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Informationen zum Autor Coco Simon Klappentext "Emma is playing ball with her brothers on an unusually warm winter afternoon. But an errant toss from her brother Matt hits her right on the nose! Luckily, it's nothing more serious than a little swelling, but it's enough to make her lose an important modeling job at The Special Day salon. Mona hires "mean girl" Olivia Allen to fill in. Olivia is thrilled, not only for the job, but also for a chance to spread some nasty rumors about Emma. Worst of all, now Emma can't afford the beautiful holiday gifts she planned to buy her family and friends. Emma's Cupcake Club pals remind her that the best gifts come from the heart, and don't have a price tag" --Emma’s Not-So-Sweet Dilemma CHAPTER 1 Baking Hazard My alarm went off and I hit snooze, even though I was already more than half awake. The Cupcake Club was coming over pretty early this morning to work out the kinks in a new recipe we were creating for a holiday boutique we were participating in, and I was looking forward to it. I snuggled deep under my covers and wiggled my toes in their fluffy pink socks. But I dreaded getting out of bed, even though it was a Saturday. It had been so freezing cold for the past week that I’d been walking around like a mummy in layers and layers of clothes (sleeping in socks and long flannel pj’s), and to leave my cocoon of blankets this morning would be unbearable. But then I noticed something. I could smell! I’d been suffering from a terrible cold for the past week, and my nose had been totally stuffed up. I couldn’t even taste the cupcakes we made at our last Cupcake meeting, never mind smell them cooking. (Katie was raving about the aroma, and I felt totally left out!) But now my cold seemed to have subsided, and I could smell the pancakes my mom was making downstairs. Their scent floated under the crack in my door, across the room, and tickled my nose, like in a cartoon. Cold or no, I had to have them! I braced myself, flopped back the covers, and launched out of bed. My dad insists on keeping the heat lower than most normal people would. (“Just put on a sweater!” he grumps when I’m sitting at my desk doing homework, my nose red and running from the cold.) But today I am already noticing it must be warmer outside, because when I opened my bedroom door, I didn’t have the sensation that I was entering a walk-in freezer. This day just kept getting better and better! Downstairs, my mom was listening to an author being interviewed on public radio while she bustled around the kitchen making breakfast. Besides pancakes there were hard-boiled eggs with sea salt, fruit salad, and fresh orange juice. “Mama!” I squealed, using my baby name for her. “What’s the occasion?” “Good morning, sweetheart!” my mom said cheerily. She put down the pan she was drying with a dish towel. “The occasion is that it will break forty degrees today! It’s summer!” she joked. “Wow, maybe I’ll go to the beach,” I said, and we both laughed. “What’s up for today? The girls are coming over in half an hour to bake. We’re going to need the kitchen, please.” “Okay. Let’s see. Dad’s out. Matt should be home from practice any minute. Jake has a playdate at eleven. Sam is actually around today; he’s working the night shift at the theater, because he’s got to study for exams. So a busy morning but probably a quiet afternoon around here.” She put a plate down in front of me. It had a steaming stack of chocolate chip pancakes on it that looked like ginormous chocolate chip cookies. “Mmmm!” My mouth was watering. I sliced off a huge pat of butter and slathered it in between the pancakes, where it quickly melted and pooled. When I took my...
