Cupcake

Mom could tell something was wrong the minute she got home. Granted, it wasn’t hard to guess. I had the freezer open and was resting my head on the bag of frozen peas when she walked in.

Probably not the best move, I thought. It reminded me so much of Rhys. With a sigh, I went straight from that to baking—which was one of my worst tells.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she said.

“Nope,” I replied, reaching into different cabinets and pulling things down.

“Since you asked, I had an interesting day, too.”

I stopped everything and gave her a sheepish look.

“Sorry, Mom,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking. How was your day?”

“It’s fine, baby.” She rubbed my back as she passed by. “I remember what it was like to be in high school. There were days—a lot of them—when I didn’t want to talk, either.”

I sent her a grateful nod.

“I’ll be honest, my day was a doozie. One of my kids started eating the macaroni art then promptly threw it up everywhere. Guess who had to clean that up?”

“Ugh, I’m sorry, Mom.”

“And then to make things more fun, throughout the day, different kids started crying for no reason.”

“Must be something in the air,” I mumbled.

“What did you say?”

“Oh.” I gave a shrug. “Well, maybe they had a reason, and you weren’t aware of it.”

“Could be,” she agreed. “I love them, though. Shamika, the little girl you met, drew me a picture and said I made her whole day brighter. That felt good.”

I smiled. “She’s right, you know. This has been the best part of my day by far.”

“Oh hush.” Her eyes moved over the items on the counter. “What are you making?”

“Princess pretzel rods covered in white chocolate. I thought I’d use different colored sprinkles and things to represent the different princesses.”

Her eyes lit up. “That sounds fun. Is this something for your vlog?”

“No, actually.” I wiped my hands on my jeans. “I have a party tonight that I forgot about. One of the girls on Homecoming Court is hosting it.”

“Well, aren’t you popular,” she said. “First, Rhys’s mom’s birthday”—I couldn’t help my wince—“and now, this. When is he coming over again anyway?”

My sigh was way too dramatic, but I couldn’t help it.

“I don’t think he’ll be back, Mom.”

“Ah,” she said, “that’s too bad. He seemed nice.”

She would’ve been so disappointed to know he wasn’t.

Almost as disappointed as I was.

I decided not to burden her with that knowledge and nodded instead.

“I guess he has other things to do,” I said.

She studied me a beat then said, “You know, boys can be confusing. They mess up just like girls do, make bad mistakes. But the good ones realize it and try to fix things.”

I lifted a brow. “I get what you’re saying, Mom. But I don’t see how it applies here.”

“Hey, what do you expect? I’m working on very little info.” She held out her hands. “If I knew the details, my advice would be spot-on.”

Despite my rotten mood, I laughed.

“You do give the best advice,” I said.

“You’re darn right.”

My hands went to the counter as I thought about what I’d heard. “I’m sure I’ll tell you everything. It’s just a little raw right now, you know?”

“I do,” she said. “I’m here if you need to talk.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

“And baby,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“I hope Rhys is one of the good ones.”

It was a vain hope, but I didn’t say so. Secretly, a part of me wanted that, too. Rhys had seemed like such a decent guy; it was hard to believe he was a superficial jerk like so many other people. But the words he’d said still tore at my heart.

Putting everything else out of my mind, I focused on the pretzel rods.

They were one of the easiest desserts to make. Sprinkles, edible pearls, and colored sugar took it up a notch. I went ahead and frosted some of the cupcakes I made yesterday with a princess theme in mind. Even with my inner turmoil, the sweets ended up looking good. My cooking skills didn’t fail me, and for that I was thankful.

At seven o’clock, I rang the doorbell to Lana’s house. Her mother answered and smiled as she led me inside.

“Welcome, Ariel, we’re so glad you could make it,” she said. “If you’ll just leave your shoes by the door, Lana and the other girls are in the living room.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Leavengood.” I did as she asked, slipping off my tennis shoes, staring at my surroundings. “Your house is really nice.”

Her mouth pursed. “I’ve been asking my husband forever to make improvements. But thank you, dear, that’s kind of you to say.”

Lana and the other princesses came over to greet me as I walked in.

“Hey Cupcake,” Bryleigh said with a smile. “I like your pajamas.”

Looking down at myself, I grinned. My nightshirt had little Princess Leia buns and the words Rebel Princess on it. “Thanks, I was feeling the Force.” I gestured to her outfit. “Nice onesie.”

“What do you have there?” Lana asked.

“Just some stuff I made.” I lifted the cover and showed her the treats.

“You didn’t have to bring anything.”

I shrugged. “I always do. It’s no big deal.”

Tessandra reached forward to take a pretzel rod and smiled. “Thank goodness, real food!” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Lana’s mom insisted on veggie platters, fruit salad, and lettuce wraps.”

Bryleigh nodded as she took a cupcake. “We’re all starving.”

“Exaggerate much?” Lana said.

“Well, I’m almost there.”

“Me too,” Tessandra said. She was halfway through her first pretzel rod and was reaching for a second.

“Face it, Lana,” Bryleigh said. “Your mom’s a health nut.”

Lana sniffed. “She wants us to eat right. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Tess just shook her head. “I’m all for healthy eating, but this is ridiculous. It’s movie night for crying out loud! Where’s the popcorn, the candy, the snacks?”

Bryleigh was nearly done with her cupcake, and I looked down at my tray.

“I hope I brought enough for everyone,” I said.

That was actually one of my worst fears as a baker, that I wouldn’t have enough food to go around. But as I looked past the girls in front of me, I saw there wasn’t anyone else behind them. The living room was empty.

“Oh, it’s just us,” Bryleigh said as she polished off her cupcake. “I’m sure this will be more than enough.”

My brow scrunched as I looked at Lana. “But I thought you invited all the girls on the court.”

“She did,” Tess put in. “They just didn’t come.”

“Why not?” I asked.

Lana huffed and rolled her eyes. “Because underclassmen are annoying little brats.”

Bryleigh leaned toward me then added, “Also, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Lana can be a little scary.”

Just a little, I thought.

“We figured they were probably too afraid to come, convinced this was some sort of hazing ritual. Hilarious, right?”

“Yeah.” I forced a laugh like I hadn’t had that same thought go through my head about a dozen times. “Hilarious.”

Lana was apparently done with the chitchat. “Come on, girls,” she said. “It’s a freaking princess party. Are we watching this movie or not?”

Feeling like I was in a dream, I stepped farther inside, hoping for the best. My plan was to check things out and leave if I felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t a crime to leave a party early. Since Bryleigh and Tess were on the brink of starvation, and Lana was Lana, I didn’t think anyone would try to make me stay.

Besides, I loved movies.

Everything would be fine…hopefully.