!”

I borrowed Mia's cell phone to call my mom for permission, and my mom was so happy for me, it seemed I'd made the right decision. After I hung up, Mia and Katie hugged me and squealed, then the three of us jumped up and down a little, and I
knew
I'd made the right decision.

“Okay, we're getting on a one o'clock train,” Mia said.

“And we're bringing lunch on the train, so what can we get for you?” Katie asked.

“And make sure you pack . . .”

“But, wait, don't forget . . .”

And Mia and Katie filled me in on all their fun plans while we set out to find Dylan and Meredith to let them know I'd had a much better offer than stalking boys with them at the mall all day.

As we walked, Mia called her dad to tell him the news, and I held my breath while I listened to her side of the conversation. I was waiting to hear any inkling of my presence being a hassle, because I would have quickly canceled. But it seemed like he was perfectly happy to have me.

My mom called back on Mia's phone to say
my dad would meet me outside the mall in fifteen minutes to bring me home to pack and then to the train station. She said she'd call Dylan to let her know, so I didn't have to keep searching the massive mall for her (a task that would have happily killed an hour for me, back before I'd had this new plan), and she reminded me, with a certain tone, that I wasn't supposed to be walking around the mall by myself in the first place. “But—” I started, and she cut me off with, “I will definitely talk to your sister about this.” Wow, Dylan was totally going to get blamed for this. Somehow this didn't upset me.

Mia e-mailed me a quick list of what I'd need to pack, and then we split up, so they could go meet Mia's mom for a ride home and I could go meet my dad.

I cut through the food court on my way out and spied Dylan with Meredith and the Sneakerocity boy, who actually
was
really cute. I paused and watched them for a minute, and I had to hand it to Dylan. The skateboarder guy was leaning toward her, listening intently to what she was saying and then laughing appreciatively at her comments. Meredith looked happy for Dylan, and Dylan looked ecstatic and kind of charming. I couldn't
help but smile. I guess it does pay to have plans when you are interested in a boy. Social opportunities don't always happen spontaneously, though they just did for me.

Dylan looked up and caught my eye. I hesitated, assuming she'd look away, but I was so happy, I decided to wave and smile.

Dylan smiled too! And she waved back, a hearty wave even, and the cute guy turned, and after asking Dylan a question, he also waved. Meredith made funny gestures behind Dylan's and the guy's backs, like,
Get a load of these two
, and I laughed and waved again, then left, feeling happy for everyone.

Remembering my manners, I stopped at Olde Towne Bakery on the way to the exit and got some pastries and brownies to bring to Mia's dad as a host gift. I was happy I had the Soapy Chic creams for me and the other girls. I tucked my shopping bag into the bakery bag.

My dad was waiting by the curb when I got outside. We hustled home, and I raced around grabbing the things on Mia's list. I hesitated as I tried to decide whether or not to change my un-me and uncomfortable outfit. After all, Mia had said it looked good, and we
were
going to
the city. But Dylan might kill me for taking her clothes, even though she'd insisted I wear them. Hmm. I decided to split the difference and kept the cropped pants but ditched the itchy sweater, replacing it with a long button-down shirt I'd been saving for a special occasion. With little flats and a cardigan, I had to admit, the new outfit looked pretty cute too.

My dad gave me some spending money at the train station, and, of course, I had my own savings, though I didn't know how much I'd be spending. I had never spent any time with Mia's dad, so I didn't know whether or not he'd be the kind of parent who never lets you pay for anything. (Lucky for me, it turned out he was!)

Mrs. Valdes pulled up behind us in her chic Mini Cooper, and Katie and Mia hopped out, dressed in even cuter outfits than before (thank goodness I'd tried a little harder than usual), and while we girls chatted, our parents discussed details and exchanged phone numbers and all that stuff.

I couldn't believe how much Katie and Mia had planned for the trip! They had every minute mapped out. I just hoped I could keep up.

“How do
you
know the city so well?” I asked Katie.

“Oh, I've been there a bunch with my mom over the years. . . .”

“But she's never been with
me
before! I've been telling her about all these places for ages, and I can't wait for her to finally see them. Oh . . . and you, too, of course!” said Mia.

I smiled and pretended I hadn't noticed the slight.
It's okay,
I told myself.
These two have had this plan for weeks, and you've been a part of it for only an hour and a half. Relax.
But I did feel a tiny bit uneasy about my role here. Like the afterthought that I was.

The train pulled into the station, and we squealed again.

“Okay,
mis amores
!” said Mrs. Valdes. “Have a beautiful trip! I know how happy Mia is to have you girls come see her other life!” She gave us all big hugs and kisses, and then my dad grabbed me for a tight squeeze and a kiss on the head.

“Have fun, kiddo,” he said with a wink. “Text me when you get there.”

And we waved and hopped onboard just as the doors began to ding their warning.

The train was pretty empty, so we quickly found three seats together for the ride. Two seats were side by side, facing two others, and without thinking, I
let Mia and Katie sit next to each other and took the seat opposite, illuminating the fact that three is a tricky number.

“Okay, let's review the agenda, girls!” said Mia, pulling out a notebook filled with scribbles and clippings. She flipped to a page and began to read from it.

I pulled out my planner and flipped right to my list of things to do in New York City! “Oh, this is great, because I totally have this list of things to do in NYC, right here in my planner! So . . .”

“Yeah, well . . .” Katie and Mia exchanged an uncomfortable look. Mia spoke again. “See, we've kind of had this trip planned for a while, so . . .”

“What Mia's trying to say is we already have an agenda!” said Katie brightly. “So if your stuff fits in, then we can totally do it. Like, if it's on the way to where we're going, then by all means . . .”