It's Raining Cupcakes Read Free

“I guess. I miss the old neighborhood, though.” I reached over and grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I miss you, Sophie Bird.”
    She laughed and rolled over. “You haven’t called me that in a long time. Oh my gosh, remember that day?”
    How could I forget? We’d climbed a huge oak tree at the park down the street from our duplex. I stopped at about the fifth branch up because it was high enough for me. But not Sophie. She wanted to go higher. She went so high, I yelled up at her, “What do you think you are, a bird?”
    It took her forever to get down. At one point I thought I was going to have to get help. But she did it. She’s amazing that way. She accomplishes whatever she sets her mind to.
    In fourth grade she’d wanted a puppy. Her mom was allergic, so she’d always said no when Sophie asked. But Sophie decided she couldn’t live withouta dog any longer, and researched and researched until she found a great breed that doesn’t shed and is hypoallergenic. Within six months, she had her very own Havanese puppy named Daisy.
    In fifth grade she decided she wanted to be the school’s spelling bee champion. She studied words from the dictionary every day for months. It didn’t surprise me at all when she won and went on to the state championship.
    In sixth grade she ran for class president. She wrote speeches, made posters, and went on campaign walks down the hallway, shaking people’s hands. They said she won by a landslide.
    As I sat there with her, I wondered what she would accomplish in seventh grade. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could get her to help me accomplish something.
    I envy birds who can fly.
    I want to fly too.
    On an airplane.
    â€”IB

Chapter 3
peanut butter and jelly cupcakes
KIDS GO WILD OVER THESE
    I need to find a way to make some money,” I told Sophie as she picked up a National Geographic from my nightstand. Mr. Nelson, my sixth-grade social studies teacher, had given it to me.
    â€œWon’t your mom pay you for working in the cupcake shop?”
    â€œI don’t think so. They have to pay back the loanthey’ve taken out, and there won’t be a lot of money left over. Besides, I’m not old enough to work, so it’s not really working, you know? And I bet it won’t be very often. I mean, I have school. I have a life!”
    â€œAnd turtles!” Sophie said, as she picked up one of my many stuffed turtles that lay at the end of my bed. “You can’t bake cupcakes, Chickarita. The turtles need you!”
    I snatched the turtle from her hands. “Yeah, to save them from the turtle haters of the world like you!”
    My grandma got me a stuffed turtle for my fifth birthday. I sort of became obsessed with them. She still gets me one every year, so now I have, like, a whole army of turtles.
    Sophie sat up and tossed the magazine back where she found it. “Okay. So what do you need the money for?”
    I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure if I should tell her. What if she didn’t understand?
    â€œDon’t laugh, okay? I want to go on a trip. It’s so pathetic that I’ve never been anywhere outside of Oregon!”
    She sat up straighter. “Ooh, a trip! How fun! Maybe you can go to Disneyland. I had so much fun when we went a few years ago. Okay, so Hayden screamed like his arm was being cut off at the sight of Mickey or Goofy, or any of the other characters, but still. It was a blast.”
    I decided not to tell her that a trip to an amusement park wasn’t really what I had in mind. She kept talking. “Well, I know Mrs. Canova across the street from us is looking for a mother’s helper to watch her three-year-old twins. She’s doing cooking shows and selling kitchen tools in people’s homes a couple of nights a week. She wants someone to come a few hours a day and watch the boys while she works in her office, making calls and doing computer