Dad turns it up and whistles along with the song. I start to whistle, too.
“Come on, you guys, can’t we listen to the other station?” Chloe claps her hands over her ears, but she’s giggling.
Dad smiles at me and I laugh. I turn the music up louder, and that’s how we roll into the co-op parking lot — laughing and cranking the music at full volume. Like a normal, happy family.
Kind of like we used to be.
One night, when I was very small, I threw up in my bed. Then I threw up again. I called for my mom, but it was my dad who came in to check on me.
“I’m sick,” I told him, and I started to cry.
“It’s okay,” Dad said. He came and hugged me, brushing my disgusting, vomity hair away from my face. Then he lifted me up and carried me to the bathroom. He gave me a bath, then went to clean my mattress and change my sheets. Dad washed my hair and combed it, then wrapped me in a towel. He changed me into some warm, fresh pajamas. Then he took me to the couch, where he wrapped me in a blanket and held me in his arms until I fell asleep again.
I still remember that. I remember how fresh and clean I felt. I was sick, but I was warm and safe.
That doesn’t sound like someone who doesn’t care about me, does it?
People make mistakes; they do the wrong thing. Sometimes they’re annoying. Sometimes they’re awful. (That’s true for me, too, by the way.)
So how do you know when it’s time to give up? And how do you know when to hang in there?
I guess you don’t, really. You just make your choices and hope for the best.
Chocolate-Chip-Cookie Cupcakes
(makes approximately 12 cupcakes)
Did you know that cookies were invented by accident? They were originally just test bits of cake batter. So I’m just taking the cookie back to its roots.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, mix the milk and vinegar together and set aside to curdle for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, cream the margarine or butter for a few minutes until lighter in color, then add the dark brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Add the curdled milk, molasses, and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones a little bit at a time, and combine using a whisk or handheld mixer, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times, until no lumps remain. Add the chocolate chips and combine completely.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20–22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting with your choice of frosting.
“So, what am I supposed to be thinking about when I look at this?” Marco asks as he studies the enormous metal sculpture. “Like, am I supposed to be having deep thoughts? Because all I’m thinking is that this is a giant Twinkie.”
It is a giant Twinkie. It’s bright yellow, and oozing some kind of metallic fake frosting. “Maybe you’re supposed to be thinking about perspective,” I say, but this is just a guess. I’m not really sure what this art is about, either. But I like it. “Wouldn’t it be fun to get stuck inside that Twinkie, and have to eat your way out?”
Marco looks horrified. “That would be awful. I’d much rather get stuck inside a chocolate-chip cookie.”
“Maybe a chocolate-chip-cookie cupcake?” I suggest.
“Definitely,” he says, and we move on to the next sculpture. It’s a giant Ring Ding. We stare at this awhile, until Marco’s phone chirps. He pulls it out, then types something quickly.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “I’m meeting Tanisha later.”
“Tanisha Osborne? Why?”
Marco shoves his phone back into his pocket. “She’s going to tutor me in math.”
“Oh,” I say, and my heart lifts. Once Marco told Mr. Carter the truth about the cheating, I got my ninety-six back. With a warning, of course. And now my week of being grounded is over, and I’m hanging out with Marco.
“If I bring my grade up, I can probably rejoin the team in time for indoor soccer,” Marco says.
“Are you missing it? The team, I mean?”
“Yeah. But I think I might start volunteering at Aurora Connection. Do you know about them?”
“They work with autistic kids?”
“Yeah.” Marco moves away from the art and toward a series of sketches displayed on a wall near the window. The sketches are of crumbs … I think. “Anyway, maybe it’s good that I’m getting a break from those guys.” Marco’s shoulder is turned toward me; I can’t see his face. “Like Ezra.” I remember how Marco and Ezra got into a huge fight a couple of months ago. I realize that Marco may have a point.
“Sometimes it’s good to do something different. It gives you perspective.”
“There’s that word again,” Marco says. “Did the Twinkies make you think of that?”
I remember Meghan’s face framed against the blue sky as we looked down at the school yard. “No,” I admit. “I was already thinking about it.”
“Anyway, all those guys ever talk about is girls, movies, and sports.” Marco turns to face me, and jerks his thumb toward the sculptures. “They never want to go look at Twinkie art.”
“The funny thing about those Twinkies,” I say as I stare at the sculpture, “is that they’re actually kind of beautiful.”
“Yeah …” He seems thoughtful. “Hayley —” He stops.
“What?”
Marco bites his lip, then gives his head a little shake. “I think I need a Twinkie.”
“There’s a shop down the street.”
Marco grins. “Race you?”
Well, I’m sure you can guess what happens next. After all, I can never say no to Marco.
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of my sister, Zoë Papademetriou, who created the recipes in this book. I would also like to thank my editor Anamika Bhatnagar for her insight and input, my agent Rosemary Stimola for her unwavering enthusiasm, my husband for his willingness to listen to all of my thoughts and ideas, and my mother for her relentless support.
Don’t miss Hayley’s latest confessions!
Hayley’s ex-BFF, Artie, is back in the picture and getting between Hayley and her new pal, Meghan. Artie and Meghan are like oil and water — they just don’t mix! This looks like another recipe for disaster!
Bonus Recipe: Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
When a recipe calls for gluten-free all-purpose flour, I often recommend using Bob’s Red Mill, but you can also easily make your own! Here are two variations to try.
INGREDIENTS FOR MIXTURE #1:
1/4 cup almond flour or coconut flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup quinoa flour or millet flour (millet is usually more affordable)
3 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
INGREDIENTS FOR MIXTURE #2:
2 cups sorghum flour
2 cups brown rice flour
1-1/2 cups potato starch (NOT potato flour)
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup quinoa or millet flour (millet is usually more affordable)
INSTRUCTIONS:
For either flour blend, sift each ingredient into a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix all ingredients together with a large whisk. Store t
he mix in a large covered container, either in the refrigerator or another cool, dark, and dry place. Label the container “Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix” to avoid confusion.
To use gluten-free (GF) all-purpose flour mixes, substitute your GF flour for all-purpose flour following a 1:1 ratio. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, substitute 1 cup of GF flour.) You can add up to 1/4 cup more GF flour than directed if the batter consistency seems too watery.
Cannoli Cupcakes
(makes approximately 12 cupcakes)
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1-1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pastry bag (or Ziploc bag)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soymilk and vinegar, and set aside to curdle for a few minutes.
In another larger bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Once the soymilk is curdled, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and mix thoroughly. Add the curdled soymilk, canola oil, and almond and vanilla extracts.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones a little bit at a time, and combine using a whisk or handheld mixer, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times, and mix until no lumps remain.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20–22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.
With your (clean!) thumb, poke large holes into the center of each cupcake. Alternately, take a small knife and carve out a cone from the center of each cupcake to create a well. (You can discard the cones, or eat them.)
Fill a pastry bag with Ricotta Frosting. (You can also make your own pastry bag by cutting off a corner from a plastic Ziploc bag.) Insert the tip of the pastry bag into each cupcake, and squeeze it to fill the cavity you created. Then swirl the frosting on top of the cupcake to cover the opening.
Ricotta Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
2-1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
Cheesecloth (or several layers of durable paper towels)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Take a bowl and place a wire mesh strainer inside it, then line the wire strainer with the cheesecloth (or paper towels). Add the ricotta cheese and place the bowl in the fridge, allowing it to strain for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
In a clean bowl, cream together the ricotta cheese and the confectioners’ sugar, slowly adding the sugar in 1/2-cup batches, mixing completely before adding more.
Add the vanilla extract and miniature chocolate chips (as much or as little as you like, really), and beat on high speed until fluffy.
LISA PAPADEMETRIOU is the author of numerous books for young readers, including Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me; How to Be a Girly Girl in Just Ten Days; and the Accidentally Fabulous series. She was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2010, and is also allergic to soy, dairy, egg, yeast, and shellfi sh. Luckily, her sister, Zoë, is a talented baker. For gluten-free, allergy-friendly versions of all of the recipes in this book, please visit Lisa’s website, www.lisapapa.com.
Also by Lisa Papademetriou
CANDY APPLE BOOKS
Accidentally Fabulous
Accidentally Famous
Accidentally Fooled
Accidentally Friends
How to Be a Girly Girl in Just Ten Days
Ice Dreams
CONFECTIONATELY YOURS
Save the Cupcake!
OTHER NOVELS
Chasing Normal
Drop
M or F?
Siren’s Storm
Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me
The Wizard, the Witch, and Two Girls from Jersey
All activities in this book should be performed with adult supervision. The publisher and author disclaim all liability for any accidents or injuries or loss that may occur as a result of the use or misuse of the information and guidance given in this book.
Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Papademetriou
Recipes copyright © 2012 by Zoë Papademetriou
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. scholastic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, September 2012
e-ISBN 978-0-545-39227-3
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Lisa Papademetriou, Confectionately Yours #2: Taking the Cake!
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