Frosting and Friendship Read Online Free Page A

either, but that’s to be expected with a brand-new song.
    I ask the girls if we can take a break, so we go upstairs and Abigail and Zola munch on cookies at the kitchen table while I excuse myself for a minuteand take the phone into the living room.
    â€œIsabel?” I say when she answers. “This is Lily.”
    â€œOh, thanks for calling me back. Your mom said your band is practicing tonight. That’s so amazing you’re in a band. What do you play?”
    I take a seat on the sofa. “I don’t play an instrument. I’m the lead singer. I should probably learn guitar at some point, but my parents have been paying for voice lessons, and lessons are pretty expensive.”
    â€œYeah. I bet. Hey, the reason I called is because Sophie’s thirteenth birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I want to have a surprise party for her.”
    â€œOh, wow, I love that idea,” I say. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
    â€œActually, there is. Our apartment isn’t very big, so I was hoping you might be willing to have the party at your house. Do you think your mom would mind?”
    â€œOh, um, I don’t think so.” I get up and walk toward Mom’s office. “Let me ask her right now. When’s her birthday?”
    â€œIt’s March sixteenth, which is a Saturday, luckyfor us. You could have it in the afternoon or evening, whatever you think is best.”
    â€œOkay. Can you hold on a second, Isabel?”
    â€œSure.”
    I knock lightly on Mom’s office door.
    â€œCome in,” Mom calls out.
    I cover the phone with the palm of my hand and go in. “Mom, Isabel wants to have a surprise party for Sophie. She’s turning thirteen in a couple of weeks. Do you think we could have the party here?”
    Mom smiles. “Oh, sweetie, I’d love to do that! Sophie has been such a good friend to you. What’s the date? I’ll check my calendar to make sure we’re free.”
    â€œMarch sixteenth.”
    She clicks on her laptop, studies it for a second, and then says, “Yep. That’ll be fine. Oh, how fun! I love surprise parties!”
    I step out of her office and shut the door as I put the phone back to my ear. “Isabel? My mom said we could have the party here.”
    â€œPerfect! We have a lot we need to talk about and so much to do, but I know you need to get back to your band. We’ll need to meet up at least once this weekand get invitations made and buy some decorations and figure out food. Do you have time tomorrow?”
    I’m thinking fast, trying to figure out how I can make this work. I have an essay for social studies I have to work on after school. “After dinner would probably be best. Where do you want to meet?”
    â€œIf your mom can bring you here, we can sit in the cupcake shop and eat cupcakes while we talk about the party.”
    â€œSounds good. I’ll be there around seven.”
    â€œGreat. Thanks, Lily. See you then.”
    I head back to the kitchen, where Abigail and Zola have finished off the cookies and are entertaining themselves by playing table hockey with a guitar pick.
    â€œSorry about that,” I tell them. “We can head back to the studio now and work on those song lyrics some more.”
    Zola looks at her phone. “Actually, my dad is on his way to pick me up. He’s going to be here any minute. I need to get my sticks from downstairs.”
    â€œShould we set up another time to practice?” Abigail asks as she and Zola stand up. “What about tomorrow night?”
    â€œSorry. I can’t,” I say. “I have something else I have to do.” Now I feel guilty about making plans with Isabel before checking with Abigail and Zola. “What about Wednesday?”
    â€œWednesday I have guitar lessons,” Abigail says.
    â€œAnd Thursday night I have drum lessons,” Zola says.
    â€œFriday?” I ask.
    They both