Free Trolls Prequel Novel by Jen Malone Page A

about picking an entry or having a gala or…even having a gallery.”
    Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. She’s in her head deeper than I thought. “Rein it in there, sister! We haven’t even
begun,
so you can’t go quitting on me yet.”
    Harper sighs.
    “We have ridiculously awesome options here. We just have to focus our thinking.”
    I grab the pros-and-cons chart and start writing the names of everyone who presented an exhibit. “We’ll go through all the entries in order and discuss the good and the even better parts of each. I’ll bet the decision will become crystal clear just from this.”
    I join Harper on the ground and plop the chart in front of us. I uncap the hot-pink pen I’ve stashed in my hair and put its feathered cap between my teeth.
    “ErkayweshtrartwichCorperrr.”
    Harper wrinkles her nose. “Huh?”
    I open my mouth and let the cap fall into my hand. “Whoops. Sorry. I said, ‘Okay, we start with Cooper.’ ”
    Harper still has a hesitant look on her face.
    I grab the clipboard that still has my rating cards from earlier on it and begin flipping through them.
    “Poppy, all of these cards match.”
    I glance over. “What now?”
    Harper puts her hands on her hips. “You rated every entry you saw ‘twenty thumbs up’!”
    “Well, sure, because I really, really, REALLY liked all of them. So much!”
    Harper sighs, but she can’t keep from grinning.
    I shrug and grin back. “Okay, so let’s get to work. We go in order, starting with breakfast. I mean, with Cooper, who happened to
bring
breakfast.”
    Harper laughs. “You mean dessert!” Then she quickly adds, “Not that I’m complaining. I’d be totally fine starting every morning with Tangerine Fudge Brownies!”
    Poppy nods. “And if you think about it, those French Toast Swirl Danishes with the bacon topping incorporated lots of breakfasty items: French toast, bacon…”
    Just thinking about that Danish makes me chew on the end of the pink pen in my mouth. Whoops! I absentmindedly swapped the cap for the pen, and now my mouth, lips, and tongue are an even hot-pinkier shade than normal.
    Oh, well.
    I shake the pen and test it on a corner of the chart. Aside from a tiny bit of drool still on the tip, it writes just fine.
    “True. You don’t have to sell me,” Harper answers, and at first I think she’s talking about the pen still working, but when I glance up to see her staring off into space, I realize she’s talking about the Danish.
    “Do you mean I don’t have to sell you on Cooper as the gala’s opening exhibit?” I ask. Could it really be as easy as this?
    Harper shakes her head. “As much as I loved, loved, loved that Lemon-Lime Gingerroot…uh, I forgot the end part again.”
    “Boysenberry Popsicle Explosion Muffins,” I finish smoothly.
    “Yes. That,” she says. “Anyway, as much as I enjoyed them, I just wonder if they were exactly right for this.”
    I jump up and grab the tray. Just as Harper opens her mouth to speak again, I slip a bite-sized piece of Root Beer Cheesecake Cupcake inside it. Her eyes get all wide in surprise, then they close in on what I’m guessing is bliss as she chews the gooey treat.
    “Exactly,” I say, watching her expression carefully. “You’re seriously going to tell me that isn’t exactly right?”
    Harper swallows slowly. “Okay, no. Cooper’s pastries are beyond delicious. It’s more that…”
    She trails off, trying to figure how to say what she means.
    “I think…,” she starts again. But she closes her mouth in frustration and drops her head into her hands.
    Okay, I can wait this out, give her space. I doodle flowers along the edges of the chart. She needs to figure out her head here, and I’m perfectly fine giving her all the time she needs to get there. I keep totally quiet.
    Yup, I can wait.
    And wait.
    And wait.
    After a couple minutes of this, it becomes pretty obvious that Harper’s not able to hit on the thing that is bothering her about Cooper’s entry. No