little out of it.â
âIâm just thinking,â Kylie said, sighing.
âThinking about what?â Lexi questioned. âHow weâre going to make all those pageant cupcakes and a giant tower? Donât worry. Itâs under control.â
âMy dad said heâd help us build the display,â Sadie said.
âNo, itâs not that,â Kylie said.
âThen what?â Jenna pushed. âWeâre your friends. You can tell us.â
Kylie took a deep breath. âWhen I went back to the pageant office, it wasnât to get my phone. I saw something.â
âWhat do you mean you saw something?â Sadie said. âSomething cool?â
âNo,â Kylie said. âSomething that tied my stomach all up in knots.â
âA monster?â Delaney giggled. âVampire or zombie?â
âWorse,â Kylie answered. âThe meanest monster you could ever encounter.â
Lexi felt a chill go down her spine. âMeredith.â
Kylie nodded. âI saw her pull up to the pageant office and I kinda eavesdropped.â
âAnd?â Lexi asked, shaking Kylie by the shoulders. âWhat did you find out? Was she trying to sabotage our business?â
âNot exactly. She had no idea we were there.â
âThen why was Meredith at Miss New England Shooting Starz?â Delaney asked.
âTo enter,â Kylie replied. âSheâs one of the pageant contestants.â
Lexi gulped. âOh, I feel queasy.â
âMaybe itâs not so bad.â Sadie tried to be optimistic. âI mean, so what if Meredith is in the pageant? We just drop off our cupcake delivery and go.â
âOr we donât,â Jenna said, raising an eyebrow. âMaybe we teach that big-mouthed bully a lesson sheâll never forget. Maybe we put her in her place once and for all.â
Lexi suddenly perked up. âHow?â
âWell, Meredith obviously thinks sheâs going to win Miss New England Shooting Starz,â Jenna began.
âObviously,â Kylie replied. âShe and her pageant coach were so full of themselves.â
âSo we beat her! How mad and embarrassed would Meredith be if someone else won the crown?â
âAnd how do we do that?â Lexi asked. âMeredith has a coach and everything.â
âWe enter someone whoâs better than her,â Jenna insisted. âIâve seen her dance. It shouldnât be too hard to find someone with more talent.â
âI sing and dance,â Delaney volunteered. âDo you people recall I was on the West End stage in Pygmalion just a few short months ago?â
âOnly because you snuck on.â Sadie chuckled. âI donât think that counts, Laney.â
âWhatever! Iâm still our best chance, right?â
Kylie put an arm around her friend. âYou definitely are. I trip over my own two feet, and none of us can carry a tune.â
âHey! Iâll have you know I sing every morning in my shower!â Jenna protested. She began to belt out the words to a Spanish pop song: â Hoy quiero bailar solo contigo ! â
Delaney covered her ears. âOuch! We said we wanted to beat Meredithânot deafen the audience!â
Mrs. Noonan poked her head out from the kitchen. âGirls, please keep it down! I just put Delaneyâs baby sister and brother down for a nap.â
But it was too late. Tristan and Charlotte were already wailing.
âI got it, Mom,â Delaney said, dragging Lexi with her. âWeâll get them back to sleep.â
She led Lexi upstairs to the nursery. âIf you just sing them a lullaby, they settle down,â Delaney explained. She began to softly croon Katy Perryâs âRoar.â
âThatâs a lullaby?â Lexi asked. âWhatever happened to âTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Starâ or âRock-a-bye Babyâ?â
Delaney picked up Tristan in her