Cupcakes Are Forever Read online

  Also by Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk

  The Cupcake Club Series

  Peace, Love, and Cupcakes

  Recipe for Trouble

  Winner Bakes All

  Icing on the Cake

  Baby Cakes

  Royal Icing

  Sugar and Spice

  Sweet Victory

  Bakers on Board

  Vote for Cupcakes!

  Hugs and Sprinkles

  Fashion Academy Series

  Fashion Academy

  Runway Ready

  Designer Drama

  Model Madness

  Fashion Face-Off

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  Copyright © 2017 by Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk

  Cover and internal design © 2017 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Series design by Rose Audette

  Cover illustration © Kristi Valiant

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Berk, Sheryl, author. | Berk, Carrie, illustrator.

  Title: Cupcakes are forever / Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk.

  Description: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, [2017] | Series: The Cupcake Club ; 12 | Summary: The girls of Peace, Love, and Cupcakes are feeling sentimental about the end of elementary school, especially after Principal Fontina asks Kylie to create a PLC junior club to live on at Blakely.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017017032 | (alk. paper)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Clubs--Fiction. | Friendship--Fiction. | Graduation (School)--Fiction. | Schools--Fiction. | Cupcakes--Fiction. | Baking--Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.B45236 Cv 2017 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017032

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1. Hooray for Monday!

  2. PLC Jr.

  3. Mini-Me’s

  4. The Write Stuff

  5. A Cupcake Catastrophe

  6. Big-Top Bake

  7. A Sticky Situation

  8. Special Delivery

  9. A Vote for Cupcakes

  10. If at First You Don’t Succeed

  11. Team Effort

  12. Pomp and Circumstance

  Confetti Circus Cupcakes with Rainbow Swirl Frosting

  Cupcake in a Cupcake

  Carrie’s Tips for Starting Your Own Cupcake Club

  Acknowledgments

  About the Authors

  Back Cover

  To all our loyal PLC fans. Thank you for making this such a sweet journey.

  Kylie Carson jumped out of bed minutes before her alarm rang. How could she sleep when she was so excited to get to school this morning?

  Her mom peeked into her bedroom, surprised to find Kylie already dressed and ready to go. “Well, someone’s up bright and early!”

  “You know what day today is?” Kylie asked her.

  “Let’s see,” her mom replied. “Monday, April 6?”

  “Yes…but something even better than that!”

  “The start of the new season of Cake Boss on TV?”

  Kylie paused to consider. “Nope, that’s next week. Guess again.”

  “The first day you’ll make your bed without me having to ask you?”

  Kylie quickly pulled up her purple comforter and fluffed the pillows. “Nice try. Keep guessing.”

  “I give up,” Mrs. Carson said. “What is today?”

  “Assembly Day!”

  Her mom raised an eyebrow. “Assembly Day? The day you always complain about because it’s—and I quote—sooooo boring?”

  “Well, today’s assembly is different,” Kylie insisted. “First period, Principal Fontina is going to tell the fifth grade all about graduation!”

  “Oh.” Mrs. Carson smiled. “I see.”

  “Can you believe it, Mom? I’m graduating from elementary school six weeks from today!”

  Her mom sighed. “No, I can’t believe it. It seems like just yesterday you were the new kid in fourth grade, and I was dragging you out of bed so you wouldn’t be late for Ms. Shottlan’s class.”

  Kylie sighed. “Oh, yeah. My monster movies presentation. I remember that!”

  “I also remember how nervous you were that you would never make any friends—and look at you now, president of Peace, Love, and Cupcakes.”

  “I guess I have come a long way, haven’t I?” Kylie considered. “And next year is only going to be bigger and better. Jenna, Sadie, Lexi, Delaney, and I have lots of plans for our cupcake club in middle school.”

  “I bet you do,” her mom said. “And I can’t wait to hear all about them—and the details of graduation. Make sure you take lots of notes.”

  “I will,” Kylie said, kissing her mom good-bye and heading to the school bus stop.

  • • •

  When she arrived at Blakely Elementary, her best friends had already saved her a seat in the front row of the auditorium.

  “Kylie, over here!” Lexi waved when she spotted her. “Hurry!”

  Kylie chuckled to herself. She remembered how Lexi used to be so painfully shy. Now she was shouting and practically standing on her seat trying to get Kylie’s attention.

  “Chica, we saved you a place of honor—next to me,” Jenna teased and moved her backpack so Kylie could sit down.

  “Thanks,” Kylie said. “Did I miss anything?”

  “Only Jenna complaining that she’s starving.” Lexi giggled.

  “I only had one blueberry pancake for breakfast,” Jenna explained. “My siblings stole the whole stack before I could have any more.”

  “You have to be quicker,” Sadie advised her. “My two bros never beat me to the pancakes because I’ve mastered the grab-and-gobble technique.” She mimed how she swooped in over their heads and lifted a pancake off the pile. “It’s like a hook shot in basketball.”

  “I don’t play basketball,” Jenna said. “And you haven’t seen Ricky and Manny in action at the breakfast table. Those twins are like vultures.”

  Kylie squirmed in her seat. “I wish the assembly would start already.” She saw that Principal Fontina was fussing with the projection screen. “I mean, what’s she waiting for?”

  “What’s the big rush?” Lexi asked.

  “Nothing,” Kylie said, shrugging. “I’m just excited, that’s all. I mean, middle school is just around the corner. Grad
uation is just around the corner.”

  “I’m not so eager to graduate,” Jenna piped up. “I like it here. I’ve been here since pre-K, six years. Why would I want to leave?”

  “Yeah, I kind of agree,” Sadie said. “I love the basketball court and the bleachers and my gym locker.”

  “That’s ’cause you’ve covered it with New England Patriots stickers,” Jenna said. “Like wallpapered the entire locker.”

  “I can’t help it,” Sadie said. “They’re my favorite football team. Go, Pats!”

  “I’ll miss the art studio,” Lexi reflected. “And of course the kitchen in the Blakely teachers’ lounge where we started PLC. How about you, Kylie? What will you miss?”

  Kylie sighed. “I’d rather not think about it. I don’t want to be stuck in the past.”

  “It’s not being stuck… It’s being nostalgic,” Lexi corrected her. “Or sentimental. I’m going to walk around with my sketchbook and draw every detail of Blakely so I don’t forget it.”

  “Ooh, can you make me a drawing of the cafeteria?” Jenna asked her. “I don’t ever wanna forget cheese fries Fridays. They’re my fave.”

  “You talk like we’ll never be here again, like we’ll never see Blakely,” Kylie pointed out. “Bynder Middle School is only three blocks away, just down the road.”

  “Yeah, but we’ll be sixth graders,” Sadie pointed out. “With lots more homework and responsibility. Who knows if we’ll have any time to come back.”

  “Well, even if we’re not here, Herbie will be,” Kylie said, pointing out the cupcake club’s adviser and resident robotics expert onstage. He was helping Principal Fontina start her PowerPoint presentation on her laptop.

  “Excited, ladies?” a voice asked from the aisle. It was Ms. Shottlan, Kylie’s fourth-grade teacher.

  “Very!” Kylie exclaimed. At last, someone who understood how she was feeling.

  “Graduation is a very special time—a time for endings and beginnings. You might feel a little sad when you start thinking about leaving Blakely, but that’s perfectly normal.”

  Not her too! “I’m not sad,” Kylie said. “Not at all.”

  Ms. Shottlan looked puzzled. “Okay, I’m glad to hear it. I just thought for you especially, Kylie, leaving Blakely would be tough. It’s where you made your best friends and started your whole cupcaking adventure.”

  “Well, the adventure isn’t over,” Kylie said stubbornly. “I don’t get why everyone is so ‘Boo-hoo, I’ll miss Blakely.’”

  “She’s in denial,” Jenna whispered to Ms. Shottlan.

  “I’m not!” Kylie said, overhearing her. “I’m just saying that I’m excited about all the possibilities. There’s so much more I want to do!”

  “Good for you,” Ms. Shottlan said. “But I personally will miss you all dearly.”

  Lexi stood up and gave her teacher a hug. “I’m sorry about the time I threw up on you during my second-grade Picasso oral report,” she apologized.

  “Oh, don’t be silly! You’ve grown up so much since then,” Ms. Shottlan said. “I’m so proud of you. Of all of you.”

  Principal Fontina suddenly bellowed into the microphone. “Attention! Attention, fifth graders, we’re ready to begin.”

  Finally! Kylie sat up tall in her seat and tried to tune out all the chatter around her.

  “Good morning, Blakely students,” Principal Fontina said.

  “Good morning, Principal Fontina!” the audience replied in unison.

  “Today is a very special assembly…as I’m sure you’re all aware.” Herbie hit a button on the computer, and a picture of a graduation cap and diploma popped up on the screen. “We are talking today about graduation—the ceremony as well as what it means for every one of you.”

  “I think I’m gonna cry,” Lexi said, grabbing Kylie’s arm. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. If her BFF was going to sniffle and sob through the entire assembly, she’d never be able to hear Principal Fontina!

  “Graduation will take place exactly six weeks from today,” their principal continued. “It’s a big day for you, one that’s filled with many emotions. I know you have lots of questions.”

  “I wanna know what they’re serving at the graduation reception,” Jenna whispered to her friends. “I heard it’s a brunch buffet.”

  “Let me go through all the details, and then I’ll open the floor up for anything you’d like to ask,” Principal Fontina continued. “We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  Over the next forty-five minutes, she outlined everything that would happen on Graduation Day, from the songs the fifth grade would be singing, to the color of their caps and gowns—blue and gold. The morning ceremony would be about two hours long and would include commencement addresses by two fifth graders. “We will choose the speakers based on an essay contest,” Principal Fontina explained. “You will submit five hundred words on the topic ‘What Blakely means to me.’”

  “OMG, an essay?” Sadie gasped. “I hate writing essays. I’m terrible at them.”

  “I’ll help you,” Lexi assured her. “You just have to plan it out and make sure you have a strong conclusion.”

  “I always say way too much…kind of like how I talk,” Jenna added. “I don’t think five hundred words will be enough.”

  “Starting this week, there will be graduation rehearsal every Wednesday morning,” Principal Fontina said. “We will practice every detail till it’s smooth as silk.”

  “Or smooth as our buttercream frosting,” Lexi whispered.

  “I have hired a special graduation coordinator who will oversee the entire production from start to finish.” Principal Fontina leaned forward at her podium. “Are there any questions?”

  A hand shot up from the corner of the auditorium.

  “Will there be a graduation dance?” It was Meredith Mitchell, Blakely’s resident queen bee. Kylie knew she would definitely not miss Meredith. The rumor was that Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were sending their darling daughter to a posh boarding school next year in Switzerland! Meredith had bullied Kylie from the moment she arrived at Blakely and for no good reason. During a hip-hop club audition, Kylie had accidentally kicked off her sneaker, and it gave Meredith a black eye. Meredith had vowed revenge—and nearly destroyed PLC just when the club was getting started. Thankfully, Ms. Shottlan had stepped in to referee, and things had quieted down between them in fifth grade. But that didn’t mean that Meredith was any less stuck-up or annoying.

  “I mean, most schools have a prom—with music and lights and gorgeous gowns.” Meredith was elaborating. “Oh, and a prom queen with a huge crown!”

  “There will be a dance,” Principal Fontina assured her. “At night in the school gymnasium.”

  Meredith’s hand went up again. “Will there be a dance committee…and someone to head it who will make it the social event of the year?”

  Principal Fontina sighed. “I suppose that would be a good idea. Are you volunteering to chair the committee, Meredith?”

  Meredith smiled wide. “Me? Chair the dance committee? If you insist!”

  Jenna pretended to gag. “Great. Our graduation dance is gonna turn into a Meredith ‘Me, me, me, I love me’ party.”

  Principal Fontina fielded a few more questions, then closed her laptop. “Have a great Monday, and you’re all dismissed…except for Kylie Carson. Please see me in my office immediately.”

  Kylie waited nervously on the bench outside Principal Fontina’s office. What had she done wrong? Had the principal noticed Kylie rolling her eyes during assembly? Or worse, had Ms. Shottlan ratted her out for not being upset about leaving Blakely?

  The door suddenly opened. “Come in, Kylie,” Principal Fontina said. “Take a seat.”

  She pointed to a chair across from her desk. “I suppose you know why I’ve c
alled you here this morning.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kylie said. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

  Principal Fontina raised an eyebrow. “Am I missing something?”

  Kylie bit her lip. “I’m not in trouble? For telling Ms. Shottlan I wasn’t sad?”

  “Sad? Why would you be sad?”

  “Well, everyone seems to be really upset about graduating. I’m just not. I can’t wait to get to middle school!”

  “Well, I commend your enthusiasm,” Principal Fontina said. “But I do hope you’ll miss your old school—and your old principal—just a little.”

  “Of course I will,” Kylie said. “But I choose to look on the bright side…toward the future.”

  “Good.” Principal Fontina smiled. “I’m happy you feel that way. Because I have a task for you that involves just that…the future of your club here at Blakely.”

  Kylie looked confused. “PLC? What about it?”

  “I know it’s become a thriving business for you and your friends, but I’d love to continue a cupcake club here at our school—a Peace, Love, and Cupcakes Jr., so to speak. You can pick the members and train them yourself. And I think a great first assignment would be to bake cupcakes for the graduation reception. Five hundred cupcakes for the students and guests would do it—and a wonderful centerpiece to display them. The new junior members can pitch in, and Herbie can continue supervising them next year.”

  Kylie’s jaw dropped. Five hundred cupcakes was a big order, but that wasn’t the problem. Was Principal Fontina actually telling her to hand over her club to a bunch of inexperienced elementary schoolers? To turn over everything she had worked so hard to create to kids who knew nothing about baking, frosting, and decorating delicious cupcakes?

  “Um, I’m not so sure about that,” she began. “I mean, it takes a very special person to be a member of PLC…”

  Principal Fontina interrupted her. “Which is why I am entrusting you to pick your successors here at Blakely. You, Jenna, Sadie, Lexi, and your friend Delaney in her school… You can each choose someone and take them under your wing.”

  She ushered Kylie out the door of her office. “Have a great Monday!”