Love Stinks! (3 page)

“Can I come to the mall with you today after school?” Suzanne asked Katie as the girls left school together at the end of the day. Suzanne knew that Katie often hung out at the mall on Thursdays. That was the day Mrs. Carew worked late at the Book Nook.

“Sure. My mom’s picking me up in a few minutes,” Katie told her. “Don’t you have to ask permission?”

Suzanne nodded. She pulled a small silver phone from her backpack. “My mom said I could borrow her phone today,” Suzanne told her. “Just in case I wanted to go home with someone after school.”

“I thought cell phones weren’t allowed in school,” Katie reminded her.

“I kept it hidden in my backpack,” Suzanne replied. “No one even knew it was there.”

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Jessica asked as she, Mandy, and Becky walked over.

Suzanne put her finger to her lips. “
Shhh.
I can’t hear.”

“She’s calling her mom to see if she can go to the mall with me,” Katie whispered.

“Cool,” Jessica said. “Can I come, too?”

Katie nodded. “If your mom says it’s okay.”

“How about me?” Becky asked.

Katie shrugged. “Sure. And you, too, if you want, Mandy.”

“Oh, this will be great!” Becky exclaimed. “When we get to the mall, we can talk to Cinnamon about Suzanne’s secret admirer. Since Cinnamon made the heart, she’s got to know who he is!”

“Do we have to keep talking about Valentine’s Day?” Katie asked them.

“What else is there to talk about?” Becky asked her.

Katie sighed. The girls were really making her crazy. She wished she could spend the day with Jeremy. She was sure he wouldn’t bring up Valentine’s Day once.

As the girls borrowed Suzanne’s cell phone to call home, Katie spotted Jeremy, George, Kevin, and Manny walking in the distance. She ran over to them.

“Hey, guys,” she said. She turned to Jeremy. “I’m going to the mall. Cinnamon said I could help her put the new lollipops into the display case. Do you want to help?”

Jeremy looked over to where the girls were all gathered around Suzanne and her cell phone.

“Not if
they’re
going,” he told her, pointing to the girls.

“Why not?”

Before Jeremy could answer, George puckered up his lips really tight. “Oh, Jeremy, I love you!” he said in a fake Southern accent.

“You’re such a
lover boy,”
Kevin added.

“Lover boy, I love you,” Manny joked.

“That’s why I’m not going to the mall,” Jeremy groaned. “Cut it out!” he warned the boys.

“We were just joking,” George told him.

“It wasn’t funny,” Jeremy told him. Then he turned to Katie. “I’m not going anywhere near Becky.”

“Why don’t you go off with the other girls, Katie Kazoo,” George said, using the nickname he’d given her. “You can try and figure out who Suzanne’s secret admirer is.”

“Whoever he is, he’s pretty dumb,” Kevin said. “Who would want Suzanne for a valentine?”

“Maybe it’s Jeremy,” Manny suggested. “He’s the fourth-grade lover boy.” He kissed the air again.

Now Jeremy was really angry. He rolled his hand up into a fist and stared angrily at Manny. “I dare you to say that again,” he warned, staring Manny straight in the face.

Katie was surprised. She’d never seen Jeremy this angry. “Gosh, I’m sorry,” Manny said, quickly stepping back.

“You’d better be,” Jeremy said, walking away. “I’m going home.”

Katie watched as Jeremy stormed off by himself. Valentine’s Day was supposed to be about love. Instead, it was making everyone hate one another.

Valentine’s Day was a real pain!

“Hi, girls,” Cinnamon greeted Katie, Suzanne, Becky, Mandy, and Jessica as they arrived at the candy store later that afternoon.

Katie sniffed at the air.
“Mmm.
It always smells so yummy in here.”

“You must be hungry for some candy,” Cinnamon teased.

Katie grinned. Cinnamon was just the kind of person who should own a candy store. Her short brown hair was tinted with just a little bit of spicy red, sort of like gingerbread. Her eyes were as blue as blue raspberry lollipops, and her lips were as red as Red Hots. Most important of all, Cinnamon was a really sweet person.

“Forget the candy,” Jessica interrupted. “We have something more important to talk to you about.”

“More important than candy? Impossible,” Cinnamon joked.

“Seriously,” Becky told her. “This is
big.
We have a mystery to solve.”

“Oh.” Cinnamon sat down on a stool. “It does sound important.”

“Suzanne has a secret admirer,” Becky confided. “And you’re the only person who may know who he is.”

“Me?” Cinnamon asked. “How would I know?”

“Because he sent her one of your candy hearts,” Mandy explained.

Katie looked over at Suzanne. She was busy looking at the penny candy. She wasn’t at all interested in the conversation the girls were having with Cinnamon. That seemed strange to Katie. She would have thought Suzanne would be dying to hear what Cinnamon had to say.

“Can you check your receipts and see who bought that heart?” Jessica asked Cinnamon, interrupting Katie’s thoughts.

“I can’t do that,” Cinnamon told her.

The girls all looked at her, surprised.

Cinnamon shook her head. “I never tell secrets. Especially secrets about secret admirers.”

Just then, Suzanne walked over to the group. “I just remembered I have to ask my mother something. I’m going to call her from outside the store. The reception is better outside the shop. I’ll be right back.”

As Suzanne left the store, the girls all began picking out penny candy. “Hey, Katie, can you do me a favor?” Cinnamon asked.

“Sure,” Katie replied. “What do you need me to do?”

“Could you go over to Louie’s and get me a slice of pizza?” she asked. “I’m starving.” She handed Katie some dollar bills from her purse.

Katie was amazed that Cinnamon could be hungry with all the candy around! Still, Katie was always willing to do a favor for Cinnamon. “Sure,” she said, taking the money. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Louie’s Pizzeria was next to the Book Nook, just across the way from Cinnamon’s Candy Shop. It took Katie only a minute to get there and buy a slice of pizza.

As she walked back toward the candy store, Katie spotted Suzanne. She was hunched down, hiding behind a tall plant. It was pretty obvious she didn’t want anyone to see her sitting there.

“Operator, I think I’m having trouble with my cell phone,” Katie overheard Suzanne whispering into her phone. “I don’t think the calls are getting through. Could you please try ringing the phone for me?”

As Suzanne gave the operator her cell phone number, Katie quietly snuck into the candy shop and handed the slice of pizza to Cinnamon.

“Thanks, Katie,” Cinnamon said. “You’re the best.”

A moment later, Suzanne walked back into the store.

“Did you get your mom?” Jessica asked her.

Before Suzanne could answer, her cell phone rang. “Hello?” she answered the phone. Then her eyes opened wide with surprise. “How did you get this number?”

“Oh my gosh, is it him?” Jessica squealed.

Suzanne nodded but put her finger to her lips to make Jessica be quiet.

“But how did you know I would have a cell phone with me today?” Suzanne asked. Then she giggled. “You are smart.”

“Ask him what his name is,” Becky suggested.

“What’s your name?” Suzanne said into the phone. She listened for a minute. Then she said. “Oh, come on, tell me.”

Katie turned away and frowned. Of course the person on the other end wasn’t going to tell Suzanne his name. That’s because there
wasn’t
any person on the other line. It was just the operator testing the ring on Suzanne’s cell phone.

Now Katie understood why this whole secret admirer thing had seemed so weird. Suzanne didn’t have a secret admirer at all! She’d made the whole thing up just to get attention. She’d probably even sent herself that candy heart! And the other girls had fallen for the whole thing!

“Suzanne, this is so exciting,” Becky cooed as Suzanne hung up the phone. “You know what? I’m going to order a special candy heart for Jeremy. Can I do that now, Cinnamon?”

Cinnamon handed Becky a form. “Just fill this out,” she told her. “I’ll make sure it’s delivered to your valentine by Saturday. Be sure to give me his address.”

“Oh, I don’t have his address,” Becky said. “Can’t you deliver it to school?”

“Hmm,” said Cinnamon, looking at her watch. “I don’t have much time, but if I hurry I can have it delivered to your school tomorrow,” Cinnamon answered.

Katie gulped. She knew Jeremy would be really mad if a heart got delivered to him right in front of all his school friends. “No, don‘t,” she warned Becky. But the girls just ignored her!

“I’m going to order a special candy heart, too,” Jessica said, taking one of Cinnamon’s forms.