The Magical Land of Birthdays No. 2: The Mystery of the Birthday Basher
to herself But not just any doll A sophisticated elegant doll A doll wearing a gorgeous ball gown in sparkly pink of course And that’s what inspired Amirah to try baking a doll cake for Paulina She sketched quickly even though it was hard for her hand to keep up with all the new thoughts popping into her mind When she finished sketching Amirah sat back studied her cake drawing and smiled to herself Yes It was perfect perfect for Paulina Now all Amirah needed to do was get some special ingredients at the store Mama and Amirah loved to bake more than just about anything else so they kept their kitchen stocked with all the staples butter sugar flour eggs But Paulina’s cake would need a little something extra Amirah bounded out of the room and found her mother in the kitchen putting away the clean dishes Mama Can you take me to the store she asked breathlessly What do you need Mama asked raising an eyebrow We just refilled the sprinkles last week I know Amirah said with a grin She showed Mama her sketch What do you think I want to make this cake for Paulina It’s beautiful princess Mama replied She’s going to love it I want to get some pink glitter candles and some sugar pearls for the dress Oh Maybe I can even get some candy flowers too Amirah exclaimed adding a few more notes to her sketch Mama reached for her keys I’ll get Amir and meet you at the car Thanks Mama Amirah said She impulsively stood on her tiptoes to give Mama a kiss on the cheek then bounded out the front door so joyfully that her curls bounced Despite the heat
of the summer day there was plenty of activity in Amirah’s neighborhood The postal carrier was humming as he traveled from door to door placing mail in the mailboxes Amirah’s special friend in the neighborhood Mrs Maria was enjoying a cold refreshing drink called horchata on her front porch And on the sidewalk in front of her home Amirah spotted a boy from school Billy who was walking four dogs at the same time Billy she exclaimed jogging over to him I didn’t know you had four dogs They’re beautiful They’re not all mine Billy replied as he pointed to a little brown dog Just this one This is Fiesta Fiesta wagged his tail at the mention of his name I started a dog-walking business this summer These other three dogs belong to some of my clients Amirah’s eyes widened You started your own business she said Wow That’s amazing It’s okay I guess Billy said Fiesta is such a great name for a dog Amirah continued bending over to let Fiesta sniff her hand Did you name him that because you love birthday parties Well Billy shifted uncomfortably Amirah wasn’t sure if maybe he was shy or just in a rush to get back to work Before Billy could finish his sentence a fluffy black shepherd started to pull at the leash A roly-poly dachshund yipped and ran in a circle around Billy’s legs while the chihuahua pulled the leash in another direction Soon they were all tangled up including Billy Amirah would’ve giggled but Billy’s face had fallen into a frustrated frown Here let me help she said not wanting him to feel even more embarrassed
It’s fine Billy said shortly It happens more than you think Then with a heavy sigh he began to patiently untangle the dogs leashes Amirah Mama called from the driveway jingling her keys Let’s go See you later Amirah told Billy Then with a quick wave she hurried over to her mom’s car Amirah was quiet while they drove to the market Billy didn’t seem to think his dog-walking business was a big deal but Amirah thought it was incredible Maybe I’ll start a business of my own someday she thought dreamily A cake-baking business Or a a birthday business Amirah wasn’t entirely sure what a birthday business would be like but she knew she had plenty of time to figure it out Amir and I are going to get some groceries for dinner Mama told Amirah when they reached the store Why don’t you grab what you need and meet us at the checkout counter You got it Amirah replied Thanks again Amirah could’ve found her way to the baking aisle blindfolded After all it was her favorite aisle in the entire store But when she reached it she noticed right away that something was different There were empty spaces on the shelves spaces that should’ve held tubs of frosting and sacks of sugar and Amirah stared in disbelief Where were the sprinkles The shelf that normally held sprinkles jar after jar of sprinkles in every color not to mention Amirah’s favorite rainbow sprinkles all jumbled up together was completely bare
The hollowness of the gray steel shelves left Amirah feeling empty inside too She had never seen the decorating section of the baking aisle like this before Maybe maybe a lot of people are celebrating summer birthdays she thought trying to look on the bright side Maybe a delivery truck will pull up first thing tomorrow morning filled with cases of sprinkles and sugar With one last look at the empty shelves Amirah turned away from the baking aisle and made her way to the party supplies aisle another favorite spot in the store But today that was where she got another unpleasant surprise The shelves were as empty as in the baking aisle and the supplies that were still left had been roughly scattered around Some had even fallen on the floor This is terrible Amirah thought as she knelt down to pick up some packages of birthday cake candles There was a dented cardboard crown on the floor too she tried to straighten it before she put it back on the shelf but Amirah could already tell that it would never look shiny and new again It’s bad enough that all of the party supplies are cleaned out Amirah thought But everything being such a mess too There’s no excuse for that Despite the disarray Amirah had slightly better luck searching through the party supplies There was one package of sparkly pink candles left and it contained just enough candles for Paulina’s cake Amirah held tightly on to it as she went to the front of the store to meet her mother and brother Did you find everything you need Amirah asked her mother Oh yes Mama said showing Amirah her basket which was brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables How about you
