Katie and the Cupcake War by Coco Simon Page A

goofy, but the music got the attention of more of the parents. Pretty soon the booth was nice and crowded again.
    George even came to the booth with his friend Ken. George started doing this wacky dance to the music, waving his arms in the air and everything. I was cracking up.
    Then he walked up to me. “All that dancing made me thirsty. Can I have some milk, please?” He held out a crumpled dollar bill.
    â€œSure. You need to pay Alexis,” I told him as I handed him a cup of milk and a straw.
    George took a long, loud slurp of milk. “Mmm, milky!” he said. Then he was quiet for a little bit, like he was going to say something. Finally he said, “So, Katie, you’re going to the dance, right?”
    I nodded. “Yup.”
    â€œCool,” he said. “I guess I’ll see you there, then.”
    And then he paid Alexis, and he and Ken walked away.
    Mia looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows.
    â€œDo not say it!” I warned her.
    Then Emma tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, look over there!”
    Principal LaCosta and Mr. Hammond, the school’s vice principal, were marching toward the BFC booth, and they looked angry. The marching band kids stopped playing, but we still couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. Principal LaCosta was talking to all the customers, and then all the customers started walking away! Then Maggie and Bella and Callie were talking to Principal LaCosta. Everyone looked very upset. Callie even looked like she might start to cry. I saw Principal LaCosta shaking her head and frowning. She said a few more words to the girls and pointed to the booth. To our amazement, Callie and the BFC started packing up their cupcakes!
    The marching band’s flute player walked by our booth, so I quickly approached her.
    â€œHey, what happened to the BFC booth?” I asked.
    â€œPrincipal LaCosta said the theme of the booth was inappropriate,” the girl told me with a shrug. “I thought it was just school spirit. But I guess some kids think there’s alcohol in the cupcakes.”
    I turned back to my friends. “Whoa. Can you believe it?”
    â€œOf course I can,” Alexis said. “It doesn’t matter if there’s alcohol in the cupcakes or not. You can’t promote alcohol at a middle school fund-raiser. I’m sure they’re in big trouble.”
    I looked over to the booth and saw Principal LaCosta and Mr. Hammond leading the girls into the school, probably to the principal’s office. I felt a twinge of sympathy for Callie . . . but that quickly went away when the BFC’s cupcake customers came to our booth instead. It was amazing. We were slammed, and we were sold out of cupcakes in about fifteen minutes.
    â€œThis is fantastic!” Alexis said, counting the money. “We made four hundred and sixty-seven dollars—that’s more than last year! And that’s not even counting the money from the recycled bottles.”
    â€œI’ll get Eddie!” Mia said, and she sped off to look for him.
    I was feeling pretty excited. It looked like we were going to win—again! And then Mrs. Wilson walked up to the booth.
    â€œThere you are, Katie,” she said. “Listen, I’m afraid we need to leave a little early. I got a callfrom Principal LaCosta about Callie.”
    â€œI know,” I said, awkwardly averting her eyes. I felt kind of embarrassed for Callie.
    â€œI have to go get her, and we’ll come pick you up on the way to the car, okay?” she asked.
    I nodded. “Sorry, guys,” I said, turning to Emma and Alexis. “I’ll clean up as much as I can before she gets back.”
    It turns out I had plenty of time to clean up. Principal LaCosta must have had a lot to say to everybody. Mrs. Wilson came back to the booth with Callie about four feet behind her, ignoring us. Her eyes were red, and I could tell she had been crying.
    â€œReady, Katie?” Mrs. Wilson