club agreed they would donate the cost of making the cupcakes to Delaneyâs fund-raiser, and Jenna had come up with the two perfect flavors: Roman Ricotta Cheese Cupcakes and Brutusâs Killer Carrot Cupcakes.
âI see you remembered the cheese this time,â Kylie teased her as she unpacked the groceries.
âRicotta and cream cheese, check-check!â Delaney said.
As the girls began dividing the ingredients into piles, preheating the oven, and firing up the mixers, Olivia looked overwhelmed.
âYou guys are so professional,â she said. âI canât even boil water.â
âBut can you crack an egg?â Sadie asked.
âI donât know,â Olivia answered. âIâve never tried.â Sadie handed her one, and with one quick motion, Olivia cracked it open over the bowl.
âWhoa, youâre a natural!â Sadie said. âAnd youâre not bad at beating the batter either.â
Olivia was having a blast, but her favorite part, by far, was delicately packing the cupcakes into the boxes so they didnât budge an inch. She made sure each box was sealed tight and tied with a pretty pink ribbon.
âI love your attention to detail,â Lexi complimented her. âUsually Jenna just slaps on a bow or puts the cupcakes in backwardâ¦â
âDo not,â Jenna bristled.
âDo so!â Lexi said, laughing. âIâm lucky if theyâre not upside down.â
âThe only time I put them in upside down was when they were pineapple upside-down cupcakes,â Jenna replied, defending herself. âIt made perfect sense.â
âTo you maybe,â Delaney teased her. âTo the rest of us they were upside down.â
To further illustrate her point, Delaney did a cartwheel in the kitchen. âLook at me! Iâm an upside-down cupcake!â she joked.
Olivia laughed. âAre you guys always this much fun?â
Kylie shook her head. âNope. Weâre usually very serious. Delaney never puts a chocolate mustache on her face. And Jenna never accidentally dumps flour on my head.â
âWait? Is that a dare?â Jenna asked, waving a sifter in the air.
Kylie pretended to duck. âKidding! I was kidding! No flour fightsâmy mom will kill us!â
After just a few hours, they had twenty dozen cupcakes baked, cooled, decorated, and packed for delivery to Weber Day. It was Lexiâs idea to top them each with a laurel-leaf crown made of green fondant.
âThatâs so Caesar,â 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.
âI made you an extra fortyâjust in case,â Lexi said, putting the finishing touches on the last box.
âYour club is really amazing,â Olivia said. âYouâre so lucky to have each other.â
Delaney noticed that Olivia sounded a little sadâor maybe the word was lonely .
âYou must have tons of friends, Liv,â she said. âI mean, youâre so smart and involved in school stuff.â
âI try to be busy,â Olivia replied. âBut I donât really have a lot of friends. At least not best friends like you guys are for each other. Itâs why I wanted to be fifth-grade presidentâso people would want to be my friend.â
Delaney was shocked. Olivia was not at all the person sheâd 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.
âSo, Olivia, what are you doing this weekend?â Delaney asked her.
âHomework, I guess,â she answered. âWhy?â
âWell, we have this huge order for a sixteenth birthday party with a Hollywood theme, and the birthday girl
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