Read Online Alexis Gets Frosted by Coco Simon - Free Book Online

my favorite photo of me when I was little is with Callie,” she said, looking at me sadly.
    â€œKatie, that’s totally okay!” I said brightly, trying to smooth over her still-hurt feelings from her falling out with Callie. (Long story.) “I mean, you can’t just erase your past. It’s what made you who you are today. And she was a big part of your life.”
    She shrugged. “But don’t you think it’s like I’m sucking up to her if I put her in our time capsule? And it’s kind of disloyal to you guys.”
    â€œI don’t mind,” I said. And I was telling the truth. “She’s not that bad on her own. I think she still likes you. Maybe you’ll be friends again one day.” I wanted Katie to feel better.
    â€œDo you think so?” asked Katie hopefully.
    â€œYeah,” I said. “I mean, yes. Your moms are still friends, anyway, right?”
    Katie nodded and looked out the window.
    I saw my mom glance at us in the rearview mirror, and I met her eyes. She made a worried face, like she felt bad for Katie but didn’t want to interfere.
    â€œYou know, Katie, when my mom was little, there was a mean girl in her class named Susan . . .,” I began. And I met my mom’s eyes again, and she grinned.

    At the baking supply shop, Katie was excited and full of ideas. Since I am traditionally the business end and not the creative end of the Cupcake Club, my only goal was to stay within the budget my mom and I had set. But it was fun to watch Katie brainstorm. She can pick up a package of black candy wafers and say, “Roof tiles!” Or black licorice whips and say, “Wrought-iron railings!” It takes me a second, but then I get exactly what she’s talking about and how perfect it will be.
    We’d decided the base, or sidewalk, around the house would be red brick, so Katie suggested we paint matzo with a solution of red food coloring diluted in water to simulate brick. We could use frosting to glue them down. That was pure genius and not expensive, which made me very happy. I wrote “food coloring” and “matzo” on a list I’d started, because they’d be cheaper to get at the huge grocery store on Route 48. Into the basket went the candy wafers and the black licorice whips, though.
    Katie said we’d use royal icing to pipe all the pretty white details around the outside of the doors and windows. The Cupcake Club has its own pastry bag and fittings, so I wrote “confectioners’ sugar” on the grocery list—the main ingredient in makingroyal icing—and we kept looking. Katie picked out a package of something called “isomalt sticks,” which looked like wax glow sticks and were clear in color. We’d melt them and then pour them out to harden into flat sheets, she said, and then trim them to use as window glass. I thought it sounded hard, but Katie assured me it would be one of those final touches that would take the house from normal to amazing. She told me to add vanilla wafer cookies to the grocery list, so we could use them to make the front stairs. (Katie said we’re going to skip doing stairs inside because it’s too much work and not that important. I was relieved. If it’s too much for her, it would be insanely hard for me!)
    It didn’t take us long to find everything we needed. Mom would take us to the grocery store next.
    We were chatting happily as we spun out of the store and right into Callie and Olivia. Ugh. Why do we always seem to be at the mall at the same time as those girls? I’d been having so much fun, I hadn’t given Olivia any thought in almost an hour. My palms were instantly sweaty, like I was gearing up for a confrontation, though I knew I’d avoid talking with her at any expense.
    â€œHey,” said Callie cautiously. We all think shestill likes Katie but thinks she can’t be seen being friends with her