Katie's New Recipe Read online

  Sydney Whitman used to be the leader of the BFC (except they used to be called the Popular Girls Club), and she wasn’t always very nice. Thankfully, she moved away during the summer.

  “I kind of agree with Alexis,” I said. “I know those games we play are supposed to get us to bond or whatever. But competition makes me anxious. It’s too much pressure to have fun!”

  “I like it, just as long as I don’t have to do the egg race,” Emma said with a shudder.

  “What’s wrong with the egg race?” Mia asked.

  “Trust us, don’t ask,” Alexis said. She and Emma had gone to a different elementary school than I did (and Mia grew up in Manhattan). They knew a lot about each other that Mia and I still didn’t know, even though it felt like we’d all been friends forever.

  Emma sighed. “Well, maybe we’ll be on the same team.”

  Alexis shook her head. “I swear, they know who we’re all friends with, and they break us up on purpose.”

  I nodded. “Exactly. Bonding, just like I said.”

  “Well, it’s ridiculous,” Alexis retorted. “You can’t force people to bond.”

  “Look on the bright side,” I said. “At least we don’t have to go to class.”

  Alexis just looked at me. “Seriously?”

  That was the wrong thing to say to Alexis. She likes school. And so do I, really, but it’s nice to take a break from writing essays and solving math problems sometimes.

  By the time Mia and I rode the bus home from school, the conversation had moved on from the topic of Spirit Day. Instead, we were talking about our upcoming social studies test.

  “I don’t know how I feel about the industrial revolution,” I said. “I mean, I think it was kind of nice back when everyone made most things by hand.”

  “But way harder,” Mia remarked. “I mean, I like to sew, but if I had to sew all my own clothes, I’d never get anything else done!”

  George popped up from the seat behind us. “I agree with Katie,” he volunteered. “Factories make too much pollution. It might be easier, but it’s destroying the planet.”

  Secretly, I was pleased that George agreed with me. But I responded by teasing him.

  “Hey, you shouldn’t be eavesdropping,” I said.

  “Why? Are you talking about something personal?” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “Like we would do that on a school bus,” Mia said, rolling her eyes. “We don’t talk about anything personal.”

  “Personal?” asked George. “Like, what do you talk about that’s personal?”

  “It’s personal, George!” cried Mia. “That means you don’t talk about it.”

  “Do you talk about me?” he asked with a smile.

  I blushed and Mia rolled her eyes again.

  Remember what I said before? Now the conversation was getting weird. Luckily, the bus pulled up at my stop.

  “See you tomorrow!” I said with a wave, and got off fast.

  My house is only a couple of blocks from the bus stop. Wednesdays are my mom’s day off, so she’s usually home when I get there. But when I turned the corner, I didn’t see her car. I used my key to get inside.

  “Mom?” I called, but there was no answer.

  On the kitchen table was a plate of Mom’s homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies and a note.

  I’ll be back in time for dinner. Please text me when you get home. Love you! Mom

  I didn’t think too much about it. To be honest, this was the first year Mom let me stay home when she went out, and I kind of like it. It means I’m not some little kid anymore. I always text her and she checks in on me, but that’s okay.

  Home! Thanks for the cookies! I texted.

  Enjoy them! Mom texted back.

  She usually tells me to start my homework, but she didn’t this time.

  I ate the cookies and did my homework. I was watching some videos on my laptop when I heard the front door open.

  “Hello!” Mom called out.

  “Hi!” I called back, my eyes glued to the computer screen.

  Mom walked into the kitchen. “Hello,” she said again.

  I looked up and couldn’t believe my eyes. Mom’s curly hair was straight and cut into a bob with long bangs! She carried two big shopping bags from Carrie and Company, this store in the mall that a lot of moms shop at.

  “Whoa!” I exclaimed.

  Mom put down the bags and pointed to her new hair. “Well, Katie, what do you think?”

  “It’s nice,” I said honestly. “But it’s . . . really different. You don’t look like you anymore.”

  Mom laughed. “Well, I’m still me.”

  I nodded to the bags. “What’s all that?”

  “I went shopping with Sara,” she said. “She helped me pick out some new outfits.”

  “You went shopping with Mia’s mom?” I asked in disbelief. Mia’s mom is a shopping kind of mom. My mom has never been a shopping kind of mom. She’ll wear the same stuff over and over until it wears out.

  “I’m lucky I know a professional stylist,” Mom said. “She helped me find the most amazing dress. I can’t wait to show you!”

  My eyes narrowed. “Are you craving garlic by any chance?” I asked.

  Mom looked confused. “No? Why?”

  “Because I saw this old movie once where these aliens invade Earth and take over people, and the only way you can tell who’s an alien and who isn’t is that the aliens love to eat garlic,” I explained. “I need to make sure you’re not an alien. Because you are definitely not acting like the real Sharon Brown.”

  “Very funny,” Mom said drily. “I’m going to try on my new dress. Why don’t you order us a pizza?”

  I looked at her for a second. We usually had pizza on Saturday nights as a treat. Mom is pretty strict about eating healthy foods, and even though we get veggies on our pizza, she still won’t count it as a “healthy” dinner. But pizza during the week was . . . unusual. Still, I didn’t want to point that out.

  “Sure. What do you want on it?” I asked.

  Mom grinned. “Extra garlic!”

  “Not funny,” I shot back at her.

  When I picked up my phone, I didn’t call the pizzeria right away. Instead, I texted Mia.

  Katie: Something is wrong with my mom! She’s got a haircut and now she’s shopping with ur mom! What is wrong with her?

  Mia: LOL! Nothing. Sometimes people like 2 change things up. When my mom got divorced she got a whole new wardrobe. It was still black, but all new.

  Katie: My mom got divorced ages ago. This is just weird.

  Mia: Don’t worry. She’ll get over it.

  Katie: I hope so.

  But I had a strange feeling that whatever was going on with Mom was just the beginning.

  CHAPTER 4

  I Spy

  The rest of the week I made a special effort to keep an eye on Mom, and I noticed a bunch of things. She wore lip gloss every single day. She got up extra early to specially blow-dry her hair, so it would stay straight the whole day. She sang all the time to herself, under her breath. And at night, when I was in my room, I could hear her in her room, talking on the phone and laughing a lot.

  Maybe she’s talking to Grandma Carole, I told myself, but I didn’t quite believe it. I knew her I’m-on-the-phone-with-Grandma-Carole laugh. This laugh was higher, and it lasted longer.

  The whole thing was distracting.

  On Fridays the Cupcake Club always meets during lunch. Today, Alexis was telling us we had booked a big job with the school PTA, but I was barely listening.

  “So we’ll meet next week at Mia’s house,” Alexis said. “Is that okay for everybody?”

  Mia nodded, and Emma said, “Sure,” but I didn’t answer. I absently took a bite out of one of the strawberries-and-cream cupcakes that Emma had baked for Cupcake Friday.

  “Katie? Next Saturday at Mia’s?” Alexis repeated.

  “Oh, sorry, sure,” I replied.

  “Are you okay, Katie?” Mia asked. “
You’re superquiet.”

  “I’m just thinking about my mom, that’s all,” I said.

  Emma looked alarmed. “Oh no! Is she all right?”

  “She went shopping with my mom the other day,” Mia explained. “And she got a new haircut, and Katie’s freaking out about it.”

  “It’s not just that,” I said defensively. “She’s been acting, like, weird and stuff.”

  “People get their hair cut all the time,” Alexis said.

  “Yeah, but this was, like, way different,” I said. It was hard to explain, and suddenly, I didn’t feel like talking about it. “Never mind.”

  Alexis shrugged. “So, anyway, we’re on for a meeting next Saturday. And movie night at my house tonight, right?”

  “I’ll be at my dad’s,” said Mia. Because her parents are divorced, she spends every other weekend in Manhattan with him. I guess I’d be doing that if my dad lived close by, but Mom told me he moved to Washington or something. Anyway, he doesn’t even call me anymore, so it doesn’t matter.

  Emma hugged Mia. “You’ll be there in spirit! But we’ll still miss you.”

  “It’s okay,” Mia said. “Dad and I go out for sushi on Fridays, and I am really in the mood for some spicy tuna.”

  So, that night after dinner, Mom got ready to drop me off at Alexis’s house. She was all dressed up in a black dress and heels, and her hair was supershiny and straight.

  “Are you going somewhere?” I asked her.

  Mom blushed a little. “Just out with some friends. From the office.”

  “Okay.” Why shouldn’t she go out with some friends? She was allowed to get dressed up if she wanted to. I started to feel silly. Mia was probably right—Mom was just trying out a new look. But then I started wondering which friends she was going out with. Her partner was Dr. White, and he was really old. It would be hard to believe he was going out on a Friday night.

  When we got to Alexis’s house, Mom got out of the car.

  “I need to go in and talk to Mrs. Becker for a minute,” she said. “She said she had a question for me about dental implants.”

  Did I mention that my mom is a dentist? Everyone is always asking her about their teeth.

  Alexis answered when we rang the bell, and she raised her eyebrows when she saw my mom.

  “Oh, hi, Mrs. Brown,” she said. Then she almost did a double take. “Wow, you look really nice.”

  “Thank you, Alexis,” my mom said. “Is your mother around?”

  Alexis nodded to the kitchen. “Sure. Come in.”

  I followed my mom inside, and Alexis dragged me into the living room.

  “Oh my gosh! I see what you mean about your mom. Is she going out on a date?” Alexis asked.

  I was pretty shocked. “A date? No! No way. I mean, my mom doesn’t date.”

  Now Alexis looked surprised. “But she’s been single for years, right? It makes sense that she would date.”

  Honestly, I had never thought about my mom dating anyone. I mean, she was my mom.

  “Well, she’s just going out with some friends from the office,” I said.

  “Okay,” Alexis replied, and shrugged her shoulders as if to say Whatever, but by the tone of her voice, I could tell that she didn’t believe it.

  By the end of the night, I wasn’t sure if I believed it, either. When Mom picked me up, she was extra happy and smiley.

  “So, did you have a good time with your friends?” I asked, emphasizing the last word.

  “Wonderful!” Mom answered. If she noticed what I was hinting at, she didn’t let on.

  Then the next morning Mom knocked on my door at seven thirty.

  “I’m going for a run!” she said. “Be back soon!”

  I sat up, rubbing my eyes. She didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go with her! Sure, it was way too early for running. But that didn’t matter. It was the principle of the thing.

  I bolted out of bed. I was about to do something kind of wrong, but I felt like I couldn’t stop myself. I quickly got dressed in sweats, a T-shirt, and sneakers.

  I was going to spy on my mom. It was the only way I was going to find out the truth.

  I waited until I heard the front door close. Then I ran downstairs and peeked out the front door. I waited until Mom jogged around the corner, and then I left the house.

  Following her was pretty easy, because it looked like she was taking our usual route to the park. I stayed a block behind her the whole way.

  When I reached the park, I knew I had to be careful. I ran behind a tree and looked out, hoping to see which path she was taking. I kind of felt like I was in one of those spy movies.

  Mom got to the start of the path that goes around the pond—and then she stopped in front of a guy wearing blue sweats. He looked really happy to see her—and then he kissed her on the cheek!

  Then he said something, and Mom laughed, flipping her hair behind her neck. It almost looked like she was . . . flirting!

  Suddenly, I felt awful, like I was seeing something I wasn’t supposed to see. I never should have spied on my mom. It was a dumb thing to do.

  I quickly turned and ran back home. But with each step, I stopped feeling guilty and grew more and more angry. Was Mom dating that guy? And if she was, why was she keeping it a secret?

  Wait until she gets home, I thought. But then I realized if I confronted Mom, I’d have to admit that I was spying on her, and she wouldn’t like that one bit.

  Frustrated, I ran up to my room, kicked off my sneakers, and crawled back under the covers. I wished I could start the day all over again!

  CHAPTER 5

  Sleepover Drama

  Things were kind of strained between me and Mom after that. I didn’t really talk to her a lot. The funny thing is, Mom didn’t even seem to notice. She kept singing and humming and fixing her hair and applying lip gloss like everything was normal—but it wasn’t!

  I didn’t tell Mia or any of my other friends about the guy I saw with Mom in the park. I’m not exactly sure why I kept it a secret. Mostly, I didn’t feel like talking about it, and I hated that Alexis might be right about Mom dating. But part of me also hoped that maybe if I ignored the whole thing, it would just go away.

  That Friday night, I thought I might be right. When Mom got home from work, she changed into jeans and a normal shirt. Then she came down into the kitchen.

  “I was thinking of making some chicken tacos tonight,” she said. “Want to help?”

  “Sure,” I replied, and the rest of the night was a pretty normal night with Mom. We made dinner, and then we played board games, and then we jogged to the ice-cream place that just opened for the season and got ice-cream cones. I always get mine with rainbow sprinkles.

  The next night, the Cupcake Club was having a sleepover at Mia’s so that we could plan for the PTA dinner. Mom dropped me off at Mia’s at four o’clock, and she was still wearing her jeans and sneakers.

  “Tomorrow I’ll pick you up around ten, so we can go running,” Mom said.

  “Okay,” I said, grinning. “Try not to miss me too much.”

  Mom smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a good book to read.”

  She gave me a kiss, and I headed into Mia’s house. When Mia opened the door, her two little fluffy white dogs ran up to me, yipping and sniffing my shoes.

  “Hi, Tiki! Hi, Milkshake!” I said, leaning down to pet them. Once they were satisfied, they quickly scampered away.

  “You can put your stuff in my room,” Mia said. “Come on!”

  I followed her upstairs. “It’s awfully quiet. Where’s Dan?” Dan was Mia’s stepbrother, and usually you can hear heavy metal music blasting from his room.

  “He said he didn’t want to be in a house with so many girls in it tonight, so he’s sleeping at his friend’s house,” Mia explained. “I don’t know what he’s worried about. We’re not so bad.”

  She pushed open her bedroom door, and I dropped my overnight bag and sleeping bag on the fluffy white carpet. Mia’s roo
m is pretty amazing; the walls are pale turquoise, and she and her stepdad painted the furniture white with black trim. It looks like a fancy fashion boutique or something (whereas my room, on the other hand, is basically a colorful but comfortable mess).

  Then the doorbell rang, and we ran downstairs to greet Alexis and Emma. Mia’s mom and her stepdad, Eddie, came out of the kitchen to say hello.

  “Wow, look at all of you!” Eddie joked. “I’m outnumbered. Maybe Dan had the right idea.”

  I think Eddie is pretty nice. Mia is lucky to have a stepdad like him. I suddenly thought of that guy in the park. Was he my future stepdad? And would he be nice, like Eddie, or mean?

  Eddie gently punched my arm. “Hey, kiddo, I’m making your favorite tonight. Vegetable lasagna!”

  “Oh, great! Thanks, Mr. Valdes,” I said. But I wasn’t exactly feeling hungry.

  “Don’t forget, we need the kitchen later,” Mia said. “We’re going to do a test batch of cupcakes for the PTA dinner.”

  Alexis held up a shopping bag. “We’ve been talking about trying to do chocolate marshmallow cupcakes for a while, so I picked up some ingredients. We might want to make them for a client sometime.”

  “You can put them right into the kitchen, Alexis,” said Mia’s mom. “Mia, please bring your friends’ bags upstairs.”

  Soon we were all in Mia’s room, hanging out. Sometimes when the Cupcake Club gets together, we are all business, making plans and thinking up recipes. But other times we just do normal stuff. Mia wanted to show us this video for a new song, and soon we were dancing around the room like crazy.

  “Isn’t this the best song ever?” Mia shouted over the music.

  “I like it!” Alexis agreed. She was shaking her head back and forth, and her red hair looked like a cloud around her face.

  I started copying Alexis, and it felt pretty good. My weird mood was gone, just like that, and I was glad.

  Then we had Eddie’s vegetable lasagna, which was delicious, and lots of salad and garlic bread. After dinner we helped clean up the kitchen and then got to work on our chocolate marshmallow cupcakes.

  I’m usually the one who comes up with the recipes, and so I had brought some baking tools with me.