Bakers on Board by Sheryl Berk

recalled.
    Kylie had forgotten that part. “Well, we’ll just make sure the knots are supertight and don’t slip,” she said.
    They built a makeshift sail out of some wooden spoons and a baking apron, and Lexi drew a peace sign, heart, and cupcake on it to symbolize PLC.
    â€œHow many cupcakes do you think we can pile on?” Lexi asked.
    Kylie held one in her hand. “There’s only one way to find out.”
    They crammed more than five hundred cupcakes onto the raft. When Kylie checked the clock on the wall, it was nearly four p.m.—an hour before the ship was scheduled to pull out of port.
    â€œWe have just enough time to go get into our pirate outfits for the party,” she said. “Phew! That was a close one.”
    Jenna wiped some dark chocolate from her hands on her apron. “Wait till you see the red silk blouse Mami made me. It’ll go perfect with my eye patch, bandanna, and fake gold tooth.”
    â€œI don’t care what I wear—as long as it’s not another evening gown,” Sadie vowed. “That gown last night weighed a ton! I’m wearing shorts for the rest of the cruise.”
    â€œMeet everyone on the Lido deck at seventeen hundred hours,” Kylie said. “That’s five p.m. in ship-speak.”
    â€œAye, aye, Captain Kylie,” Jenna teased. “I can’t wait till our cupcakes set sail.”
    â€¢ • •
    When the girls arrived on the pool deck, all the guests and crew were dressed for the costume party—with everything from peg legs and fake parrots on their shoulders to high buckle boots and tricornered black hats. There were evil pirates; silly pirates; swashbuckling pirates; pirates with beards and mustaches; pirates with feathered caps and knives in their teeth.
    â€œThis is crazy!” Lexi said. “People really got pirated up!” She had chosen to be a lady buccaneer in a red ruffled skirt, black boots, and a white blouse.
    â€œShiver me timbers, are those my fellow PLCers?” Delaney called, finding them in the crowd. She was dressed in a white puffy shirt and black jeans and wore a red ribbon tied across her forehead.
    â€œArrr!” Jenna growled back at her. Mami’s red silk blouse was the perfect pirate attire, especially when she paired it with a black skirt and an eye patch. She grinned and flashed the girls her fake gold tooth. “Me name’s Mad Medina,” she said. “Queen of the High Seas.”
    â€œThere’s only one ruler of the high seas—and that’s me,” Kylie insisted. She had on a jacket with gold buttons and black boots and carried a sack of “pirate loot” slung over her back.
    â€œWhat’s in there?” Lexi teased her. “Gold doubloons?”
    Kylie dug in the bag and pulled out a prop head, dripping fake blood and guts. “Me latest victim—someone who dared to challenge Cap’n Kylie!”
    â€œEww!” Lexi ducked behind Sadie, whose costume paled in comparison. She was in a simple pair of black shorts and a white tank top, with a bandanna around her hair.
    â€œThat’s awesome!” Delaney said enthusiastically. “How’d ya get the eyeballs to dangle like that?”
    â€œOld horror-movie makeup trick,” Kylie explained. “I’ll show you sometime.”
    Mitchell pushed through all the guests to find them. “We’re ready for you. The crew is carrying the cupcake raft to the pool, and Mr. Warren is super excited to see what you’ve done.”
    â€œGreat!” Kylie said. “Cue the fog and the wind machine.”
    â€œAnd the spooky pirate music,” Delaney reminded him.
    â€œAnything else?” Mitchell seemed a tad annoyed to be taking orders yet again.
    â€œYeah,” Kylie added. “Don’t forget to announce us: ‘the ghost ship Peace, Love, and Cupcakes , the terror of the seas!’”
    Mitchell saluted her.