Vote for Cupcakes! by Sheryl Berk

the United States doesn’t have a copresident.”
    â€œOh,” Olivia said. “I see. You don’t wanna share the job.”
    Delaney realized she might have hurt Olivia’s feelings. “It’s not that…”
    â€œIt is,” Olivia continued. “But it’s a really big job, Delaney, and I’m glad I have someone like you to share it with me.”
    Now it was Delaney’s turn to be confused. “You are?”
    â€œOf course! You care so much about the arts, and I care so much about sports. We’re the perfect team. We’ll make sure it’s fair for everyone.”
    She did have a point. What did Delaney really know about the soccer team needing uniforms or nets? And what did Olivia know about what art or drama supplies were lacking?
    Mr. G found them both in the hall talking. “It’s nice to see our two presidents already conferring,” he said. “I hate to break this up, but Delaney has her play rehearsal after school.”
    With all the stress over the election, Delaney had almost forgotten she was playing Julius Caesar—and the show was less than two weeks away.
    â€œI hope you know all your lines,” Mr. G said. “I’m no Shakespeare, but I worked really hard on the script.”
    Delaney remembered what had made her want to run for president in the first place. “Hey, do you think we could have our first presidential meeting with the school administration tomorrow?” she asked her teacher.
    â€œI don’t see why not,” Mr. G replied. “I’m sure the vice principal and the dean would be delighted to meet the new student officers.”
    She waited till Mr. G was down the hall to tell Olivia her plan. “I need your help,” she said quietly. “We need paint and costumes for our play, and Mr. G says there’s no money left in the school budget. Help me convince the administration to pay for it.”
    Olivia smiled. “I’d be happy to try. But what if they say no?”
    Delaney raised an eyebrow. “Then I have a great backup plan.”
    â€¢ • •
    Vice Principal Ovietto and Dean Retter listened carefully the next morning as Delaney pleaded her case. “Our play looks ridiculous without the right scenery and costumes,” she insisted. “Can’t we just find the money somewhere?”
    Dean Retter sighed. “If it were only that simple,” he said. “We can’t just pull funds out of thin air. They need to come from donations, allocations, fund-raising…”
    â€œI thought you might say that,” Delaney piped up. “So I have a suggestion. We want to hold a bake sale tomorrow to pay for what we need for the play.”
    â€œWe’re calling it ‘Sweets for Caesar,’” Olivia chimed in. “All donations will go to Mr. G’s history-class play.”
    Vice Principal Ovietto looked concerned. “It’s very short notice.”
    â€œShort notice is my specialty,” Delaney insisted. “I’ve made three hundred cupcakes in just one night. Trust me, this is nothing out of the ordinary.”
    â€œAll right,” she said. “If you want to try to raise money for your play, I’m okay with it. Just save me a cupcake.”
    Olivia and Delaney left the vice principal’s office and high-fived each other.
    â€œYes! We are so getting new togas,” Delaney said. “Pretty white ones!”
    â€œHow are you going to make enough cupcakes to sell?” Olivia asked. “You were just making that up about three hundred cupcakes in one night, right?”
    Delaney put an arm around her co–class president. “Liv, I think you need to join my PLC team after school today. We may not have uniforms, but we have aprons.”
    â€¢ • •
    This time, Delaney made sure to write a list of ingredients and check it twice when her mom took her shopping at the supermarket. The