Recipe for Trouble by Sheryl Berk

“You better say you like it.”
    â€œYes! I like her…I mean it !” Jeremy blurted out. Sadie, Jenna, and Kylie grinned.
    â€œWell, it was all Lexi’s idea,” Kylie said.
    Jeremy smiled shyly. “It looks really good.” He took the meatball off the top and ate it. “It’s way better than hot lunch.”
    Jack tried to grab a forkful. “Lucky!” he whined. “I want one! Lexi, how come you made it just for Jeremy?”
    Lexi shrugged. “I thought he would like me…I mean it !”
    â€œHe does like you ,” Kylie whispered in her ear. “Maybe we should rename our club Peace, Love, and Cupids?”
    â€¢ • •
    In drama class the next morning, it was time for Lexi and Jeremy to rehearse the final scene of the play. Lexi was both excited and terrified at the same time. She knew all her lines by heart, but she also knew how the scene ended—with a kiss.
    â€œRomeo walks in and sees Juliet’s not breathing,” Mr. Higgins directed. “He thinks she’s dead and can’t live without her.” He motioned to the floor. “Lexi, play dead.”
    Lexi closed her eyes tight and lay down on a floor mat. Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair. “Um, what do I have to do?”
    â€œJust look miserable,” Mr. Higgins answered. Lexi opened one eye and peeked: Jeremy was doing a pretty good job of that!
    Jeremy took a deep breath and said his line “Oh, my love…” so quietly Lexi could barely hear him.
    â€œWhat? What was that?” Mr. Higgins asked.
    Jeremy gulped and repeated ever so softly, “Oh, my love…”
    â€œLouder!” Mr. Higgins bellowed, waving his arms in the air. He was getting frustrated, and Lexi was worried what he might do to Jeremy if he didn’t speak up.
    â€œThis is a very tragic scene. Like this…” Mr. Higgins instructed. He suddenly grabbed Juliette to demonstrate. “Oh, my love!” he exclaimed, dipping her backward.
    Juliette pretended to swoon and Mr. Higgins continued, “Thus, with a kiss, I die!” Lexi sat up and stared. Were her teachers actually going to kiss ?
    Mr. Higgins planted a peck on Juliette’s cheek. She blushed.
    â€œJust like that,” he told Jeremy. “Can you handle it?”
    Jeremy ran his fingers nervously through his bangs again. “Yeah, I think so.” He gave Lexi a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thanks for the spaghetti cupcake.”
    Lexi sat there positively stunned. She was completely unaware of anything going on around her. All she could hear was her heart beating wildly in her ears. All she could see were Jeremy’s dreamy blue eyes.
    â€œNo, no, no,” Mr. Higgins wrung his hands. “Lexi, you’re supposed to be dead. Not grinning from ear to ear! And, Jeremy, that’s not the line! There are no cupcakes in Romeo and Juliet !”
    Juliette jumped in. “Rodney,” she began sweetly, touching Mr. Higgins’ arm. “It’s okay.” She winked at Lexi. “Besides, maybe there should be cupcakes in Verona.”
    Now it was Mr. Higgins’s turn to blush. “Yes, dear.”
    â€œLet’s take it again from the top!” Juliette announced. And this time Lexi was happy to oblige!

“I’m worried about all these Valentine’s Day orders,” Kylie said. The girls had planned on working the entire weekend to make sure every cupcake was ready by Monday, Valentine’s Day. They arrived at eight o’clock sharp at Kylie’s house Saturday morning, eager to bake.
    â€œMy dad and brothers said they’d help us deliver,” Sadie said, placing a purple candy heart that read Be mine on top of a frosted cupcake.
    â€œIt’s not just that,” Kylie explained. “This is turning out to be our biggest holiday yet. We have over 100 orders here.”
    Jenna did some quick math. “Two hundred thirteen dozen