Sprinkles and Secrets (5 page)

He nods. “Where do you want to meet Thursday?” I consider the question for a second. “My brother says Mars is pretty cool.”

“Ha ha, very funny. How about my house?”

So much for a day filled with real happiness.

Chapter 7

B
y the time the bell rings, I get the feeling Isabel would love nothing more than to return to New York City and stay there forever.

“Want to come over?” I ask her as we leave school. The sun is shining, but it's cold. I zip my black down jacket all the way up. “We can listen to
the
Wicked
CD. Bake some cookies or something?”

She slips her arms through her backpack straps as we walk toward the bike rack. “Thanks, Soph, but I better get home. I have lots of homework. I missed two days of school, remember?”

A strange noise comes from above. We look up and see a flock of geese flying across the bright blue sky. A couple of them are honking loudly.

“Flying south for the winter,” I say.

“Wish I could go with them,” Isabel says.

“Oh, Isabel. The stupid, jealous people need to get over it and just be happy for you.” Yes, once again I think of myself when I say this, and secretly cringe. “Try to forget about them, okay?”

She bends down to unlock her bike. “I'm trying, but it's hard. I heard someone whispering to a friend that I think I'm better than everyone else now. Where did she get that?”

She stands up and looks at me, her eyes starting to fill with tears. “You've done nothing wrong,” I tell her. “Nothing! So forget about them and just hang in there. It'll be old news in a couple of days anyway. Hey, you want me to do something shocking
and get caught, so the attention is on me? Toilet paper the principal's house or something?”

She finally smiles. “Thanks for the thought, but no, please don't.”

“Okay, well, if there's anything I can do, let me know.”

“Sophie Bird, you are the best.”

She gives me a quick hug before she gets on her bike and rides away. I look up and think of those geese, flying together in the V formation. They'll stick together and help each other through until they get to their final destination.

Why can't the kids at school be more like those geese?

I pull out the notebook she gave me and decide then and there it'll be a place where I can dream things, big or little, and maybe, just maybe, they'll come true.

Dream #1 –
I dream of a school where
no one is mean to one another.
(In other words, everyone
is as sweet as eupeakes
like my best friends.

When I get home, I find Mom at her sewing machine, working away on something for her Pampered Pooch business. Last year the business really took off and she got so busy, she had to hire a couple of women to help her. Now they also sew doggy clothes in their homes.

It's weird to me how many people believe dogs need clothes. When my mom first started Pampered Pooch a few years ago, Dad and I thought she'd be out of business in six months. Boy were we wrong. Not only do people want their dogs to have clothes, but they want them to have a variety. I mean, do they really think the neighbors are going to say bad things if the dog goes outside wearing the same outfit two days in a row? I guess they do. And thanks to my mom, there are some dogs out there who dress better than I do.

“What are you making?” I ask as I grab a banana from the fruit basket. Daisy begs me with her eyes, telling me she wants a little snack, too. So I take a treat from the special treat container and toss it to her.

“I'm working on bows today,” she says.

I pick up a finished one. It's made out of plaid
fabric in pastel colors. In the center of the bow is a button shaped like a bone.

“You want one?” she asks. “I bet it'd look cute on you.”

I smile. “Uh, no thanks. I'm good. Hey, what about that leather jacket idea I had? I bet it'd be a big seller.”

She takes her scissors and cuts the thread. “I'm still thinking on that. Leather is expensive, so I think it's going to have to be a faux leather of some kind. And besides, dogs like to chew on leather. Can you imagine paying fifty dollars for a jacket and having your dog decide it makes a great chew toy?”

I open a jar of peanut butter and scoop some up with my banana. “I can't imagine paying fifty dollars for anything relating to my dog. I love her, but Mom, that's so ridiculous. Don't people realize there are starving children in Africa? I just think there are a lot more important things to spend money on.”

She stands up. “Careful, honey. You're starting to make me feel bad. Although, if they weren't buying the stuff from me, they'd probably buy it somewhere else.”

“Mom, I'm hungry,” Hayden says as he walks into the kitchen.

I break off part of my banana and hand it to him. “Don't say I never gave you anything.”

He takes a bite. “How come I taste peanut butter?”

“Because bananas and peanut butter are awesome together.” I give him the peanut butter jar. “Here, try it.”

“I'd rather dip it in chocolate. Do we have any of that?”

“Mom, is that okay?” I ask.

“Sure, go ahead.”

I take the chocolate-flavored syrup out of the fridge and pour some in a bowl. I cut up Hayden's banana, put it on a plate, and set it all at the kitchen table.

“There you go. Dude, that's some snack you got there. You could even dip the banana slice in peanut butter
and
chocolate. Then you'd have it all.”

He pulls a banana slice out of the bowl of chocolate with his fingers, and I watch as chocolate drips down his arm and all over his pants.

Mom glares at me as she grabs a towel and starts
cleaning up his gooey mess. “How about giving the kid a fork, Sophie? And maybe not quite so much chocolate next time?”

As I head to the silverware drawer, I notice Mom has gathered photos of me and piled them next to the phone. “Mom, you're not going to send all of these to Mrs. Parks, are you?”

“No, honey. I pulled them out so you could go through them and choose the ones you like the best.”

“So does this mean you and Dad have discussed it?”

“Yes, we have. If this is something you really want to do, we'll support you. I've done some research and talked to some other clients, and Candace Parks is one of the top agents in the business.”

“Are you going to be famous, Sophie?” Hayden asks before he licks the chocolate between his fingers on the hand Mom hasn't washed yet.

“Ha, that's what Isabel said. It's fun to imagine big things happening, I guess.”

Mom goes to the sink to rinse out the chocolatey dish rag. “How is Isabel, anyway?” she asks. “Was everyone happy for her today at school?”

“Not really. Jealous is more like it. Everyone was focused on the prize money and acting like she's rich now or something. Wouldn't that be nice? Then their business wouldn't be in trouble.”

Mom frowns. “Oh no. Sorry to hear that. And what's this about their business being in trouble? Did Isabel tell you that?”

“No, their neighbor, Stan. He let it slip when Lily and I walked over there the other day. Isabel hasn't said a word, and I don't know what to say.”

“I'm thinking if she wants to talk about it with you, she'll bring it up. Maybe just wait and see.”

I grab the jar of peanut butter and a sleeve of crackers and head for my room. “Okay. Thanks, Mom.”

Once I'm in my room, I pull out the notebook Isabel gave me and write down two more dreams.

Dream #2 –
I dream that someday
there are no hungry
children in Africa, or anywhere else.

Dream #3 –
I dream that tomorrow
isabel is back to her
happy self again.

Chapter 8

T
here doesn't seem to be as much drama at school today. This is good. Still, Isabel seems quieter than usual, so I ask her to come over after school, using our upcoming social studies test on ancient Rome as a good reason. Studying together is much more fun than studying alone, I tell her. Mostly I just want to try and cheer her up! She agrees, so we
ride our bikes to my house, then she calls her mom to let her know.

My mom made pumpkin bread, which we slice up and take to my room, along with two mugs of steaming hot cocoa.

“This bread is so good,” I say. I hand her the plate. “Try some!”

Isabel takes a piece. “I love this time of year. Can you believe Thanksgiving is already next week?”

“I know—so many fun things to look forward to. And everyone bakes the yummiest things. I can't wait until Mom and I have our annual Christmas cookie baking day. Is your mom doing anything special with the cupcake shop for the holidays? Besides featuring your fabulous chocolate jam tarts?”

“So far, gingerbread cupcakes and peppermint cupcakes are on the menu, to get everyone in the holiday mood. She's really hoping we'll do a lot of business next month.” She pauses. “I haven't said anything to you, but things aren't going very well. She's not even making enough money to pay the loan bill every month.”

“Oh, Is, I'm sorry. But hopefully things will pick
up next month. So many people have holiday parties, you know?”

While she takes a sip of cocoa, her eyes light up. “Hey, I totally forgot to ask you about Seattle. Can you go?”

“Yes. Just let me know the dates, and I'll get it on our calendar.”

“Okay, I have to check with Mom and Dad and see what they've decided.”

We hear the phone ring, and a minute later, Mom pokes her head in. “Sophie, it's for you. It's Mrs. Parks. Do you want to call her back?”

Isabel looks at me. “Who's Mrs. Parks?”

“My agent,” I say, smiling. “It's so weird saying that.”

“Take it!” Isabel says, pointing toward the door. “Go on, you can't keep your agent waiting. Don't worry about me. I have Julius Caesar to keep me company.”

“Okay, I'll be right back.”

I step into the hallway and Mom hands me the phone. I shut Hayden's door as I walk by, so I won't be interrupted by Mr. Alien Hunter.

“Hi, Mrs. Parks,” I say as I walk into the kitchen. I sit at the kitchen table, and Mom sits across from me.

“Please, Isabel, call me Candace. Mrs. Parks makes me feel old.”

“Okay. Candace.”

“Tell your parents thanks for overnighting the contract along with the photos. I'm going to ask your mom to take you to a professional photographer for some headshots, but for now, these will do. And I have good news.”

I look at Mom and mouth the words “Good news!”

Candace continues. “An ad agency in Portland has put out a call for commercial auditions. It's a big client, and I think it'd be an excellent opportunity for you. The audition is the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. Are you interested?”