Royal Icing by Sheryl Berk Page B

movies don’t scare me, but surprises do.” Delaney was PLC’s comic relief—until she became a big sister a few months ago. But no matter how “serious” and responsible she tried to be, she was always the life of the party with a flair for the dramatic.
    The DVD began to play, and beautiful pink posies appeared on the screen. Then yellow daisies, then white chrysanthemums. There was sweeping music, and the words “My Fair Lady” and a list of names materialized.
    â€œThis doesn’t look like The Blob .” Kylie sighed.
    Lexi leaned in for a closer look. “No! It’s beautiful!”
    Sadie giggled. “But Kylie thinks The Blob is beautiful.”
    â€œYou bet I do,” Kylie grumped.
    â€œIn a red, ooey-gooey kinda way,” Delaney said.
    â€œWatching The Blob always kind of makes me hungry for Jell-O,” Jenna added. “With whipped cream and bananas.”
    â€œGuys! Can we please focus on the movie!” Lexi insisted. “What do you think Juliette’s surprise is? Do you think it has to do with flowers? Maybe we’re doing cupcakes for the New York Botanical Garden!”
    Just then, a figure appeared on-screen. He was a proper English gentleman with a proper English accent. He wore a tweed hat and a trench coat, and was making quite a fuss over the way a girl selling flowers was speaking.
    â€œI think my sister did this musical in tenth grade,” Jenna said. “This guy is gonna teach her how to be a lady.”
    â€œIt’s based on a famous play by George Bernard Shaw called Pygmalion ,” Mrs. Carson explained.
    Kylie wrinkled her nose. “Who would name their play Pig-Mail ? Pigs play in the mud. They don’t deliver mail.”
    Her mom giggled. “ Pygmalion . It has nothing to do with pigs, and it’s a classic. But I’ll let Juliette explain the significance when she gets here.”
    All the girls were enthralled with the movie—all except Kylie. The man on the screen was complaining, “Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” He looked angry and frustrated, and she knew just how he felt.
    Why couldn’t her cupcake club simply watch a monster movie?

By the time their club advisor arrived, they had reached the part in the movie where Eliza Doolittle, the flower girl, and Henry Higgins, the language teacher, were waltzing around his study singing “The Rain in Spain.”
    â€œThis is the best movie I’ve ever seen,” Lexi exclaimed.
    â€œI know!” Delaney chimed in, jumping on the couch and singing along. “Who knew the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain?”
    â€œI’m so glad you feel that way,” Juliette said, taking off her coat. “It’s pretty magical, isn’t it?”
    Kylie rolled her eyes. “I don’t get what’s so great about it. He teaches her how to pronounce her words with some silly rain-plain-Spain tongue twister. Big deal. It’s not like he killed any vampires or zombies!”
    Juliette chuckled. “I don’t think Henry Higgins would make a very good vampire slayer,” she told Kylie. “I suppose Rodney will be relieved to hear that.”
    Kylie wondered why Juliette’s fiancé would even care—aside from the fact that his last name was Higgins too. Mr. Higgins was always swept up in teaching Shakespeare to kids at Blakely Elementary. He was a trained actor, just like Juliette, and he loved catching his audience off guard. He had, after all, planted Juliette’s engagement ring in a cupcake! Maybe he was behind all this. “Does this have to do with your surprise?” she asked Juliette.
    â€œIt does.” Juliette paused the DVD and cleared her throat. “Rodney is going to be playing Henry Higgins in a new revival of Pygmalion in the West End.”
    â€œAwesome!” Delaney cheered. “Can we go see his opening night in the city?