From the Desk of Zoe Washington(30)



I know my last letter was probably confusing. I wish we lived in a fairer world, where only guilty people went to prison. But I think the best thing for us to do is leave the past behind us, as I’ve tried to do, and focus on the here and now. Right now, I’m happy that I got your letter and this beautiful picture.

I’ve been thinking. Your grandma said I could call you at her house. Maybe we should try that. How about on August 15 around three p.m.? By then, you should have this letter and can hopefully make plans to be at your grandma’s house.

In terms of a unique ingredient for a cupcake, that’s hard! But you know, when I was younger my favorite thing to eat was cereal. It’s so bad, but my favorite was always the colorful sugary cereals. I rotated between all of them. I’d find the biggest bowl in our kitchen and fill it up. The cereal would turn the milk different colors, and I’d sit on the couch with the humongous bowl on my lap, watching cartoons. Maybe you can make some kind of cereal cupcake?

Finally, here’s a new song for your playlist: “Golden,” by Jill Scott.

Love,

Marcus





Chapter Twenty


Trevor’s eyes widened as he watched me take the boxes out of the grocery bag and line them up on his kitchen counter. Froot Loops. Reese’s Puffs. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Cocoa Pebbles.

“What’s with all the cereal?” Trevor asked.

“I’m gonna use one of them in a cupcake recipe.” Cereal cupcakes! It was such a good idea; I wished I’d thought of it myself. Everyone loved cereal, especially the sugary kind. I couldn’t wait to start experimenting, so after I got Marcus’s letter, I asked Grandma to take me to the grocery store again. She wouldn’t let me get full boxes of each cereal, but she got me a variety pack of the mini boxes when I told her why I needed them.

“Cereal cupcakes?” Trevor asked, scratching his nose.

“Yes. Wait, does that not sound good?”

“No. I mean, I don’t know.”

“I think it could be really yummy,” I said. “But first I have to figure out which cereal to use. Wanna help me taste-test them?”

Trevor’s eyes lit up. “Sure! Mom never lets me eat this stuff. She says there’s too much sugar.”

“That’s kind of the point of it,” I said.

He grabbed two bowls from the cabinet, two spoons from the drawer, and the carton of milk from the refrigerator.

Trevor went straight for the Cocoa Pebbles, filling his bowl and pouring milk on top. “Mmm,” he said as he chewed his first bite. “I vote for these.”

“You’re only voting for those because they’re chocolate.”

“And?”

I shrugged and poured myself a small bowl of it, too. It was pretty chocolaty, but I could imagine pairing it with peanut butter. Like, maybe a chocolate peanut butter cupcake with Cocoa Pebbles in the batter, so when you bit into the finished cupcake, you’d get crunchy bits. And then I could put more of the flakes in vanilla buttercream icing.

I poured the rest of the cereal in the trash so I could try the next one.

“What are you doing?” Trevor’s face twisted in offense. “You’re wasting perfectly good cereal!”

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed the next box—Froot Loops. “I like the idea of using this one,” I told Trevor. “Because it’s so colorful. Maybe I could make tie-dye cupcakes or something.” I took a bite and grimaced. It was a little too sweet, like in a fake way. “Hmm.” I stared at the bowl and thought about how I could make it work.

Then there was the sound of footsteps on our front porch, and a knock at Trevor’s front door.

“Trev! You home?” someone called out.

I froze. That was Lincoln’s voice. He was probably with Sean.

Trevor glanced at me and then toward the front of his house.

“One sec,” he said to me. “I’ll . . . tell them I’m busy.”

I didn’t say anything as Trevor left the room. Once he went down the hall to open the front door, I moved into the hallway and stood to the side of the staircase. I didn’t dare move closer to the front door, because I didn’t want the boys to see me. This meant I couldn’t see them either, but I could hear every word.

This better not be a repeat of what happened the last time I listened in.

“You free to play?” Sean asked once Trevor opened the door. There was the sound of a basketball dribbling on the porch.

“Can’t today,” Trevor said.

“Why not?”

I held my breath.

“I’m doing something.” He paused. “Zoe’s over.”

“Washington?” Lincoln said. “Why are you hanging out with her?”

“Did your parents make you?” Sean asked. “That really sucks.”

“Just ditch her,” Lincoln said.

“No,” Trevor said. “My parents didn’t make me. We’re . . .”

I squeezed my hands together.

“. . . She’s my friend.”

Lincoln and Sean broke out laughing, but then they trailed off.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Lincoln asked.

“Yeah,” Trevor said. “She’s cool. I never should’ve said that stuff about her. I didn’t mean it.”

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