Mia's Baker's Dozen by Coco Simon Page A

out.
    Mom sat down on the nearest chair. She thought for a minute.
    â€œYou’re right about that,” she said finally. “But he’s still your parent. He cares about you very much. And he takes an active role with you. He helps you with your homework and projects. So it’s important for him to meet your teachers and know what’s going on in your school.”
    I nodded grudgingly, feeling a little guilty. After all, Eddie did drive me all over the place, and he made me lunch and dinner and snacks. But I was still mad. “Fine. But Dad does those things too. He should be there.”
    â€œI promise I’ll talk to him,” Mom said. “And if he can’t go, I’ll make sure he gets all the information, okay?”
    â€œOkay,” I mumbled. Then I went up to my room. I decided to do some sketching. Sketching always relaxes me and makes me feel better when I’m in a bad mood.
    I started to sketch some Valentine’s Day outfits. First I drew a really girlie pink dress with a short, full skirt that I knew Emma would love. Then I drew adenim skirt paired with a loose sweater, with a big bold red heart embroidered on the front. It looked very “casual cool.” Out of the blue I wondered how I would write “casual cool” in Spanish. I drew a complete blank. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I found myself getting more and more upset. Great , I thought. Now even my sketch time is ruined by Spanish. Meanwhile, I had forgotten all about giving Mom the note from Señora Delgado.
    The next morning I woke up early, and Mom drove me to Alexis’s house. She has the neatest, cleanest kitchen of all of us. We had to get the cupcakes to the bookstore by one o’clock, so we got to work right away.
    Katie and I worked on the cinnamon-frosted cupcakes, and Emma and Alexis worked on the pretty pink cupcakes. Emma blasted some music, and we didn’t talk much while we worked. Katie calls it “being in the baking zone.”
    When we were done, we had four dozen perfect, beautiful cupcakes packed neatly into boxes. I had designed labels for us on the computer that said THE CUPCAKE CLUB , and there was a picture of a cupcake on each one. I carefully stuck a label on each box, and we stepped back to admire our hard work.
    â€œPerfect!”Alexis said with satisfaction.
    I looked at the clock, and it was ten minutes to noon. “Mom will be here soon. She’s going to take Katie and me to lunch, and then we’re going to drop off the cupcakes and then see the movie. Are you sure you guys don’t want to go?”
    â€œI’ve got three dog walking clients today,” Emma said. “Otherwise I would.”
    â€œAnd we’re all going to my grandmother’s house today,” Alexis said. “But text me when the movie’s done! I’m dying to see it.”
    â€œEven though I already know how it ends, I still can’t wait,” Katie said. She looked really excited.
    Then Alexis handed me an envelope. “I printed out some business cards on my computer using your label design,” she said. “See if you can leave them out on the cupcake table. That way if anyone likes the cupcakes and wants to order some, they know how to reach us.”
    My mom then came in, and she helped us carry the boxes to the car. We have an organizer in our trunk now, so the boxes don’t slide around. The bookstore, Harriet’s Hollow, is in downtown Maple Grove. There are a bunch of other stores on Main Street besides Harriet’s. There’s also a little café where they have the most awesome tuna melts. That’swhere we went for lunch.
    â€œMmm, melty!” Katie said when her sandwich came, and we all laughed.
    Then it was time to deliver the cupcakes to Harriet’s. The owner of the store is named Harriet. She’s tall and has long brown hair that she always piles on her head, and she has a very global sense