Read It's Raining Cupcakes for Free Online Page A

children who displays such a lack of judgment. Do you know an accident can happen just like that?” She snapped her fingers. “I’m going to get my checkbook and pay you for the past five days. Please, stay here and watch them for another minute. And then your services will no longer be needed here.”
    After she left, I went over to the pool. I wantedto cry, but I didn’t want them to see me like that. I didn’t want her to see me like that.
    â€œBye, boys. I have to go now.”
    â€œYou throw it away now?” Lucas asked.
    It made me smile. He asked like it was no big deal. Like it wouldn’t matter to them one bit. Maybe they didn’t even know what it meant.
    â€œNo. I’m the one being thrown away. I’ll see you guys later. Be good for your mommy, okay?”
    Sue came back and handed me my check. I apologized again, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her eyes said it all.

    I knew I had to tell my parents. Not just tell them I wasn’t working for Mrs. Canova anymore, but tell them why . If I made something up, like I quit or something, word would get back to them that I’d lied. Mom knew a lot of people in Willow, and she’d eventually find out, whether I told her or not.
    Still, I didn’t go home right away. I rode my bike to the library, the hot air stinging my eyes, making them water.
    Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the hot air.
    For the first time in a long time, I didn’t go to the travel section when I got to the library. I went to the cookbook section instead. It was time to come up with an idea. No more excuses.
    â€œIsabel?” said a familiar voice as I was sitting at a table, looking at a lemon torte recipe.
    I looked up.
    â€œMr. Nelson,” I said, louder than I should have. “What are you doing here?”
    Okay, stupid question. He was holding a stack of books. “Oh, you know, summer vacation is for reading, right?”
    â€œRight.” I smiled.
    It was weird seeing my social studies teacher in shorts and a T-shirt. He looked different. Not like a teacher at all. More like an ordinary guy.
    â€œCookbooks?” he asked. “Taking up a new hobby?”
    I shut the book. “I guess. I’m entering a baking contest. The finalists get to travel to New York City for a bake-off. Figured it might be my only chance to fly on an airplane and go somewhere interesting.”
    He sat down across from me. “Sounds like fun. My wife and I had a layover there on our way to Germanylast summer. Stayed a couple of days so we could take in a Broadway play. It’s an amazing city. All the people there? I don’t think there’s any place like it.” His eyes smiled at me. “You’d probably love it there, Isabel. Seems to me you’re quite the people person.”
    I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “What part of Germany did you go to?” I asked as I picked at an annoying hangnail on my thumb.
    â€œFrankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Heidelberg. We went all over. It’s a beautiful country. Didn’t care for the food much. But everything else was fantastic.”
    â€œWhere are you going this summer?” I asked.
    He leaned back in his chair, tipping it off the floor a little. It was funny to see an adult do that. I always got in trouble for it at home. “We’re going to Washington, D.C., in a couple of weeks.”
    I sighed. “I’d love to go there. I’d see the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, and the National Museum of Natural History for sure.”
    He laughed. “Yep. We’ll see all of those.”
    â€œYou’re so lucky. Sometimes I feel like I’ll be stuck in Willow forever.”
    Mr. Nelson tilted his head a little and looked atme kind of funny. “Is everything all right at home, Isabel? Your parents doing okay?”
    â€œYeah. Just busy. We’re getting ready to open a cupcake shop. You know