Katie and the Cupcake War Read Online Free PDF

me. He had something bright yellow and wiggly in his hand. For a second I thought it might be real, but when I got closer, I saw it was made of rubber. Still, I pretended to be scared.
    â€œOh no! A lizard!” I cried. “Is it slimy?”
    â€œHe’s not slimy. His name is Charles,” Jake said. “Here, feel him.”
    Jake put the rubber lizard in my hand. “He feels nice and smooth,” I said.
    Emma looked at me. “Sorry. Mom had to work the Saturday shift at the library.”
    â€œNo problem,” I said. I slid into my seat and pulled Jake onto my lap. “Jake can help us design our cupcakes. What kind of cupcakes should we make, Jake?”
    â€œLizard cupcakes!” he cried.
    Mia laughed. “Now that’s a winning idea.”
    â€œWe need to get serious, guys,” Alexis said. “We can’t just try to win this fund-raiser. We have to win it big-time .”
    â€œAlexis is right,” Emma agreed. “It would be terrible if the PGC beat us. It could really hurt our business.”
    Alexis flipped open her laptop. “I’ll take notes,”she said. “Katie, what do you know about Callie’s baking skills?”
    â€œShe’s pretty good,” I admitted. “Her mom and my mom are friends, and they’re the ones who taught me and Callie how to bake. I know Callie’s mom will help her if she asks.”
    Alexis looked thoughtful. “I don’t know about Maggie and Bella, but I’m pretty sure Bella doesn’t bake. Vampires don’t like to eat cupcakes, right?”
    â€œI’ve heard Maggie say that her family goes out to restaurants all the time,” Mia added. “So I bet Maggie doesn’t know how to bake either.”
    â€œThat definitely works in our favor,” Alexis said, typing furiously. “We have a whole year of baking experience as a club.”
    â€œHey, don’t we have to register or something?” I remembered.
    â€œI’ll check the school’s website,” Alexis said, typing some more. After a few clicks, she stopped and raised her eyebrows. “Well, this is interesting.”
    I looked over her shoulder. “What?”
    â€œThere’s a list of clubs that have entered already,” Alexis said. “See this one? The BFC: the Best Friends Club. Callie Wilson, Maggie Rodriguez, and Bella Kovacs.”
    â€œThey changed their name?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t get it,” Alexis said, sitting back. “So what are they declaring? That they are now not popular?”
    â€œOh who cares?” I asked, suddenly feeling cranky. “I am so sick of them!”
    Honestly, it felt like another direct blow from Callie. Like she was saying that Maggie and Bella were her best friends and not me. Which was true. But it felt personal. Like she was rubbing it in.
    Alexis ignored my crankiness. “I mean, it makes no sense,” she said. “Aren’t they worried this will hurt their popularity? It seems risky.”
    â€œI don’t know, it’s kind of nice,” Mia said. “When they called themselves the Popular Girls Club, it was obnoxious, right? But there’s nothing obnoxious about being best friends.”
    Unless you dump your old best friend to get new ones, I thought. But I didn’t say it.
    â€œMaybe Callie is trying to make the PGC—I mean, the BFC—more friendly,” Emma suggested.
    â€œWhatever,” I said. “Shouldn’t we start planning our cupcakes?”
    â€œOh, before I forget, is everyone coming to our Labor Day barbecue on Monday?” Emma asked.
    â€œOf course,” Alexis replied.
    â€œMe too,” said Mia.
    I cringed. I totally forgot to ask my mom about it. Every year we have this tradition of going to Callie’s house on Labor Day. But being around Callie was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.
    Mom will just have to understand, I thought. I want to be