participate in some fund-raising There will be a fifth grade bake sale at the PTA meeting and to add some excitement there will be a prize given for the best treat I’m going to win another award at Roarington Elementary But first I’m going to take home the city spelling bee trophy Whitney-Raelynn said looking right at Paisley with a smirk We’ll see about that Paisley said trying to think of the yummiest most creative treat she could think of for the bake sale Mrs Proton went over some of the bake sale rules but Paisley was lost in thought Her dad made amazing jalapeño cornbread and Paisley and her mom went wild for his sweet potato biscuits with cumin and chili Her stomach rumbled but she wanted to dream up something even more unique with Ben The fifth graders continued to buzz about the bake sale and even Mrs Beaker their science teacher gave them free time to brainstorm recipes Cooking is all about chemistry Mrs Beaker said 8
Don’t forget math Paisley said Cooking involves a lot of measurement Mrs Beaker huffed Of course it is all about math Paisley decided not to add health or anything else to the list so Mrs Beaker wouldn’t change her mind
about the free time Depending on the amount of funds we raise we’ll be getting microscopes beakers and a super-powered telescope Mrs Beaker said Paisley could hear the excitement in her teacher’s voice which was saying a lot since Mrs Beaker wasn’t as wild about science as she was Rumor had it that Mrs Beaker wanted to teach math instead Regardless who wouldn’t be excited about new equipment Roarington Elementary was an older school and it needed as much new equipment as possible The pressure weighed heavily on Paisley The twins Suki and Sumi talked about making double-stacked peanut butter cookie sandwiches Paisley thought about making something with peanuts to honor George Washington Carver George Washington Carver was a botanist just like her mom and made all kinds of inventions He was famous for dreaming up a variety of ways to use peanuts As much as she admired him Paisley wanted to create something different than Suki and Sumi Plus 10
Arjun thought he might be allergic to peanuts Peanut allergies could be really serious and she wanted to make something that would hopefully be safe for everyone to eat We could make some clock-themed cupcakes Ben said He really loved making watches like his namesake Benjamin Banneker We could but I think we need something even more out of this world Ben Paisley said I have a feeling your quest might lead us to somewhere wild he said I hope so Paisley said with a grin If only she knew what to make for the bake sale Paisley wanted to help the school plus she wanted to keep Whitney-Raelynn from winning another award There wasn’t much Whitney-Raelynn wasn’t good at Even her name was an overachiever Ben walked home with Paisley after school and they both kept thinking about different treats but nothing seemed yummy or special enough Paisley’s house smelled spicy when they walked 11
