Things might be too good to be true for Tamiko in this eleventh book in the Sprinkle Sundays series from the author of the Cupcake Diaries series and Donut Dreams series! It’s the start of a new school year, and everything is going perfectly for Tamiko. She has a great back-to-school wardrobe, her BFF Sierra is in her homeroom, and she just won a contest to design the cover for a local magazine! Everything is turning up rainbow sprinkles. But when Tamiko starts walking around with her head in the clouds and not putting in her usual effort at the shop, it’s time for the Sprinkle Sunday squad to bring her back down to Earth! 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, Cupcake Diaries: The New Batch, the Sprinkle Sundays, and the Donut Dreams series. Her newest series is Mia in the Middle. Chapter One: Slaying It! CHAPTER ONE SLAYING IT! “Tamiko, you’re going to be late for your first day of school!” Mom yelled up the stairs. “COMING!” I yelled back. Mom was being unreasonable. I still had ten minutes to get to the bus stop, and I needed to upload my blog post before I left. I’d just taken a mirror selfie of me in my back-to-school outfit: baggy ripped jeans and a white T-shirt with cartoony bright orange carrots on it. I started typing. “And here’s the winning outfit! Thanks for voting in my poll yesterday. I brought home so many cool outfits from Tokyo that I couldn’t pick one. “Now I’m off to start another year of school. The good news is that I finally have a class with my bestie, Sienna! ” “Sienna” was the code name I used on my blog for one of my best friends, Sierra. My other bestie, Allie, was code-named “Anne” because her favorite book was Anne of Green Gables . I started to type, “The other good news is that I don’t have to take art this year with Mr. Rivera. I love art, but that class bored me to tears!” But I deleted it after just a few words. Before the summer had started, I’d gotten into some big trouble for posting something negative on my blog that I’d meant to be funny. So I was trying to be really careful about not posting anything hurtful. Instead I typed: “If you’re going back to school today too, remember to be your fabulous self, walk tall, and don’t let the haters get you down! That’s Tamiko’s Take.” I studied the selfie, making sure I was okay with the image. My face was covered up by a huge bunny emoji. I knew I was following basic online privacy rules, but I had to admit that the emoji made me look a little silly. Oh well. I quickly checked over the text for typos, and then, with a satisfied sigh, I uploaded the post. “TAMIKO!” I tucked my phone into my backpack, slung the bag over my shoulder, and bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Dad was seated at the kitchen table, calmly drinking a cup of coffee. “Why is everything so loud this morning?” he asked. “Yeah, why?” parroted my older brother, Kai, who was halfway out the front door. Outside I could see a blue car parked in front of our house. “Who’s that? Are you getting a ride? Can I get one too?” I asked. “That’s Kevin, who’s a senior, and no,” Kai said. “But—” I protested. Kai closed the door behind him, and Mom ran up to me and handed me a lunch bag and a granola bar. “You need to get to that bus stop, Tamiko,” she said. “I’m bummed that you didn’t come downstairs earlier. I made the pancakes and everything.” I glanced over at the stove, where pancakes that looked like smiling frog faces were stacked on a plate. Mom had gotten a pancake mold when I was four years old, and she’d made me frog pancakes on special occasions ever since—and always on the first day of school. “Save them and I’ll microwave them tomorrow,” I said. “You’re welcome , Tamiko,” Mom said. Then she looked me up and down. “This is the outfit that your blog readers picked?” I did a twirl. “Yup!” Mom sighed. “I voted for the white shirt with the black jumper. It looked so cute on you.” “My readers have spoken!” I said. “Bye-eee!” I raced out the door and jogged down to the corner bus stop. Even though it was September, the temperature still felt summery, and I was glad to be wearing the T-shirt today. When the bus came, I found a seat, tuned out the noise and the smell of middle school BO, and took out my phone. First I checked my blog. Three comments already! Then I texted Allie. Have a great first day of school! Bet you can’t wait to see Colin! She texted back: You too! Bet you can’t wait to see Ewan! I groaned. Served me right for teasing her about Colin. I replied with a tongue-stuck-out emoji and leaned back in my seat. Last year I’d had art class with Ewan Kim, and he was nice, and funny, and defi