Read The Cupcake Diaries Collection: Katie and the Cupcake Cure; Mia in the Mix; Emma on Thin Icing; Alexis and the Perfect Recipe for Free Online Page B

called out. “We
     don’t do anything in this class without warming up.”
    We did a bunch of stretches and things to get started. That was easy
     enough. Then Ms. Chen divided us into four teams to play volleyball.
    You can probably see what’s coming. I
     didn’t—not right away. We always played volleyball in elementary school.
     Everybody had fun, and most kids were pretty terrible at it, just like me. So I
     wasn’t too worried.
    My first warning should have been when I got my team assignment. Ms. Chen
     put me on a team with Sydney and Maggie! Ken Watanabe was on our team too, along with
     two boys I didn’t know named Wes and Aziz.
    On the other team were a bunch of kids I didn’t know and George
     Martinez from my old school. Emma was on a team playing on the other side of the gym, so
     George was the only friendly face in sight.
    “All right, take your places!” Ms. Chen called out.
    Everyone scrambled to get in line. For some reason, I was in place to
     serve the first ball. Ken tossed it to me.
    My hands were starting to sweat a little.
    “What are you waiting for?” Sydney called out.
    I took a deep breath and punched the ball with my right hand.
    It soared up . . . up . . . and wildly to the right, slamming into the
     bleachers. It bounced off andthen bounced into the basketball pole,
     ricocheting like a pinball in a machine. Then it rolled to Ms. Chen’s feet. She
     tossed it to the other team.
    “Nice serve,” Sydney said snidely, and Maggie giggled next to
     her.
    My face flushed red. The only good thing about messing up the serve was
     that I got to move out of serving position. I wouldn’t have to serve again for a
     while.
    I was safe while I was in the back row. Ken was in front, and he was so
     tall that no ball could get past him. The other kids were all hitting the ball pretty
     well too. It was like everyone had suddenly become volleyball experts over the summer.
     Why hadn’t I acquired this amazing skill?
    But then it was time for us to switch positions, and I was in front of the
     net. My hands started to sweat again.
    Sydney served the ball, and George volleyed it back. It was one of those
     balls that kisses the top of the net and then slowly drops over, like a gift. It should
     have been easy to hit.
    Not for me. I swung my arm underhand to get to it, and the ball went
     flying behind me. Aziz tried to get it but it bounced out of bounds.
    George was grinning. “Katie, you look like thatsprinkler in my backyard, you know, Silly Arms? The one with all those arms and
     they wave around and sprinkle water everywhere?”
    George started spinning around and waving his arms in a weird, wiggly way.
     Everyone started laughing.
    I was laughing too. George and I have been teasing each other since
     kindergarten. I knew he wasn’t trying to hurt my feelings.
    But then Sydney and Maggie had to take the fun out of it.
    “Do you guys want Silly Arms on your team? We’ll trade
     you,” Sydney called out.
    “Yeah, we’ll never win with this one on our team,”
     Maggie added.
    I couldn’t wait for gym to be over. For the rest of the game, George
     wiggled his arms like the Silly Arms sprinkler every time the ball came to him. If I
     wasn’t so mad at Sydney and Maggie, I would have thought it was funny. Instead, I
     was miserable. As soon as I got back to the locker room I changed fast and ran out.
    I had English class next. It’s the one class I have with Mia, Emma,
     and Alexis. George Martinez is in that class too. He walked past me on the way to his
     seat.
    “Hey, Silly Arms,” he said with a
     grin.
    “What’s that about?” Mia asked.
    “Gym class,” I said with a sigh. “We were playing
     volleyball, and George said my arms look like the Silly Arms sprinkler.”
    “That’s so mean!” Mia said.
    “But it’s true,” I told her. “I think I hate gym
     now.”
    “Tell me about it.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Gym was so
     much better in my old school. We got to