Emma needs a break from big-sister duty in this addition to Spotlight’s treat of a tween series. Emma is not thrilled with always having to rearrange her schedule so she can babysit her younger brother, Jake. Now Emma’s parents have broken some news that really threatens to push Emma over the edge—since Emma and Jake are going to the same day camp this summer, she’s expected to sit with Jake on the bus. Not only does this mean Emma can’t hang out with her friends, but she also has to comfort Jake—who has a serious issue with motion sickness. Can Emma find a way to sweeten up her summer plans? From cupcakes to ice cream and donuts! When she’s not daydreaming about yummy snacks, Coco Simon edits children’s books and has written close to one hundred books for children, tweens, and young adults, which is a lot less than the number of cupcakes, ice cream cones, and donuts she’s eaten. She is the author of the Cupcake Diaries, the Sprinkle Sundays, and the Donut Dreams series. Her newest series is Cupcake Diaries: The New Batch. Emma All Stirred Up! CHAPTER 1 Little Brother, Big Problem My name is Emma Taylor, but a few weeks ago I was wishing it was anything but! I was pretending that the little boy who was outside the school bus, wailing that he did not want to go to day camp, was not my little brother, Jake Taylor, and that those desperate parents who were bribing and pleading with him were not my parents, but rather some poor, misguided souls whom I would never see again. In fact, I was wishing that I was already an adult and that my three best friends and I—the entire Cupcake Club—had opened our own bakery on a cute little side street in New York City, where none of my three brothers lived. The bakery would be all pink, and it would sell piles of cupcakes in a rainbow of lovely colors and flavors, and would cater mainly to movie stars and little girls’ princess birthday parties. That is my fantasy. Sounds great, right? But oh, no, this was reality. “Emmy!” Jake was shrieking as my father gently but firmly manhandled him down the bus aisle to where I was scrunched down on my seat, pretending not to see them. I could literally feel the warmth of all the other eyes on the bus watching us, and I just wanted to melt away. Instead I stared out the window, like there was something really fascinating out there. “Emma, please look after your brother,” said my father. How many times have I heard that one? My older brothers, Matt and Sam, and I take turns babysitting Jake, but somehow the bad stuff always happens on my shift. My dad gave Jake one last kiss, reached to pat me on the head, and then dashed off the bus. I wished I could’ve dashed with him. A counselor sat on the end of the seat, scrunching Jake in between us, so he couldn’t run away. Jake was wailing, and the counselor—a nice girl named Paige, who is about twenty-one years old and probably wishing she were somewhere else too—was speaking in a soothing voice to him. She looked over his head at me, smiled, and then said, “Don’t worry. This happens all the time. We always get one of these guys. He’ll settle down within the week.” The week?! I wanted to die, but instead I nodded and looked out the window again. I also wanted to kill Jake that moment, but it was only seconds later that his wails turned to quiet hiccups. Then he slid his clammy, chubby little hand into mine and squeezed, and I felt a little guilty. “It’s going to be okay, Jake,” I whispered, and squeezed his little hand back. He snuggled into me and looked up at me with these really big eyes that get me every time. It’s not the worst thing in the world to have a little someone in your life who looks up to you. I sighed. “Feeling better, officer?” Jake is big into law enforcement, so it usually cheers him up if we play Precinct. At least he wasn’t crying anymore. Paige gave him a pat on the head and then went to help some other kids get on the bus. But Jake wasn’t feeling better. I could tell just by looking at him. “I feel sick,” he said. Oh no. Jake isn’t one of those kids who fakes being sick. My mom always says on car trips that if Jake says he feels sick, we pull over, because he will throw up, 100 percent of the time. I jerked the bus window open and quickly flung Jake over me, so that he was sitting in the window seat. “Put your head out the window, buddy. Take deep breaths—in through your nose, out through your mouth. We’re going to start moving soon, so the wind will be in your face. … Deep breaths.” I rubbed his back a little and looked up to see if anyone I knew was getting on at this stop. My best friend and co–Cupcake Clubber Alexis Becker was going to the same camp, but her parents were dropping her off on their way to work. I fantasized about them driving me, too, and leaving Jake to his own devices. Ha! As if my parents would let me get away with that! At the very least, I did have our Cupcake Club meeting to look forward to later today. Just qualit