Free It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

next.
    I can’t imagine
    a more perfect job.
    â€”IB
    We couldn’t really talk while we rode, because we had to ride single file in the bike lane. When wefinally got to the Blue Moon, we both started talking as we walked up to the door.
    â€œOkay, just hold on,” Sophie said with a giggle. “We have to be orderly about this. You know, like show-and-tell in first grade. First I’ll share something and you listen. Then you share something and I’ll listen.”
    â€œHey,” I said, crossing my arms and sticking my bottom lip out. “No fair. You get to go first.”
    She laughed and pulled me inside the diner, a wave of cool air greeting us. A waitress walked by, carrying two plates with burgers and fries. The smell made my stomach rumble. “Go ahead and sit anywhere, girls,” the waitress said. “I’ll get you some water right away.”
    The Blue Moon is this funky little retro place where a lot of the middle school and high school kids like to hang out. Black-and-white pictures of our town back in the fifties and sixties hang on the walls. There’s a jukebox in the corner, and the booths are the old style with red vinyl seats.
    As the Beatles song “Yellow Submarine” blared from the jukebox, we slid into a booth, the waitressright behind us with two glasses of water and menus. “Hot out there?” she asked.
    We both nodded as we picked up the glasses and started chugging.
    â€œI’ll be back to take your order,” she said.
    My lips tingled from the cold water. I set my glass down. “Okay. Start.”
    She stuck her finger in the air as she finished draining her glass.
    â€œSophie, how dare you quench your thirst at a time like this. Talk. Now!”
    She started laughing, which meant water spewed out of her mouth and all over the table.
    Then I was laughing. I grabbed some napkins from the silver napkin dispenser and wiped up the mess.
    â€œAh,” she said, once she got her laughter under control, “I missed you, Chickarita.”
    â€œI missed you, too, Sophie Bird. Now start.”
    â€œOkay, first, remember I wrote in my letter to you that camp was not fun? You got my letter, right?” I nodded. “Good. Well, the day after I mailed that, guess what?”
    â€œWhat?” I asked.
    â€œIt got fun. I mean, really fun.” She leaned in like she had to tell me the world’s best secret. “Fun you spell like this: K-Y-L-E.”

Chapter 12
pink champagne cupcakes
SWEET YET SOPHISTICATED, JUST LIKE GRANDMA
    M y mouth flew open. “You met a boy?”
    She nodded. “He’s so cute. And funny. Hilariously funny. You would like him. He’s just like us.”
    â€œHow old is he? Where does he live? Are you, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?”
    â€œWhoa, wait a sec. Okay, let’s see. He’s going intoeighth grade, so one year older than me. He lives in a small town in Washington. It’s close enough so we could visit each other. Maybe. And my boyfriend? How am I supposed to know? We held hands three times and we hugged twice. Oh, and we wrote each other lots of notes. So what do you think? Boyfriend and girlfriend?”
    â€œSounds like you are to me!”
    She clapped her hands together and squealed. “Oh, good, I think so too.” But then the corners of her mouth turned down, and the sparkle from her eyes disappeared. “Still, I can’t stand it that I don’t even know when I’ll see him again.”
    I nodded, like I’d had ten boyfriends and I understood, even though I hadn’t had one and I really didn’t.
    The waitress came back, and we ordered two shakes along with an order of fries to share.
    â€œOkay, your turn,” she said.
    â€œMine comes in three parts. First part. I got fired from my babysitting job at Mrs. Canova’s.”
    Her mouth dropped open. “No way. Are you serious?”
    â€œI left them alone in