Emma Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice (8 page)

Jake nodded and wailed even louder.

I sat back against the wall, relief flooding me. And then I started to laugh. I reached out and wiped a streak of blood off Jake's cheek and I put it to my tongue. Yup. Red raspberry sauce. I started to laugh hysterically. What a fool I was!

“You people are freaks,” said Matt in disgust. “You're telling me this kid ate a bunch of those creepy, vampire cupcakes and you thought he was hacked up by a mad man? You both need help. Major help.” He shook his head and stood up. “Mom's going to kill you, Jake, for what you did to the rug.”

“I'm going to throw up,” Jake said. He began to cry.

“Run!” I yelled, and Jake jumped to his feet and, luckily, made it to the bathroom in time.

“I might puke too,” I said to Matt.

“I might puke from the two of you,” he said. “Couple of weirdos.” He climbed the stairs to his room.

“Oh boy,” I said out loud. “Time for a new recipe.”

Gingerly, I lifted the police officer bear from the closet floor with two fingers and took him to the kitchen to wipe away the raspberry blood from his uniform. He looked like he'd been injured in the line of duty, which I suppose, for a toy bear, he had been.

D
inner was late that night, and Jake's cupcake party for the next day was canceled. My mom had had it with him and said it was time to stop playing Mrs. Nice Mom and start playing Mrs. Tough Mom. She had Jake help her clean the rug (not a huge success), then she ran him a bath and sent him to bed without dessert or a bedtime story.

My dad was happy that my mom had finally seen the light and stopped babying Jake, so he was in a jolly mood at dinner. I was somewhat traumatized by the whole experience: the sight of the blood, the idea of an intruder, and my shock at seeing Jake covered in blood.

Matt was a little traumatized too, even though he wouldn't admit it. I know it freaked him out
to see Jake like that, especially since Jake's been driving him so crazy lately. And you'll never believe this, but when I went upstairs after dinner, I saw Matt sitting on the side of Jake's bed, chatting quietly with him. I couldn't stop to eavesdrop—they would have seen me, and Matt would have left—so I just kept walking down the hall to my room. But I would have killed to know what Matt was saying. Whatever it was, I knew for sure that Jake was eating it up.

At school the next day, I told the Cupcakers what had happened last night, and I broke the bad news about Jake's party. Mia and Katie were really disappointed, but Alexis laughed.

“That kid really has some nerve, doesn't he?” she asked admiringly.

I laughed too. “You've got to hand it to him. He gets what he wants.”

“It's not easy being the youngest of four,” Mia protested protectively.

“It's pretty cushy. Trust me,” I said.

“Can we stop by to wish him good luck and bring him his present, anyway?” asked Katie.

I shrugged. “I guess so. That's really nice of you.”

“The poor little guy,” cooed Mia.

“Wait. Stop,” I said, holding my palm out in
front of me. “Don't do the poor-little-guy thing when you see him, because he's been hamming it up, and my mom said we're not helping him by babying him. We're just making him suspicious, like it's a bigger deal than we're telling him. The tonsils thing is just something that needs to be done, and the more businesslike we are about it, the better, which is what my dad has been saying all along.”

“Okaayyy . . . ,” said Mia.

I spied Olivia from across the cafeteria. The suspense was killing me. “Hang on a sec, you guys,” I said, and I rose and crossed the room to meet her.

“Hey!” I said, tapping her on the shoulder, friendly.

“Hey,” she said, glancing up, not as friendly. She turned back to her lunch.

I stood there for a second. I could tell she was hoping I'd walk away, but I wasn't going to. Not without the information I needed. “So what happened yesterday?” I asked.

Olivia shrugged and took a bite of her sloppy joe. “Nothing,” she said, her mouth full.

“I mean, why didn't they end up doing the go-see?” I asked.

Olivia looked at me, as if sizing me up, then she said breezily, “It was canceled.”

I was confused. “But why?”

She looked at me again, like,
Are you joking that you don't know?
But then she said dismissively, “I don't know,” like,
That's all, now you can run along.

I looked at her for an extra second. “Okay,” I said. “Weird. Well, are they rescheduling it?”

Now Olivia was annoyed. “Honestly, I don't know. They were a little unprofessional. It was definitely an amateur go-see, so when they call back, I will be turning them down.” She took another bite of her sandwich and then struck up a conversation with Bella, who was sitting next to her.

Huh.

I walked slowly back to my table, no more enlightened than I'd been on the phone with my mom yesterday. I guess it all worked out for the best, anyway, whatever had happened.

That afternoon, Mia, Katie, and Alexis came over. Jake was at the kitchen table doing his homework, his little police officer bear sitting on the table next to his workbook. He was banned from TV until after the operation, and my mom said she'd rethink his viewing privileges once he had recovered. She admitted we'd all been relying on the television as a babysitter (her fault, she said), and Jake needed
more supervision, more human interaction, and less
SpongeBob
. She felt TV was making him bratty. I had to agree.

Anyway, the girls came in and shyly presented Jake with a wrapped gift box.

“I'm sorry I ate all the cupcakes for the party,” he said, hanging his head.

“Oh, Jake!” said Mia, rushing to his side and giving him a big hug. “I heard all about it! You poor—” She looked up, and I was glaring at her, so she quickly changed course. “Well, that was a bad idea,” she said, “but we forgive you.” She hugged him again and tousled his hair.

“Sounds like you really scared Emma,” said Alexis.

Jake nodded sadly. “I was a bad boy.”

I rolled my eyes. Katie and Mia were ready to sweep him up and take him home, but I knew he was just hamming it up for them. He didn't really feel bad. Alexis caught my eye and winked. “You owe us $12.49 for the ingredients,” said Alexis.

Jake's head snapped up, and he looked at her. “Really?”

“No!” She laughed. “Just kidding!”

Jake grinned. “Because I do have seven dollars. . . .”

“Keep your money, kiddo. What kind of an account do you have it in?” asked Alexis.

“Alexis!” we all cried in unison.

She put up her palms and laughed. “Whoa! Sorry! I was just going to give the kid a little business advice.”

My mom came in from the den where she'd been working and said, “I heard all the laughing, so I had to come see what was going on!”

Despite the fact that we weren't allowed to have a party for Jake, the gathering had a festive air, and when Mom said he could open his present, he was excited. We watched as he slit open the gift wrap (much more controlled than his usual present-tearing frenzy) and graciously read the card before whipping open the box. He was still trying to be on his good behavior around me and my mom, I could see.

“ ‘Dear Jake, good luck! We love you! Love, the Cupcake Club XOXO.' ”

“But the hugs and kisses aren't from me,” I joked.

“Emma!” whispered Mia, hiding a smile.

Jake lifted the lid, and inside was a navy blue T-shirt designed to look like a police officer's uniform. He held it up and yelled, “Look! It's a real police shirt!”

“Look at the back,” instructed Katie, who was excited.

He spun it around and read, “
‘Officer Jake Taylor'
! It's awesome! Thank you!”

Jake stood and put the shirt on over what he was wearing. It was a little bit big, but not too bad, and the smile on his face was truly gratifying. “I love it! Thank you!” He went around and hugged my three friends, who ate it up.

“Wow, Jake, that's a really nice present,” said my mom.

“We thought it would be comfy to lounge around in during your recovery,” said Alexis.

“My recovery from what?” asked Jake.

Alexis's face reddened. “Oh, um, your tonsils?” She looked at me, as if to say,
What? Did I say something wrong?

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Oh, I'm not doing that anymore,” Jake said calmly.

Mia and Katie exchanged looks of confusion, while my mother gathered up the box and said briskly, “Jake, please thank the girls again, and then it's time to finish your homework.”

Mia and Katie stood, both of them saying “Well . . .” at the same time and then laughing.

“Thanks, Emma! Bye, Jake,” said Alexis.

“I'll walk you out,” I said.

“Bye, girls! Thanks!” said my mom.

Outside, my friends were confused. “Wait, so he is or he isn't having the operation?” asked Mia.

“Oh, he's having it,” I said.

“So what was that all about?” asked Alexis.

I exhaled heavily. “I don't know. I think he's just toying with my mom or something. Or maybe he really thinks he can back out. All I can say is, I'll be glad once I'm at school tomorrow morning and this is all behind me.”

But little did I know how the next twenty-four hours would unfold.

Only hours later, Matt, Sam, and I were hunkered down in the TV room with the door closed and the baseball game blaring on the TV, but it still didn't drown out the wails coming from upstairs.

“If that kid's tonsils weren't shot before tonight, they're definitely gone after all that screaming,” said Sam, shaking his head.

I looked over at Matt and realized he was wearing what we call “homework headphones”—the kind you use for noise reduction at car races and stuff. “Nice touch,” I said.

“What?” he said, looking at me blankly.

I jabbed my thumb in Matt's direction and grinned at Sam.

Sam shook his head and laughed. “Yeah, he looks like a total geek, but don't you wish you had some?”

“What?” Matt repeated.

Sam lifted one of the earphones off the side of Matt's head and yelled into Matt's ear. “You can't have it both ways, dude!” Matt pulled away and swatted Sam.

“Either be part of the conversation or don't!” yelled Sam.

I laughed as Matt punched him in the arm.

Suddenly, Jake came racing into the room, wild eyed and crying hysterically. “Hide me, Emmy!” he shrieked. “I'm not going tomorrow!”

Even though we were all sick of the show he'd been putting on and the way my parents had let him get away with so much bad behavior, Matt and Sam and I exchanged uneasy glances. We
did
feel bad for the kid.

I scooped him onto my lap, and he burrowed against my neck, his little police officer bear clutched tightly in his hand. He wrapped his arms around me and held tight. It reminded me of when
he was a little baby and my mom would sometimes let me give him his bottle. He'd snuggle in and fall asleep in my arms. It was pretty cute.