The Cupcake Diaries Collection: Katie and the Cupcake Cure; Mia in the Mix; Emma on Thin Icing; Alexis and the Perfect Recipe (24 page)

Sydney, Maggie, Bella, Callie.
That was one girl too many. But which girl would I leave out? I liked Callie, so she could stay. Sydney would be furious if I left her out. That left Maggie or Bella, and I didn’t want to hurt either of their feelings. They’d always been nice to me.

And then, how would Katie and Alexis feel if I didn’t even offer them the tickets? Maybe they didn’t ask because they just assumed they were going. . . .

Frustrated, I closed the sketchbook. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Maybe the decision would come to me in a dream. . . .

It didn’t. I still hadn’t made any decisions by the time the Cupcake Club came over the next day after school. Katie brought the ingredients with her, and I was really excited to show everyone what I had found at Cake Sensations.

“See this glittery sugar? It’s cinnamon flavored,” I said. “I think it will look so pretty on the applesauce cupcakes, and it matches the red display.”

“It’s perfect!” Emma agreed.

“And these are little pieces of candied ginger.” I picked up one of the little orange jewels. “I thought they’d be good for the chocolate spice cupcakes, since there’s ginger inside.”

“That’s going to look really cool,” Alexis said. “Hey, can I crack the eggs this time?”

“The eggs are all yours,” Katie said, handing her the carton.

But before we started baking, Mom came into the kitchen holding some papers in her hand.

“Hi, girls,” she said. “I thought I’d show you where the cupcake table’s going to be set up on Sunday.”

She spread out the papers on the table. They showed a floorplan of the banquet hall.

“See, there’s the runway,” she said. “And these are the seats. And the refreshments will be over here.”

“Where does everyone check in?” Alexis asked.

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“You know, like where they turn in their tickets and get their seat assignment,” she replied.

Mom turned pale. “Oh, no! I didn’t think of that.”

Alexis pointed to the layout. “I think right here’s the perfect spot for it. I’m sure the banquet hall can set up one more table for you.”

Mom hugged Alexis. “You are a genius! Mia said you’d be willing to help out during the show. Would you work the check-in table for me?”

Alexis looked thrilled. “I would love to! That would be fun.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Mom said. She quickly picked up the papers. “I need to go call the banquet hall right now.”

“I wish I was going,” Emma said after Mom left.

“I’ll text you photos, I promise,” I told her.

“Stupid game,” Emma muttered. That reminded me about Dan. But just then Katie leaned over the counter.

“I was meaning to ask you,” Katie said. “Can I stay and watch the show after we set up the cupcakes?”

“Um, I just need to find out if Mom is going to give me tickets,” I lied.

Katie shrugged. “Cool. It sounds like fun, but as long as the cupcakes are perfect, I’ll be happy.”

My mind was racing. Alexis didn’t need a ticket. I really needed to give Katie one. That left two.
Katie, Callie, Sydney?
Way awkward.

Katie measured the flour and dumped it into the bowl.

“Okay, now we need a teaspoon of powdered ginger and two tablespoons of cocoa powder,” she said. “And then we need to mix them up.”

Emma added the spices, and Katie started
stirring the ingredients with a whisk. She did a groovy dance. “Oh yeah. Mix it up, mix it up,” she sang.

Then it hit me.
Mix it up.
When you mix the wrong ingredients together, the result can be a disaster. But when you mix the right ingredients together, everything comes out delicious.

Suddenly everything was clear.

I knew exactly who to give the three tickets to.

N
inety-five, ninety-six,” Alexis counted, placing the last cupcake on top of the display.

Katie, Alexis, and I took a step back and admired our work. It had taken all of us (plus Emma) all day and part of the night on Saturday to make all ninety-six cupcakes. They looked beautiful. And the displays Emma and her dad made were really cool, just like I imagined them. The two red towers were simple, but they were the perfect accent for the colorful tablecloths Mom had chosen for the refreshment tables.

“Let me get a picture for Emma,” I said, taking a quick shot with my phone and sending it to her.

The displays are perfect! U r the best!

Thanks!
Emma texted back.
Miss u guys! I’ll text you the pictures on this end too!

Katie started gathering up the empty cupcake carriers.

“I’ll help you,” Alexis offered.

“Cool.” Katie nodded to me. “See you later!”

It was just two hours before the fashion show, and things were getting pretty crazy in the banquet hall. The DJ was setting up his equipment in the back corner, and Mom was on the runway talking to a guy about the lights. She climbed down when she noticed that we had finished the display.

“Wow, Mia, that’s fabulous,” Mom said. “These look delicious.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Listen, the models are starting to arrive. Can you start helping them get dressed? I’ll be back there in a minute.” She handed me a clipboard with Alexis’s charts on it.

“Sure, Mom,” I said. I’ve been backstage with Mom at fashion shows since I can remember, but this was the first time she was actually letting me help. I didn’t want to let her down.

I headed to the curtain behind the runway. It separated the banquet hall into two spaces—the
show area and the backstage area. The models would be getting changed in the room behind the curtain.

Thankfully, the charts made things pretty easy. As soon as I walked backstage, a model with long, glossy black hair walked up to me.

“Is Sara Vélaz here?” she asked.

“I’m her daughter, Mia,” I said in my most professional voice. “Can you please give me your name?”

“It’s Lori,” the model told me.

I found her name on the chart and started walking to the racks of clothes. Each model had a picture of the outfit she’d be wearing under her name on a wall. And each model had a rack with all the outfits hung on them. I found “Lori” on the card taped over one rack. “Here are the clothes you’ll be wearing,” I told her. “The red dress is your first outfit. Please head to the makeup room first.”

I pointed toward the large ladies’ room, where Mom had the makeup artists set up.

“Thanks, Mia,” Lori said. “You know, you’re a lot like your mom.”

The next two hours went by really fast. The models started coming in, and Mom and I helped each one get ready. There were all kinds of problems: One shirt was too big, one skirt was too short,
one model had on the wrong earrings—stuff like that.

In the middle of it all Ray, the DJ, came backstage.

“Sara, one of the outlets just lost power,” he said.

Mom looked at her watch. “Oh, great. The show starts in twenty minutes.” She turned to me. “Mia, can you go to the main office and ask for Ernie? He should be able to help with this.”

“Sure, Mom,” I told her. I ducked out a nearby door that led into a hallway that bypassed the main room because I knew it would be faster and less crowded. I could see the check-in table up ahead. Alexis had her back to me and was talking with three guests.

Then I heard Sydney’s loud voice. “But I’m
sure
Mia put us on the list.”

My heart pounding, I ducked behind a big pillar and listened to what was going on.

“Sydney, I’m sorry, but your name isn’t on this list,” Alexis said. “Or Maggie or Bella, either.”

“That’s impossible. Mia told us all about the show,” Sydney said. She sounded really mad. “And where is Callie, anyway?”

“There’s nothing I can do for you. The show is sold out,” Alexis explained patiently.

“Of course you can do something. You can go find Mia for me,” Sydney insisted.

“Give me a second,” Alexis replied.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I quickly shut it off. Like it or not, I would have to face the music. I stepped out from behind the pillar and walked up to the check-in table.

Sydney was done up to the max, wearing a black dress with a bubble skirt and black heels. She had her hair swept up on her head and had tons of perfume on.

“There she is!” Sydney said, pointing at me.

“Mia? I just tried to reach your phone,” Alexis said, looking confused. “Anyway, Sydney and Maggie and Bella keep saying you put them on the list.” Alexis looked at me.

“I know,” I said. I felt awful. “Listen, I’m really sorry about this, but I just didn’t have enough tickets for everyone who wanted to come,” I said weakly.

Sydney just stared at me.

“But you promised we could come!” Maggie wailed.

“I didn’t promise anything,” I replied. “But I should have told you about the tickets earlier. I’m so sorry. I really am.”

Then I had an idea. “Hey, why don’t you come backstage and help out? I can ask my mom if it’s all right. It’s a really cool way to see the show.”

Sydney looked horrified. “We came to watch the show, not
work
it,” she said, with a disgusted look in Alexis’s direction. “Mia, I don’t know how you could do this to a friend. We were seriously considering you for a membership in the PGC, but we’re going to have to reevaluate your membership status now.”

“Well, my friends don’t
evaluate
one another,” I shot back.

Sydney stormed off without another word, with Maggie and Bella following behind.

I turned to Alexis, embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it, everyone makes mistakes . . . even me!” Alexis said. She was trying really hard not to laugh. “Hey, shouldn’t you be backstage helping your mom?”

I slapped my hand on my forehead. “Oh, no! I’ve got to find Ernie!”

Luckily, Ernie was in his office, and he quickly followed me backstage. I helped Mom with the rest of the models, and a few minutes later Ernie came back.

“You’re all set, Ms. Vélaz,” he told Mom.

Mom turned to me. “Deep breath,” she said, and we both took a deep breath at once. “Okay. I’m on.”

Mom stepped out onto the stage and the noisy crowd quieted down. I walked to the end of the curtain and quietly slipped through so I could watch.

“Thank you so much for coming, everyone!” she said. “I’m Sara Vélaz, and today you’re going to see some of the latest fashions from top designers. We’ve carefully crafted the looks today to show you how you can add some key pieces to spice up your wardrobe.”

Everyone clapped.

“And after the show, please stay for a little sweetness, courtesy of the Cupcake Club,” Mom said, pointing to the refreshments table.

I realized then that my mom could have hired anyone to cater her first big event, but she chose us. I guess it was her way of including my latest hobby and new friends. Mom was really trying to help everything fit in together.

I looked out to the side and saw Eddie standing in the back. He looked really proud. He was taking pictures and videos of everything. Which reminded me . . . I turned on my phone. Sure enough, there was a picture from Emma of her brother Jake
holding the sign I made: GO, DAN GO! And there was a text from Dan:

Thx sis. Save me a cupcake.

I couldn’t help but smile at being called “sis.”

I looked out at the front row and gave a little wave to my three friends sitting there: Katie, Callie, and Ava. My best friend from the Cupcake Club, my best friend from the PGC, and my best friend from New York. The perfect mix.

I still haven’t totally figured out how to mix
everything
from my old life and my new life together, but that’s okay. This is good enough for now, and so far, the results are pretty sweet.

If you’re not an expert baker like Mia, that’s okay—here is a quick and easy-to-follow recipe that’s just as sweet! (Ask an adult for assistance before you start baking since you might need help with the oven or mixer.)