18

Auriana

"I have a great idea!" Brooke said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Brooke chillax! It's 8:30 in the morning," Renee said. Renee has never really been a morning person and preferred to have a quiet morning.

"We're having a sleepover!" Brooke clapped her hands excitedly.

"A sleepover?"

"Yeah, you know…all your friends come over and you watch movies and eat snacks and…," she explained before Renee interrupted her.

"I know what a sleepover is, Brooke." The others burst out laughing.

"But our parents won't let us," Skylar said.

"We can, I've already arranged it."

"WHAT?!" we shouted at the same time.

"Surprise?" Brooke said hesitantly, waving her hands.

"Who's coming?" Renee asked. Brooke gestured around the group.

"Okay, we'll come…but next time, please ask us first," I said. We walked into the gym. Brooke, Renee, Jimmy, and Skylar pulled two cabinets out of the storage room. Nikki, Emma, ​​Jake, and Jeremy put the crates against the wall and stacked four crates on top of each other.

I knocked on the principal's door.

"Come in!" I walked into the now familiar office.

"Sorry to bother you again…but we can't bring the instruments to the gym without Scarlet seeing us."

"That's alright Auriana, I'll ask a few teachers to have the musical instruments brought to the gym after school, just make a list of the instruments you'll need." I fished a notepad out of my bag and wrote:

1 electric guitar

1 bass guitar

1 keyboard.

1 drum kit.

6 headsets.

5 microphones with stands.

I gave the list to the principal.

"I'll make sure it gets to the gym." She put the note on top of her to-do list.

"And I don't know if it's possible, because we've already missed a few classes, and I might be crossing a line with this, but could you give us the day off so no one can bother us tomorrow?"

"I'll see what I can do, now get back to it quickly." I gave her a grateful smile before I walked out of the office.

I walked back into the gym and saw that the stage was almost up. Stage check! I checked it off my list.

"Is it sturdy enough though?" Skylar asked uncertainly. At first glance, it looked very rickety. The girls climbed onto the stage and jumped up and down on the stage several times.

"I think the planks made it sturdier too," Brooke said. She jumped off the stage again. "Auriana?" I looked up from my clapperboard and toward the doorway.

"Sil!" In my excitement, I jumped off the stage, walked over to him, and threw my arms around his neck.

"She's never been as crazy about a boy as she is about him," Emma said. Jake turned away. Poor Jake, Skylar thought.

"We have to help Jake," Skylar said to Emma. Little did they know that Sil and I's "relationship" wasn't going so well at the moment.

"How? Make up a lie, get Auri to believe us, break up with Sil, and then fall in love with Jake?" Emma suggested.

"Or Jake makes her jealous and she finally admits her feelings for him…you in?" Emma looked at Jake and then back at Skylar and nodded.

"Tonight at the sleepover, we're going to convince Brooke to play Truth or Dare." They high-fived.

"Hey, if we paint the nails black, it'll look a lot better," Renee said. She looked from the nails to the others.

"Good luck," Jake said sarcastically.

Brooke

I ran through the kitchen as I busied myself getting everything ready for the sleepover.

"Brooke, chillax, they're not coming for another three hours!" Katie, my younger sister, said. I took two trays of cupcakes out of the oven, set them on the counter, and slid two trays of cookies into the oven.

"Help me decorate." Katie grabbed a piping bag of buttercream and helped me decorate.

"Brooke! I have the movie you wanted!" Chase, my older brother, called out. He walked into the kitchen.

"Put it on the table!" I said, gesturing to the table without looking. Chase put the movie on the table and placed four bags next to the table.

"Oh cupcakes!" Chase reached out to grab one but Katie swatted his hand away.

"Those are for the sleepover." He rolled his eyes.

"You know Mom and Dad have a bakery, right?" Chase asked. I looked at him questioningly.

"For the party tomorrow, they can do the catering." How could I not have thought of that?! Without saying a word, I stormed downstairs.

"MOM!" I walked into the bakery kitchen.

"Yes? What's wrong Brooke?" My mother was busy making a wedding cake.

"Do you and Dad want to do the catering for the school dance?" My mother looked up from the cake and put the piping bag away before she could make a mistake.

"Sure!" she said happily. I kissed my mother on the cheek.

"Thank you!" I called over my shoulder as I was already on my way upstairs.

"Don't touch those cupcakes!" I sighed and ran into the kitchen.

"Chase! Katie! Get out of the kitchen!" Chase and Katie quickly ran out of the kitchen. I took the baking sheets out of the oven, put the cookies on two plates and slid a cake into the oven, then continued decorating the cupcakes. Half an hour later the cupcakes were ready. I put a rainbow-colored cloth over the table, placed four bottles of cola, cassis and iced tea on the table. I got ten glasses from the cupboard and placed them next to the bottles on the table, after which I filled six bowls with chips, two with bolognese, two with cheese flips and two with ham and cheese chips. I placed the plates with cookies and three cupcake stands with cupcakes on the table, after which I collapsed exhausted on the couch.

"Brooke, can you make a list of things you want at the dance?" my mother asked as she handed me a notebook and a pen. I took it and quickly wrote a list:

Cupcakes.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Salmon wraps.

Sliced ​​fruit.

Rainbow cake.

Cocktail sausages.

Cola.

Fanta.

Iced tea.

Cassis.

I handed the notebook back to my mom.

"Thanks, I'm going grocery shopping." After two more hours of baking, I was finally able to relax a little. The phone rang.

"Taylor Family Bakery, this is Brooke Taylor." I always got a little nervous when I had to answer the phone because I never knew if the person on the other end would have a difficult order.

"Hi Brooke, this is Principal Nickolas, I just wanted to let you know that the whole school is off tomorrow and they won't be coming in until the evening."

"Thanks Principal Nickolas."

"Have fun at your sleepover." I thanked her again and hung up just as the doorbell rang.

"Chase, door!" I called. Chase opened the door.

"Hi." He let Renee in.

"Hi to you too, Chase." He closed the door behind her.

"Brooke's in the kitchen." He walked up the stairs, leaving her alone.

"Where else?" Renee laughed. She immediately headed to the kitchen.

"Hey Brooke, what are you doing?"

"Getting plates and forks." I rummaged through the silverware drawer.

"For what?" I walked into the living room and put the plates on the table.

"Oh…for that, looks like you've been busy baking again." I smiled.

"Yep, do me a favor and keep Chase away from the cupcakes," I said as I put the forks down.

"I will." The doorbell rang again.

"I'll go!" I called as I walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey guys, come on in." The boys put down their bags and sat on the couch.

"Auriana and Scarlet are on their way up too," Jake said. Katie came downstairs.

"Hey guys," she said as she walked to the kitchen. I walked back to the door.

"Hey Katie," Jake, Jimmy and Jeremy said at the same time. She gave them a smile in greeting and walked on. I walked into the living room with Auriana and Scarlet. Katie walked back with a glass of coke in her hand.

"Hey Auri, hey Scarlet," Katie said.

"Hey Katie."

"Now it's just Em, Sky and Nikki." The doorbell rang again.

"Speaking of the devils," Jeremy laughed. Auriana and Scarlet rolled their eyes.

"Okay, now that we're all here I'll pour you all a drink, what do you want?" I asked as I stood up and walked to the table.

"We'll help," Emma and Skylar said at the same time. They helped me pour the drinks.

"Hey Brooke, can we play Truth or Dare later?" I couldn't help it, my eyes started to sparkle at the thought.

"Sure Em, we'll do that after the movie." Emma and Skylar each grabbed two cups.

"Hey Brooke, what do you have planned for us?" Scarlet asked. No matter how much my friends nagged, I hadn't revealed anything about the evening's plans yet.

"First have a few drinks, eat rainbow cake, put sleeping bags in my room, watch a movie, and play Truth or Dare." I ticked it off on my fingers as I named things to make sure I didn't forget anything.

"Scarlet, Renee, and I will help with the cake," Nikki said. A moment later, we were all sitting on the floor in the living room as I put the movie in the DVD player.

"What movie are we going to watch?" Jeremy asked. He popped a chip in his mouth.

"Captain America Civil War."