Katie Sprinkles and Surprises by Coco Simon

extra yolks.”
    I don’t know if you’ve ever had angel food cake, but it’s made with lots of whipped-up egg whites and no yolks. The cake is perfectly white and also very light and fluffy.
    â€œWe’ve been getting a lot of requests for lighter cupcakes,” Alexis explained. “I guess people want to be able to eat a cupcake without a lot of guilt. I’ve made a chart to show the increase in demand, if you want to see it.”
    Nobody argued with Alexis. When she suggests something, she usually has a million facts to back it up. Plus, it was actually a pretty good idea.
    â€œLet’s do white chocolate frosting,” Emma said. “White chocolate is one of our most-requested flavors. And we can dye the frosting blue, for thespace themed cupcakes. Those can be the angel food cupcakes.”
    I nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll start separating the eggs.”
    Separating eggs takes a steady hand. You have to carefully crack the egg and then gently tip both halves of the shell so that the white pours into the bowl while the yolk stays in the shell. Then you put the yolk into a separate bowl. You have to make sure the yolk doesn’t break, because even if you get a little bit of yolk in the white, it won’t whip up very well.
    Mia helped me with the eggs, and soon they were whipping up nicely in the stand mixer. Alexis was melting white chocolate chips in the microwave for the icing, and Emma was measuring the dry ingredients for the cupcakes.
    â€œSo, did Olivia say anything more about Mr. Green?” Mia asked me.
    I shook my head. “No, and so far it hasn’t been a huge deal. I’m not sure why Olivia isn’t blabbing it all over the school.” It occurred to me that maybe Callie had talked to her, but I wasn’t counting on it. “Maybe she just doesn’t want me to get attention for it. You know how she is. She likes the spotlight for herself.”
    â€œBelieve me, I know,” Mia said as she slowly added the dry ingredients to the mixer.
    Soon the cupcakes were in the oven, and we continued with our usual routine. We snacked on peanut butter and apples while the cupcakes baked and cooled, and then we started frosting them.
    â€œThey smell great,” Emma remarked, holding up an iced cupcake. “And they look pretty nice. Boring but nice.”
    â€œI think they need some flair,” I said, and I went to the pantry to get some rainbow sprinkles. When I came back, I started showering the cupcakes.
    Mia was laughing. “Katie! You can’t put rainbows on everything!”
    â€œWhy not?” I asked.
    We were all laughing when the doorbell rang, and I heard my mom answer it.  Then my friends got strangely quiet, and I looked up from the cupcakes to see Mr. Green standing in the kitchen doorway.
    â€œHi, girls,” he said, with a little wave.
    â€œOh hi, Je—Mr. Green,” I said. It felt too weird to call him Jeff in front of my friends, even though he was in my house.
    Mom stepped into the kitchen. “Jeff just stopped by to pick up a book I’m lending him,” she said.
    â€œAnd then I smelled the cupcakes, so I couldn’t resist seeing what you guys were up to,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
    â€œIt’s fine!” Emma said superquickly. I could tell everyone felt a little awkward.
    Mr. Green eyed the cupcakes on the kitchen table. “You know, if you ever need an official taster, I’m up for the job.”
    â€œYou’d have to fight my brother Matt for that job,” Emma said.
    â€œOr my stepdad, Eddie!” Mia added, and we all laughed. But the word “stepdad” got kind of stuck in my head. Would Jeff be my stepdad one day? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He was just as nice as Eddie, and Mia liked Eddie a lot.
    Alexis put a cupcake on a plate and handed it to him. “But those other testers aren’t here tonight, so you can