Recipe for Trouble by Sheryl Berk Page B

her head it read, “I’m a disaster. Run as fast as you can!”
    â€œGo ahead, I’ll TiVo the new episode of Dancing with the Stars ,” said Dee. “Spill!”
    Lexi hardly knew where to begin! “Well, first Kylie didn’t like my idea for the back-to-school cupcakes, then Jenna was teasing me about liking Jeremy, then I got the lead in the school play, and I have to tell him I love him in front of the entire universe!”
    â€œIs that all?” Aunt Dee laughed. “Girlfriend and boyfriend trouble! Lexi, honey, you’ve got your hands full!”
    â€œI know! What should I do, Aunt Dee?”
    â€œAbout the boy or the play?”
    â€œBoth. I’m supposed to be Juliet and Jeremy is Romeo. I can’t go onstage in front of a whole auditorium filled with people!”
    â€œ Can’t is not a word in my vocabulary,” Dee replied. “I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. If you asked me a year ago if I could speak Japanese, I would have said, ‘No, I can’t.’ So I took a few courses, and now watashi wa nihon go wo hanashimasu !”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” sighed Lexi.
    â€œIt means I speak Japanese and you play Juliet,” Dee insisted.
    â€œFifth grade stinks,” said Lexi. “And it’s just barely getting started!”
    â€œHoney, fifth grade will be funificent if you just give it a chance. Besides, you’re not going to deprive me of seeing my niece do Shakespeare, are you? I’ll be right there in the front row. Just look for the big pink hat.”
    Lexi giggled. “Thanks, Aunt Dee. You’re pretty amazeriffic.”
    Lexi had to admit she did feel a little better after her aunt’s pep talk. Maybe she was blowing this entire Romeo and Juliet thing way out of proportion. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal. Maybe Jeremy was actually glad she was his Juliet. He did give her a thumbs-up, didn’t he?
    Lexi pulled out her sketchbook and flipped to a page in the middle. There was only one way to tell—and it had a big heart-shaped marshmallow on top.

Lexi inspected the ingredients the girls had gotten for Jeremy’s brownie cupcake. “Are you sure this is the best semisweet chocolate? This cupcake has to be fudgilicious,” she explained.
    â€œFudgi what ?” asked Sadie. “Is that a word?”
    â€œIt’s an Aunt Dee word,” Lexi said. “It means delectably fudgy, like biting into a chocolate dream.”
    Jenna sampled a corner of a chocolate square. “I read that chocolate contains more than 500 flavors, which makes it more complex than any other food.” She offered Lexi a taste.
    â€œI don’t want complex. I want yummy,” Lexi replied. The Belgian chocolate melted in her mouth.
    â€œWell?” asked Jenna. “Yummy enough for Jeremy?”
    â€œLet’s hope so!” Lexi replied. As the girls worked to melt the chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan, Lexi carefully chose the cupcake liners (pink with red hearts) and placed them in the muffin pan.
    â€œHow many walnuts do you want?” asked Sadie, chopping them into tiny pieces. “The recipe calls for a cup.”
    â€œI think too many nuts will overpower the fudge factor,” Kylie answered thoughtfully. “Let’s go with three-quarters of a cup.”
    When she poured the batter in, Lexi saw that it looked dark and glossy. She placed the pan in the oven, set it for exactly twenty minutes, and crossed her fingers. She stared at the oven door.
    â€œWe’ve made brownie cupcakes before,” Jenna assured her. “They’ll be great.”
    â€œThey have to be perfect,” Lexi said, nibbling her nails. “I want Jeremy to think these are the most delicious cupcakes he’s ever tasted.”
    â€œWell, they’re created by PLC, so they will be,” Kylie bragged.
    When the timer dinged, Lexi stuck a