Free Frosting and Friendship by Lisa Schroeder Page A

and see what they say.”
    â€œThank you so much, Lily. You’re the best. How’s the food planning coming along?”
    I take a bite of the pudding. It is delicious. “Mom and I are going to make cake pops. Little cake balls on sticks? Have you seen them?”
    â€œOh, fun! That’s a great idea.”
    â€œSophie loves chocolate-chip cookies, so we’ll probably have some of those too. Don’t worry. My mom and I have it under control. It’s all good.”
    â€œYay!” she squeals. “It’s going to be fabulous! Oh, and I wanted to tell you, I’ve had seven people say they can’t make it. So counting you and me, we’ll have about twenty-five people there. Now all we need is a way to get Sophie to your house.”
    I set the spoon down and lean back in the chair. “Maybe we should talk to Sophie’s mom. You know,tell her about our surprise. They might be planning a special dinner or something for her that night.”
    â€œYou’re probably right,” Isabel says. “Should one of us call her? Or go over there? What do you think?” I start to answer, but Isabel keeps talking. “You know what? I’ll just call her mom right now. I’ll use my mom’s cell phone. That way Sophie won’t recognize the number, and if she answers, I’ll just hang up.”
    â€œGood idea.”
    â€œLet’s talk again tomorrow, okay? I’ll tell you what her mom and I come up with and you can tell me what your parents say about the band.”
    â€œOkay. Bye, Isabel.”
    â€œBye.”
    I take another bite of pudding as I think about the New Pirates playing at the party. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Isabel should have asked me about our band. It’s not right to assume I wouldn’t want to do it.
    Now she’s pushed me into a corner, and I have to figure out how to get myself out.

Chapter 14
strawberry-lime cupcakes
A SPECIAL AND EXCITING DESSERT
    I ’m in my room at my desk doing homework when my mother bursts through the door, a smile as big as the sun on her face.
    â€œGuess what,” she says.
    â€œWhat?”
    She doesn’t answer right away. It’s like she’s trying to figure out if she should drag the surprise out any longer. “Who is your favorite chef on TV?”
    I give her a curious look. “Chef Smiley?”
    She rushes over, takes my hands, and pulls me out of my chair. She’s dressed up in a suit and her long brown hair is pulled back in a bun. She must have had meetings today at work. “Yes! We’re going to see him. Tonight! He’s in Portland this week. The radio station is hosting a class for radio listeners, and I just won two tickets!”
    My mouth drops open. “Mom, are you kidding?”
    â€œNo,” she says, holding up her hand like she’s being sworn into court. “I swear it’s true. We need to get ready right now so we can leave in thirty minutes. It’ll be rush hour soon, and we’ll have to stop for dinner on the way too. So get ready and I’ll see you downstairs.”
    She starts to leave, but I call out, “Mom. Wait! My bandmates are coming over tonight. I can’t go. I promised them we’d finish our song tonight.”
    â€œLily, this is the chance of a lifetime. Call them and explain. They’ll understand. Now, please hurry. I don’t want to be late.”
    She doesn’t give me time to protest any further. Her mind is made up. We’re going. And I admit, itsounds fun, but how can I let Abigail and Zola down again? I wish she’d won four tickets. I’d invite the two of them to go with us.
    I get my phone and call Abigail, hoping I can figure out how to break the news to her gently. When she answers, she doesn’t even say hello.
    â€œIf you’re going to cancel practice tonight,” she says, “I might have to take you to the zoo and feed you to