Vote for Cupcakes! by Sheryl Berk Page A

club agreed they would donate the cost of making the cupcakes to Delaney’s fund-raiser, and Jenna had come up with the two perfect flavors: Roman Ricotta Cheese Cupcakes and Brutus’s Killer Carrot Cupcakes.
    â€œI see you remembered the cheese this time,” Kylie teased her as she unpacked the groceries.
    â€œRicotta and cream cheese, check-check!” Delaney said.
    As the girls began dividing the ingredients into piles, preheating the oven, and firing up the mixers, Olivia looked overwhelmed.
    â€œYou guys are so professional,” she said. “I can’t even boil water.”
    â€œBut can you crack an egg?” Sadie asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” Olivia answered. “I’ve never tried.” Sadie handed her one, and with one quick motion, Olivia cracked it open over the bowl.
    â€œWhoa, you’re a natural!” Sadie said. “And you’re not bad at beating the batter either.”
    Olivia was having a blast, but her favorite part, by far, was delicately packing the cupcakes into the boxes so they didn’t budge an inch. She made sure each box was sealed tight and tied with a pretty pink ribbon.
    â€œI love your attention to detail,” Lexi complimented her. “Usually Jenna just slaps on a bow or puts the cupcakes in backward…”
    â€œDo not,” Jenna bristled.
    â€œDo so!” Lexi said, laughing. “I’m lucky if they’re not upside down.”
    â€œThe only time I put them in upside down was when they were pineapple upside-down cupcakes,” Jenna replied, defending herself. “It made perfect sense.”
    â€œTo you maybe,” Delaney teased her. “To the rest of us they were upside down.”
    To further illustrate her point, Delaney did a cartwheel in the kitchen. “Look at me! I’m an upside-down cupcake!” she joked.
    Olivia laughed. “Are you guys always this much fun?”
    Kylie shook her head. “Nope. We’re usually very serious. Delaney never puts a chocolate mustache on her face. And Jenna never accidentally dumps flour on my head.”
    â€œWait? Is that a dare?” Jenna asked, waving a sifter in the air.
    Kylie pretended to duck. “Kidding! I was kidding! No flour fights—my mom will kill us!”
    After just a few hours, they had twenty dozen cupcakes baked, cooled, decorated, and packed for delivery to Weber Day. It was Lexi’s idea to top them each with a laurel-leaf crown made of green fondant.
    â€œThat’s so Caesar,” Delaney said approvingly.
    She had done a few quick calculations. They needed about $500 to purchase fabric and paints. If they sold cupcakes for $2.50 each, that meant they had to sell two hundred to meet their goal.
    â€œI made you an extra forty—just in case,” Lexi said, putting the finishing touches on the last box.
    â€œYour club is really amazing,” Olivia said. “You’re so lucky to have each other.”
    Delaney noticed that Olivia sounded a little sad—or maybe the word was lonely .
    â€œYou must have tons of friends, Liv,” she said. “I mean, you’re so smart and involved in school stuff.”
    â€œI try to be busy,” Olivia replied. “But I don’t really have a lot of friends. At least not best friends like you guys are for each other. It’s why I wanted to be fifth-grade president—so people would want to be my friend.”
    Delaney was shocked. Olivia was not at all the person she’d thought she was when they first met. She felt bad for desperately wanting to beat her. Instead, Liv was kind, considerate, and a good sport.
    Delaney took Kylie aside and whispered something. Kylie nodded.
    â€œSo, Olivia, what are you doing this weekend?” Delaney asked her.
    â€œHomework, I guess,” she answered. “Why?”
    â€œWell, we have this huge order for a sixteenth birthday party with a Hollywood theme, and the birthday girl