Sprinkles and Secrets (16 page)

We spend a whole afternoon shopping at Pike Place Market. We watch the men throw the fish over
customers' heads and we eat all kinds of good food. We go to two museums, the Museum of Flight as well as the Science Fiction Museum. The whole time I'm there, I think of Hayden. He'd love it. He should
live
here!

And before I know it, we're driving back, heading toward Willow where school will be starting back up in just a few days.

Isabel is sad to be leaving, I can tell. She stayed happy through most of the trip, wearing the necklace he gave her the whole time, and reaching up to touch it every once in a while, like it made her feel close to him. But now we're heading home, and home is a long, long way from Seattle.

“Maybe he'll come visit you,” I whisper.

“I hope so.”

Isabel is writing stuff down in her little notebook, so I pull out my dream notebook and write:

Dream #13 –
I dream of a happily ever after
for everyone.

When I get home, Mom and Dad are glad to see me. Hayden says, “Good trip, was it?”

“Yes, a most excellent trip, Yoda wannabe. Mom, Dad, we have to take Hayden to the Science Fiction Museum someday. He would love it!”

“Maybe this summer,” Dad says. “I haven't been to Seattle in a long time. It'd be fun to spend some time up there.”

“Oh, and there's this great pie restaurant we have to go to.”
If it stays open that long.
“Maybe I could bring Isabel with us, since she was nice enough to invite me to come with her.”

“I don't see why not,” Mom says.

Oh, wait until I tell Isabel! She'll be over-the-moon happy about the possibility of seeing Jack again.

At school I take Dennis Holt's movie back to him. I feel bad I had it for so long, but I kept forgetting to watch the ending. I finally found time last night. It was good, but sad, like everyone said. I definitely want to read the book now.

I find Dennis at his locker before school starts.

When he turns around, I can't believe what I see. Is this really him?

“Dennis, what . . . what happened?”

“I got contacts. And I finally listened to my mom and got my hair cut. I'm not sure about it. What do you think?”

“I think it looks fantastic.” As soon as I say it, I feel my cheeks getting warm.

“Well, thanks,” he says. “If you like it, then it must be all right.”

We chat for a while, about Christmas and stuff, and then the warning bell rings, telling us it's time to head to class.

“Oh, wait, I almost forgot. I brought your movie back. Thanks for letting me borrow it. It was really good.”

“You're welcome,” he says as he throws the movie into his locker and shuts the door. “Someday I bet I'll be watching you in a movie like that.”

I shrug. “Maybe. We'll see what people have to say about the commercial first.”

“Yeah, when do we get to watch it?” he asks.

“We shot the commercial last week, when I got back from Seattle. They're saying it will air for the first time in a couple of weeks. I'm so nervous!”

“It'll be great,” he says. “That reminds me, I have something for you, too. I'm not sure what you're going to think, but uh, well, I want to give it to you.”

He stops and rummages around in that messy binder of his, and pulls out something in a plastic wrapper. He hands it to me and says, “I hope it's not broken.”

I look at it closely and see it's a chocolate-dipped fortune cookie with sprinkles on the outside. And it isn't broken. It's really pretty. Almost too pretty to eat.

“A fortune cookie?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says. “My way of saying congratulations on the commercial. Open it!”

I take off the plastic wrap, and break the cookie open to read the fortune.

It says: “In the shadowy light of the stronghold everything seemed possible.”—From
Bridge to Terabithia
(Remember—everything is possible!)

Aw. What a
sweet
guy!

“Thanks, Dennis. I love it.” I hand him a piece of the cookie, and we eat as we walk to class. When we get there, he stops just outside the doorway.

“I almost forgot to tell you,” he says. “I got the best camera for Christmas. My mom said a little elf helped her pick it out. Do you know anything about that?”

I try to look shocked. “No! Why would you think that?”

He smiles. “I don't know. Just a guess. Hey, Austen and I are going to enter a photography contest. Grand prize is five hundred bucks! What do you think? You in?”

I laugh. “No, thanks. No more contests for me for a while.”

“Okay, well, maybe you can help me with mine.”

“As long as it doesn't involve dead birds or gutted fish, I'll help you.”

And then, he leans in a little bit. “Sophie, do you know how I said one time I wished you were a boy?”

“Yes.”

“I just want you to know, I think I've changed my mind on that.”

As I walk to my desk I feel my heart beating really
hard. Almost as hard as the moment I found out Mom was taking me to see
Wicked.

Does this mean I like Dennis Holt almost as much as I like musicals?

Oh. My. Gosh.

I think it does!

Chocolate Jam Tarts

2 2/3 cups flour

1 cup butter, chilled

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup ice-cold water

1/2 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 400° Blend flour and butter together using butter knives and/or a pastry blender until butter is marble size. Stir in cocoa. Make a well and add the sugar, baking powder,
egg
yolk, and water. Quickly combine all ingredients. Use hands to knead the dough into a ball, then place on a floured surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness.

Using a butter knife, cut into 3-inch squares. Put a tablespoonful of jam in the center of each square, fold into a triangle, and crimp the edges together.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10
minutes. Cool for 30 minutes and sift powdered sugar over the top of the tarts.

Monster Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon Karo syrup

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

½ cup flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

I cup M&M's

1 cup chocolate chips

With a mixer, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter. Add the eggs, vanilla, and Karo syrup, and mix well. Gradually add in the rolled oats, flour, and baking soda, and mix until well blended. Stir in the M&M's and chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough
for at least 3 hours (can even be overnight) to help cookies mound up better. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°, and use a teaspoon to drop onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake about
12
, minutes, until a light golden brown.

acknowledgments

F
irst and foremost I have to thank all of the kids who wrote to me, letting me know how much they enjoyed the book
It's Raining Cupcakes.
It's because of
you
that I decided to write another book about Isabel and Sophie. I hope you find this book just as sweet!

Deena Lipomi, you helped me come up with the premise, so I'm not sure this book would exist without you! Thanks also to Kate, Emily, and Tina for helping to brainstorm ideas.

Lindsey and Lisa, you thought long and hard on titles, so I have to say thanks for that. Triple Ls, always and forever.

I want to send a big thank-you out to Allie Costa and Amanda Morgan, who answered my questions about commercial auditions and provided valuable feedback on an important part of the book.

Thank you to my editor, Alyson, and all of the fine people at Aladdin who helped bake this book into something that's not only pretty to look at but also delicious to read.

Thanks, as always, to my agent, Sara.

Thank you, Katherine Paterson, for writing
Bridge to Terabithia,
one of the greatest books of all time.

When I needed to brainstorm funny things boys would say, I turned to my husband, Scott, who is an expert at being funny. I like funny boys, and I'm glad I'm married to one.

My kids have to put up with many dinner conversations that start out, “I need some help with . . .” Thanks, boys, for not only putting up with me but also for being the best kids a mom could ask for. I want to say something really mushy, but I'll refrain. You're welcome.

ALSO BY LISA SCHROEDER

It's Raining Cupcakes
I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Far from You
Chasing Brooklyn
The Day Before