Mia's Baker's Dozen by Coco Simon Read Free Book Online

say the words. I don’t know why it was so hard. Usually I could always talk to Mom about anything.
    It was then that I realized that Mom really was a lot happier. She smiled a lot, and she seemed more relaxed than ever, even though she was busy. And she really did seem to love Eddie. Then I wonderedif my dad was as happy as Mom. Was I?
    Mom smiled at me and kissed the top of my head. “I’m so proud of you, Mia,” she said.
    Ugh. I felt bad about lying, and then something happened that made me feel ten times worse.
    â€œI have a surprise for you,” she said. “Come upstairs with me.”
    I followed Mom to her room. “So you know that Annie Chang has a line out for teens, right?”
    I nodded. Annie Chang is a popular fashion designer, and I absolutely love her clothes. I was psyched when I read that she was putting out a teen line. But I know they are kind of expensive, too, so I wasn’t holding out much hope that I’d convince Mom to buy me anything.
    Mom unzipped a garment bag hanging from her closet. “I met Annie at an event the other day, and I told her all about you,” she said. “So today she sent this just for you.”
    I gasped. Inside the bag was a totally cool mod-looking sweater dress with gray and black stripes.
    â€œThat’s from her latest winter line!” I shrieked. “Oh, Mom, it’s perfect!”
    â€œWear it with some black tights—or even a jewel-toned color, for that matter—and blackboots, and you’ve got a killer outfit,” Mom said.
    I slipped the dress off the hanger and ran to my room. “I’m going to try it on!”
    I tried the dress with some solid red tights, and it looked awesome. I ran into my mom’s room and gave her a big hug.
    â€œThank you, thank you!” I said.
    â€œYou deserve it, with all the hard work you’ve been doing,” Mom said, and I felt a huge pang of guilt.
    You should tell her now, a little voice inside me said. But just like Dad and dinner, I didn’t want to ruin the moment.
    I loved the dress so much that I wanted to sleep in it, but I didn’t want to ruin it. So I wore it to school the very next day. At lunchtime, I was walking past the PGC table when Callie called out to me.
    â€œMia? Is that an Annie Chang?” she asked.
    I walked over to her. “Yes, she gave it to my mom to give to me,” I said.
    â€œIt’s really cool,” said Maggie, another one of the popular girls. Maggie’s actually pretty nice, but she does everything Sydney tells her to do.
    Sydney examined my entire outfit from head to toe. I could tell she was trying to find somethingwrong with it, but she couldn’t. So she just made one of her mean comments instead. “It’s nice of your mom’s friends to give you their castoffs,” Sydney said, tossing her perfect blond hair. I knew she was insulting me, but I didn’t care.
    I smiled sweetly at Sydney. “Yeah, well, Mom says that Annie is really nice,” I said. “And it’s actually not a castoff. It’s a sample. Like the kind they give models to wear. See you.”
    Then I walked away.
    My Cupcake Club friends liked my dress too, even though they didn’t know who Annie Chang was. Then it was time for Spanish class. Oh boy.
    Señora Delgado handed out our tests as soon as we sat down. I already knew how I did, but I was still shocked when I saw the big red F on my paper. I’ve never gotten an F in anything before.
    â€œClass, please turn to page fifty-seven in your workbooks and start that page,” she said in Spanish, as usual. “Ms. Vélaz-Cruz, please come to my desk.”
    Uh-oh. This wasn’t going to be fun. I walked up to her desk as slowly as I could. What was she going to do? Was she going to yell at me in front of everybody?
    Señora Delgado is petite, with short black hair, and she wears big eyeglasses. She looks like a verywise owl.