Vote for Cupcakes! by Sheryl Berk Read Free Book Online Page B

magical. The gym was suddenly transformed into a wonderful winter wonderland.
    â€œI said it got clogged up,” Herbie called down to Kylie. “I fixed it.”
    â€œSorry, Principal Fontina,” Kylie said, handing her a napkin to wipe her face. “Herbie meant well.”
    â€œAnd he di d well,” Principal Fontina replied, dabbing at her nose and cheeks. “This is truly a spectacle. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    Herbie climbed down the ladder and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Does this mean I still have a job at Blakely?” he asked her hopefully.
    The principal took a cupcake from Kylie and dug in. “Try to keep the lights on,” she said with a wink and walked off to join the rest of Blakely in the fest activities.
    â€œThat was a close one!” Lexi said. “I don’t wanna know what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten the snow working.”
    Herbie shrugged. “I never doubted it for a second. Well, maybe just one second.”

Monday couldn’t come soon enough for Delaney. She’d worried all weekend that no one would vote for her, even though her friends assured her she had done an amazing job at the debate.
    When she got to school, there were big ballot boxes in the hallway with slips of paper next to them. Her name and Olivia’s were listed on the slip, each name with a box next to it to check off. Delaney was going to put a check next to her own name, but then she hesitated. Olivia had been so nice that it was the least she could do. She voted for her and cast her ballot.
    Mr. G had promised they would have the results tallied by last period and would make an announcement over the loudspeaker. Delaney anxiously stared at the clock. It was nearly three, and school was almost over for the day.
    Suddenly, the speaker sprang to life. “Students, faculty, this is Mr. Gatlin. May I please have your attention for a very important announcement.”
    Delaney glanced nervously at Sophie, who was seated a row behind her in math class, nibbling her nails.
    Mr. G rattled off the names of the third- and fourth-grade class presidents before saying, “And this was a very interesting race for fifth grade.”
    What does he mean by “interesting ” ? Delaney thought to herself. She wished she could just hit Fast-Forward and be far, far away from this moment. It was too nerve-racking to bear!
    Mr. G continued: “I would like to congratulate…”
    Why was he pausing? Why couldn’t he just spit it out? Didn’t he know everything depended on his next words?
    â€œOur new fifth-grade co–class presidents, Olivia and Delaney!”
    Delaney was shocked. Co–class presidents? What did that even mean? Mr. G must have read her mind. “We had a tie between our candidates. They each had the exact same number of votes. So for the first time in Weber Day history, we are having two class presidents who will work together.”
    Delaney remembered how she had cast her vote for Olivia. What if she had checked off her own name instead? Would that have made the difference and broken the tie?
    â€œCongrats!” Sophie squealed, hugging her. “That’s amazing!”
    Delaney didn’t know what to say. It didn’t feel all that amazing. It felt like she hadn’t really won—not if someone else hadn’t lost.
    When the end-of-day bell rang, she went to her locker to grab her jacket and bag. Everyone was patting her on the back and congratulating her. Olivia was having the same reaction at her own locker, but she snuck away to give Delaney a hug.
    â€œI can’t believe it! We both won,” she said.
    â€œYeah,” Delaney replied. “Cool.”
    Olivia looked puzzled. “You don’t seem very thrilled about it. I thought you really wanted to be fifth-grade president.”
    â€œI did—and I do. But copresidents? There’s no such thing. The president of