Bakers on Board (5 page)

Somehow, Jenna, Kylie, Sadie, Lexi, and Delaney managed to get themselves cleaned up and dressed for the banquet. They had been working practically nonstop for two days on the pirate cupcakes, and none of them were in any mood for a fancy five-course dinner—much less a fashion show and after-party. But Leo insisted they all be at his table at 5:00 p.m. sharp.

“I'm so tired.” Lexi yawned, taking her seat. “I dozed off in the shower and dreamed I was rolling out fondant.”

“Can I just take a quick nap?” Delaney asked, resting her head on the table. “Just a few minutes.”

Kylie elbowed her. “If I'm staying awake, so are you.”

Just then, they all heard snoring from across the table. It was Jenna, who'd fallen fast asleep in her bread plate.

“Jenna! Wake up!” Kylie gave her a kick under the table.

She jumped to attention. “What? Huh? I'm coming, Mami!”

Kylie chuckled. “I'm not your
mami.
And you should probably wipe the drool off your chin. It doesn't go with your dress.”

Embarrassed, Jenna dabbed her face with a napkin. “
Estoy tan cansado
!
” she said. “Translation: All I wanna do is crawl into my bed and sleep for a week.”

“If you did that, you'd miss the whole cruise,” Marisol pointed out. “Not to mention the fashion show I'm helping Harold photograph.”

“Yay, you.” Jenna tried to sound enthusiastic as she stifled a yawn.

“How many more cupcakes do we have left to decorate?” Sadie asked. “I lost count at 7,200.”

“I figure if we do another five hundred tonight, we can finish off the rest tomorrow.”

“We'll be in Florida tomorrow,” Lexi pointed out. “It's gonna be hot and sunny, and we're going to be stuck in a kitchen dipping cupcakes in ganache?”

“There's a day excursion to Disney World,” Delaney reminded them. “Roller coasters and spinning teacups and Mickey Mouse…oh my!”

“Mickey will have to wait,” Kylie insisted. “We have to get the raft built and stacked with cupcakes. Plus the rest have to be plattered for the waitstaff to hand out.”

Jenna's head once again hit the table and she started snoring. “
Despertarse
!
” Marisol said loudly in her ear. “Wakey, wakey.”

“No!” Jenna moaned in her sleep. “No more bakey, bakey!”

Marisol gave her hair a sharp tug and Jenna jumped to attention. “Ouch! No hair pulling!”

Marisol giggled. “Works every time.”

Just then, Leo took his seat at the head of the table. “Is everybody looking forward to a delicious gourmet meal?” he asked. He was dressed in a black tuxedo.

Kylie tried her best to smile. “Mmmmm, can't wait.”

Before they could even dig into the first course—a delicious goat cheese and cranberry salad—Mitchell came running into the dining room to find Leo. He looked frantic.

“We're down one model for the show,” he told Leo. “She's in her cabin with horrible seasickness.”

“What?” Leo gasped and pushed his plate away. “She can't be.”

“Trust me,” Mitchell replied. “Unless you want her to walk down the runway clutching a barf bag, it's not happening.”

“This is awful,” Leo said in a panic. “The clothes have already been fitted. Where are we going to find a five-foot-ten model to wear Mr. Warren's design?”

Jenna suddenly perked up. “You need someone five-foot-ten?” she asked. “What about Sadie?”

Sadie dropped her fork. “Me? I'm not a model. I'm a basketball player.”

“A super-
tall
basketball player,” Kylie chimed in. “You could totally do this.”

Leo looked worried. “It's kind of you to offer, but Sadie's never walked a runway before.”

“How hard could it be?” Jenna said. “You just put one foot in front of the other, right?”

Mitchell and Leo stared at each other, then at Sadie. “It might work,” Leo finally said. “It will have to.”

Mitchell grabbed Sadie by the arm. “Come with me,” he instructed her. “No time to waste.”

“But…wait…” Sadie stammered as he ushered her out of the dining room. “Can we talk about it? I'm not sure!”

“Pass the butter,” Jenna said, smiling. “I'm staying awake for this.”

• • •

After dinner, the guests poured into the ship's grand ballroom. There were three levels of seats, and every single one was taken. Leo had saved the girls seats in the front row along the runway.

“This is so exciting for Sadie,” Delaney said. “I'm jealous.”

Marisol hovered behind Harold as he got into position at the end of the runway. “Let's just hope it's smooth sailing,” he told her. “I've never shot a fashion show at sea before, and my hands aren't as steady as they used to be.”

There was no time to hesitate. Leo appeared on the stage to introduce the start of the program.

“Esteemed guests and fellow company employees,” he began. “It is my great privilege to introduce our host for this evening as well as the entire cruise, Mr. Ralph Warren.”

The designer took the stage in a red plaid dinner jacket. “Thank you,” he said. “I'm very excited to debut my latest collection. I call it ‘Over the Ocean Blue.' I hope you enjoy it.”

The lights dimmed and strange whistling noises filled the room.

“What is that?” Kylie whispered.

“I think it's a dolphin singing,” Lexi replied. “Either that or nails on a chalkboard.”

“Ya think he played that
on porpoise
?” Jenna joked with her friends. “Get it? Dolphin? Porpoise?”

The first model walked out on the stage wearing a catsuit covered in silvery-blue scales.

“Something's fishy!” Jenna continued to crack herself up. This fashion-show business was a lot more fun than she had thought it would be!

Harold reached his hand behind him to Marisol. “The light is reflecting off the scales,” he said. “I think I need Lucy for this one.”

Marisol's heart jumped. “Lucy? You need Lucy?”

“Yes,” he insisted. “Don't you have her? I told you to not to let her out of your sight.”

Marisol dug in her tote. “I know, and I have her…” she said, gently handing the old camera back to Harold. “But there's something I have to tell you.”

Harold threw the camera strap around his neck. “Later,” he said. “I don't want to miss this shot.”

Marisol held her breath as he clicked the camera on. Amazingly, it came to life.

“Good ol' Lucy!” she cheered.

When all the other models had glided down the runway in their blue nautical-themed fashions, it was time for Sadie to make her debut.

“Mitchell said she was the last model,” Delaney said excitedly. “This is it!” She perched herself on the edge of her seat.

The soundtrack shifted to the sounds of waves crashing on a beach, and a spotlight hit the back of the runway. There was a pause, then Sadie strutted out in a royal-blue sequined evening gown. Her hair floated around her shoulders in soft waves, and she wore pale-blue eyeshadow and soft, pink lipstick.

“
Dios mío
!
” Jenna exclaimed. “Sadie's stunning!” None of the girls could believe how glam she looked—a far cry from her usual sweats and her hair piled high in a ponytail.

Sadie tried her best not to wobble in the four-inch heels Mitchell had put her in, and when she got to the end of the runway, she winked at her PLC mates.

“Go, Sadie!” Kylie shouted. “Work it!”

Harold handed the camera to Marisol. “Go on. You take the photos of your friend in the finale.”

“Me? I couldn't!” she insisted. “I mean, I'm not as good as you.”

“And you won't be…unless you get more practice.”

Marisol took Lucy and peered through the lens. She snapped shot after shot of Sadie strutting on the runway.

“Did you get it?” Harold asked her.

“I think so. It's hard to know for sure.”

Harold shook his head. “You feel it in your bones,” he replied. “When you get the shot, you know it.”

Marisol took one last picture, just as Sadie pivoted on her heel and looked back over her shoulder at the audience, giving them a huge smile and wave.

“Got it!” Marisol said. “That's the one.”

“Then that,” Harold said, “is a wrap.”

The next morning, when the ship pulled into port in Florida, all the guests piled off the ship—all except for the cupcake club.

“The excursions are leaving,” Delaney complained, peering out a porthole. She was wearing sunglasses with her baking apron. “I could be in Cinderella's castle by now.”

“If we work straight through the day, we'll be ready for the pirate party tonight,” Kylie assured her. “And then you can soak in the rays all day tomorrow in the Bahamas.”

“Fine,” Delaney sniffed. “But I'm not happy about missing the Magic Kingdom.”

Once all the cupcakes were baked and decorated, all that was left was to build the raft.

“I know we did this once at Camp Chicopee,” Kylie said, scratching her head. “It was a team raft-building contest during Color War. Delaney, do you remember how we tied the logs together?”

“With rope…duh,” Delaney snapped, still annoyed with having to miss a whole day of sun and fun.

Sadie, Kylie, and Jenna worked together, laying the logs on the floor and lacing rope between them while Lexi and Delaney put the finishing touches on the decorations for the remaining cupcakes.

“Are you sure it will float?” Jenna asked when they were done. “It looks a little flimsy.” She tested it with her foot and a log rolled. “And slippery.”

“It was strong enough to hold a pair of campers,” Kylie insisted.

“Before it unraveled and we both fell in the lake,” Delaney recalled.

Kylie had forgotten that part. “Well, we'll just make sure the knots are supertight and don't slip,” she said.

They built a makeshift sail out of some wooden spoons and a baking apron, and Lexi drew a peace sign, heart, and cupcake on it to symbolize PLC.

“How many cupcakes do you think we can pile on?” Lexi asked.

Kylie held one in her hand. “There's only one way to find out.”

They crammed more than five hundred cupcakes onto the raft. When Kylie checked the clock on the wall, it was nearly four p.m.—an hour before the ship was scheduled to pull out of port.

“We have just enough time to go get into our pirate outfits for the party,” she said. “Phew! That was a close one.”

Jenna wiped some dark chocolate from her hands on her apron. “Wait till you see the red silk blouse Mami made me. It'll go perfect with my eye patch, bandanna, and fake gold tooth.”

“I don't care what I wear—as long as it's not another evening gown,” Sadie vowed. “That gown last night weighed a ton! I'm wearing shorts for the rest of the cruise.”

“Meet everyone on the Lido deck at seventeen hundred hours,” Kylie said. “That's five p.m. in ship-speak.”

“Aye, aye, Captain Kylie,” Jenna teased. “I can't wait till our cupcakes set sail.”

• • •

When the girls arrived on the pool deck, all the guests and crew were dressed for the costume party—with everything from peg legs and fake parrots on their shoulders to high buckle boots and tricornered black hats. There were evil pirates; silly pirates; swashbuckling pirates; pirates with beards and mustaches; pirates with feathered caps and knives in their teeth.

“This is crazy!” Lexi said. “People really got pirated up!” She had chosen to be a lady buccaneer in a red ruffled skirt, black boots, and a white blouse.

“Shiver me timbers, are those my fellow PLCers?” Delaney called, finding them in the crowd. She was dressed in a white puffy shirt and black jeans and wore a red ribbon tied across her forehead.

“Arrr!” Jenna growled back at her. Mami's red silk blouse was the perfect pirate attire, especially when she paired it with a black skirt and an eye patch. She grinned and flashed the girls her fake gold tooth. “Me name's Mad Medina,” she said. “Queen of the High Seas.”

“There's only one ruler of the high seas—and that's me,” Kylie insisted. She had on a jacket with gold buttons and black boots and carried a sack of “pirate loot” slung over her back.

“What's in there?” Lexi teased her. “Gold doubloons?”

Kylie dug in the bag and pulled out a prop head, dripping fake blood and guts. “Me latest victim—someone who dared to challenge Cap'n Kylie!”

“Eww!” Lexi ducked behind Sadie, whose costume paled in comparison. She was in a simple pair of black shorts and a white tank top, with a bandanna around her hair.

“That's awesome!” Delaney said enthusiastically. “How'd ya get the eyeballs to dangle like that?”

“Old horror-movie makeup trick,” Kylie explained. “I'll show you sometime.”

Mitchell pushed through all the guests to find them. “We're ready for you. The crew is carrying the cupcake raft to the pool, and Mr. Warren is super excited to see what you've done.”

“Great!” Kylie said. “Cue the fog and the wind machine.”

“And the spooky pirate music,” Delaney reminded him.

“Anything else?” Mitchell seemed a tad annoyed to be taking orders yet again.

“Yeah,” Kylie added. “Don't forget to announce us: ‘the ghost ship
Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
, the terror of the seas!'”

Mitchell saluted her. “Whatever you say.”

The girls readied themselves at the edge of the pool as the crew gently placed the raft on the top steps leading into it. The cupcakes had all survived the long walk up from the galley with not a bit of frosting out of place. “It's a miracle,” Lexi said, relieved. “They look perfect.” She glanced over and saw Mr. Warren—dressed as Captain Hook—giving them a thumbs-up.

Mitchell made the announcement over the loudspeaker. “Please turn your gaze to the giant Victory pool center deck for an amazing display…”

“Okay,” Lexi instructed the girls. “On the count of three, we give it a gentle push into the pool.”

“One…” Kylie said.

“Two…” Jenna continued.

“Three!” they all yelled in unison.

With a light push, the raft began to float from the steps into the shallow end of the pool.

“Steady…steady…” Sadie said, crossing her fingers.

It continued floating out into four feet, then six, then nine.

The crowd applauded enthusiastically. But that wasn't the end of the show. On Kylie's nod, the crew fired a confetti cannon that exploded over the onlookers in a burst of gold and silver.

“We did it!” Delaney exclaimed. “We actually did it.”

Just then, a gust of wind rolled across the deck. Then another. Then another.

“Uh-oh,” Kylie said, looking up. “Do those clouds look a little gray to you?”

“Never mind the weather report.” Sadie pointed to the raft. “Our ship is about to tip!”

The wind had caused ripples in the pool, and the raft now rocked up and down uncontrollably.

“My cupcakes! My beautiful cupcakes!” Lexi moaned as a few toppled into the pool.

A few drops of rain landed on the deck.

“It's nothing,” Mitchell assured the crowd. “Just a little sun shower.”

With that, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky and the winds began to kick up. Cupcakes were sliding off the raft and into the pool at an alarming rate.

“We have to do something,” Kylie said, panicking. “We have to get the raft back to the shallow end and pull it out before all the cupcakes drown!”

“A captain always goes down with her ship,” Jenna said, kicking off her black sandals. With that, she dove into the pool and tried to keep the raft steady.

“Swim it back to the steps!” Kylie called to her.

But the more Jenna tried to kick behind the raft and move it, the more the cupcakes tipped and toppled.

“What if you get under it?” Sadie shouted. “Like a turtle with a shell on its back?”

Jenna nodded and ducked beneath the raft. Slowly, the PLC pirate ship “swam” its way back to the shallow end where the girls could reach it.

“Whoa, you can hold your breath a really long time,” Delaney acknowledged as Jenna finally popped up and out of the water. “Impressive!”

The guests didn't even seem to mind that the rain was now coming down harder and faster—they were mesmerized by Jenna's heroic show.

“All hail Mad Medina!” Delaney yelled.

Jenna climbed out of the pool, soaked to the bone. “It was nothing,” she said.

“Oh, it was something!” Marisol interrupted her. “And I got lots of pictures to prove it.”

Jenna's curls were all matted and stuck to her face. Her eye patch was hanging around her neck, and the beautiful blouse Mami had made her was a sopping wet. “Great,” she said. “Next time, could you at least tell me to say cheese?”

Marisol held up her camera. “Say
ques
o
!” she teased her little sister.