The Mystery of the Birthday Basher

Cara would always come when Amirah needed her.
“Cara!” Amirah’s voice echoed off the buildings as if the city were calling for Cara too. “Cara!”
Amirah didn’t just listen for hoofbeats; she pressed her palms against the ground, hoping to feel it vibrating as Cara’s golden hooves thundered across the land. But the silence stretched on. Amirah called for Cara again and again, but there was no sign that the unicorn heard her.
Amirah stood up, wrapped her arms around herself, and shivered—even though the day wasn’t particularly cold. There was no way for her to deny it any longer.
No one was coming.
Not her B-Buds.
Not even Cara.

With a gasp, Amirah bolted upright. She rubbed her eyes, and it took her a moment to realize that she was in her bed, in her room, in her house. The Magical Land of Birthdays was gone.
It was just a dream, she realized in relief. But why did it feel so real?
Was it because she’d been so upset about the missing birthday invitations?
Was it somehow connected to the way the words in The Power of Sprinkles seemed to disappear right before her eyes?
What did it all mean?
Amirah shook her head, as if to shake away the last cobwebs of sleepiness and focus on the day that had just begun. She might not understand what her dream meant . . . and maybe it didn’t mean anything at all. But she had a birthday cake to bake—and just the thought filled her with excitement!
Amirah hopped out of bed and changed into her favorite baking outfit: bright pink overalls and sky-blue high-top sneakers. She twisted a rainbow-striped scarf around her head so that her bouncy curls wouldn’t get in her face. And just like that, she was ready for her day!
Amirah bounded downstairs to the kitchen, where her parents, Mama and Baba, were enjoying their morning coffee. “Let’s get cooking!” she exclaimed as she opened the fridge and started pulling out the cold ingredients she’d need: butter, eggs, milk.
Mama and Baba exchanged a grin.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mama asked.
“Oops!” Amirah giggled. “Good morning!” She hurried over to give her parents a hug and kiss.
“Good morning to you too,” Baba teased Amirah.
“Thanks,” Mama said. “But what I meant was . . . breakfast!”
“Right! I guess I forgot that too,” Amirah replied.
“Let’s have quesadillas with fresh salsa,” Mama suggested as she stood up from the table. “By the time we finish eating, the butter will be softened—”
“And we can start mixing Paulina’s cake!” Amirah finished for her.
Mama was right, of course. By the time breakfast was over and the dishes washed and stacked in the drying rack, the butter was just squishy enough for mixing.
“Let’s get baking,” Amirah cheered.
“I can’t wait to see how this turns out,” Mama said as they got to work.
The cake itself was fairly simple because Amirah was sticking to classic flavors that she knew Paulina would love—sweet vanilla cake with creamy vanilla frosting. But that was where the simplicity ended. The design Amirah had in mind for Paulina’s cake was truly spectacular, and like Mama, she couldn’t wait to see how it was going to turn out.
After the cakes cooled, Amirah carefully cut a hole into the center of each layer. In this way, Paulina’s cake was similar to Amirah’s own unicorn birthday cake in that it would have a hole running through the center of it, top to bottom, once the layers were stacked. But this hole wasn’t going to be filled with sprinkles like Amirah’s special cake was. No, this cake was going to have a doll stuck into the hole in the center, up to her waist, so her torso, head, and shoulders peeked out the top of the cake.
Amirah carefully shaped the cake to look like the skirt of a poufy dress and then iced and decorated it to look like the bottom half of a princess dress. With the doll poking out of the center, the overall effect was of a beautiful doll cake.
“I think you’ve outdone yourself with this one,” Mama commented as she admired the finished cake. “It looks so beautiful!”
“I think she’s going to love it.” Amirah grinned.
Mama gestured to the extra cake batter left in the bowl on the counter. “What do you want to do with the leftover batter?”
Amirah knew exactly what she wanted to do with it!
“Mini cakes!” she cried. And sure enough, there was enough batter left over to make four mini cakes.
While she waited for the mini cakes to bake, Amirah put Paulina’s cake in the fridge to give the beautiful frosting a chance to set. A brief image of the drippy cake pops from her dream flitted through her mind, but Amirah pushed the thought away. She was not going to let that happen to Paulina’s special cake!
At last, Amirah—and the cake—were ready to go. She placed Paulina’s cake in a tall box and tied a shimmery pink ribbon around it with a big, poufy bow on top.
In the car, Mama drove slowly and carefully, avoiding every bump in the road. Amirah used her legs to hold the cake perfectly still on the floor in the back seat of the car. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Paulina’s face when she peeked inside the cake box!
“What if she’s not home?” Amirah asked Mama. “I should’ve called first!”
“If she’s not home, we’ll take the cake back to the fridge and try again later,” Mama assured her.
Amirah didn’t need to worry, though. Paulina was relaxing in a hammock with a book when they arrived at her house.
“Amirah!” Paulina exclaimed happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Happy birthday!” Amirah sang out. She presented the cake box to Paulina. “I have something special for you.”
Paulina’s eyes brightened. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked in excitement.
Mama and Amirah exchanged a secret smile. No matter what Paulina was imagining, Amirah was confident she couldn’t guess it was an extra-special cake that Amirah had created just for her.
“Open it!” Amirah encouraged her.
“Open it inside,” Mama