definitely make a statement,â Fitzy said. âFashion and frosting. How can you go wrong?â
âTrue,â Laura said. âBut Peace, Love, and Cupcakes did listen to what we asked for and gave us exactly what we wanted.â
She turned to Cece. âIâm so sorry, but weâre going to go with them this time around.â
âNo!â Cece stomped her foot and pouted. âItâs all Chloeâs fault. This silly cupcake gown was all her idea.â
âI thought it was your idea,â Sadie responded. âIsnât that what you said?â
This time it was Ceceâs turn to grab her purse and bolt out the door.
âI see big disappointment in her future,â Lexi said, pretending to have a vision. âAnd a big pageant order in ours!â
The girls were piling back into Kylieâs momâs SUV when a black Cadillac suddenly whizzed by them. It pulled right up to the Miss New England Shooting Starz office. Kylie rolled down the window of the passenger seat to get a better lookâand spotted a familiar figure stepping out. Meredith!
She quickly rolled up the window and tried to hide her panic from her friends.
âWhatâs wrong, honey?â her mom asked, noticing Kylieâs face turn pale. âYou look queasy.â
âUm, nah. Iâm okay,â Kylie replied, unbuckling her seat belt. âI just realized I left my phone in the pageant office. Be back in a jiffy!â She opened the door and raced back out.
âThere she goes with the jiffy thing again,â Delaney said.
âShe would forget her head if it wasnât pinned on her shoulders,â her mom teased.
Kylie ran into the building and stood right outside the Starz office door. It was open a crack, and she could just make out the conversation.
âYou must be Meredith Mitchell,â she heard Hershey saying. âSo lovely to meet you.â
âOf course it is!â Meredith replied. âAnd this is my pageant coach.â
Kylie pushed the door open a tad more to get a peek at the coach. A woman in a bright-red coat offered Hershey her hand and Meredithâs portfolio. âIâm Jennifer Amaryllis, like the flower.â
âNice to meet you Miss Flowerâ¦I mean, Miss Amaryllis,â Hershey said.
âPlease. Call me Miss Jen.â
âWell, Miss Jen, weâre happy to have Meredith join us as a contestant in the Miss New England Shooting Starz pageant. I trust all your paperwork is complete?â
Miss Jen handed her a folder. âOf course it is. I know what Iâm doing,â she insisted. âIâve had two of my girls go on to compete in Miss America. No one I coach loses.â
âGreat.â Hershey smiled politely. âThen best of luck, and weâll see you in a few weeks.â
âJust one question,â the coach said, interrupting her. âMeredith has many talents but wants to do an extreme baton-twirling routine and tap dance. How high are the ceilings in the hotel ballroom?â
âI will definitely check,â Hershey replied, ushering them to the door. âSo nice of you stop by.â
Kylie ran back to the car and jumped inside, just minutes before Meredith and Miss Jen made their departure from Starz.
âDid you get it?â Lexi asked, as Kylie slammed the passenger door.
âGet what?â
âYour cell phone, silly!â her mom said. âRemember? You left in the pageant office?â
âOh! I found it in my back pocket. Whoopsie!â
âKylie Carson,â her mom said, laughing as they drove off. âWhat am I going to do with you?â
But all Kylie was thinking was, âWhat am I going to do about Meredith?â
⢠⢠â¢
When the girls went to Delaneyâs house the next day to talk over the pageant order plans, their cupcake club president was strangely quiet.
â Qué pasa, chica ? â Jenna asked her. âYou seem a