Sophie the Zillionaire (3 page)

T
he next day was Saturday. That was a great day for a bake sale!

Except that it wasn’t. Because that was the day Sophie and her friends were going to Mrs. Belle’s daughter’s horse farm. Of course!

Mrs. Belle was Kate’s babysitter. She had her own kids, but they were grown up. And now one of them had a horse farm. With real, live horses. To ride on!

Kate was allowed to bring her five best friends: Sophie and Eve and Mia and Sydney and Grace. They were going to ride horses.
Sophie was sorry they could not sleep over. That had been the plan. But that plan had changed when Kate asked to invite more friends. Still! They were riding horses. And Sophie could hardly wait!

Sophie’s dad dropped her off at the farm in the morning. Right away, she saw Kate standing with a grown-up outside the barn. Both of them waved as Sophie walked up.

“This is my friend Sophie,” Kate said.

“Hey, there! I’m Mrs. Belle’s daughter, Tallulah. Welcome to Blue-Belle Farms,” said the grown-up.

Sophie stared. Mrs. Belle’s daughter did not look like Mrs. Belle. At all.

Mrs. Belle had very short, very blond hair. It was also very curly.

Tallulah had a thick ponytail. Her hair was long and brown and straight.

Mrs. Belle wore very pink lipstick. And very tight pantsuits. Most times they were very bright.

Tallulah did not have on lipstick. She had on jeans. They were torn and loose and very light.

Sophie would never have thought that they were related. She did not say this, though.

What she did say was “Nice to meet you. I’m Sophie the Z —”

But she did not get to finish. By then, Tallulah had turned around.

“Come check out the barn!” Tallulah called over her shoulder.

“Come on, Sophie the Zillionaire!” said Kate.

Sophie grinned. Together, they followed Tallulah into the big barn.

Grace and Sydney were waiting inside. Sophie was not surprised. She was never the first — or the last — to get anywhere. But maybe she would be when she was a zillionaire. Instead of her dad, a chauffeur could drive her. And she could buy a car that was long … and very fast.

But she would worry about that later. Right now, she had horses to ride!

She was happy when Eve and Mia walked in.

“Hey! Everyone’s here. Can we see the horses now?” Sophie asked.

“Hay is for horses.” Tallulah laughed. “But you bet we can!”

She led them to a row of stalls. Sophie grinned and held her breath. She grinned because she was excited. She held her breath because of the smell.

She sure hoped they were going to ride outside. It was kind of stinky in there.

Then, all of a sudden, Sophie’s heart knocked her breath loose. She forgot about the smell.

A long black face poked through a stall door. It was looking right at her!

“This is Prince,” said Tallulah. She reached up and rubbed the horse’s nose.

Prince! That was perfect.
What a great name for a zillionaire’s horse,
Sophie thought.

She waved her hand. “Can I ride him?” she asked.

Tallulah patted his neck. It looked strong and
smooth. “Have you ridden before?” she asked Sophie.

Sophie shook her head. “But it is my lifelong dream!” she said.

Tallulah smiled. “Mine, too. But Prince here is a handful. I have some ponies who would be much better for you,” she said.

Ponies?
Sophie was not sure she liked the sound of that. Her dream was to ride big beautiful horses. Not little ponies.

Then Tallulah turned to the other girls. “Has anyone ridden before?” she asked.

Sophie looked around. She really hoped not! Sophie the Zillionaire should not be riding a little pony when everyone else had a big horse.

Luckily, the girls all said no.

Phew.

Tallulah led them to another row of stalls. Over the doors, Sophie saw signs with the horses’ names painted on them.

There were Sinbad … and Ringo … and
Joker … and Daisy … and Penny … and Duchess …

Duchess!
That would work! A duchess was kind of like a prince — or a princess. Sophie was pretty sure, anyway.

She almost said, “I’ll take that one!”

Only, before she could, Mrs. Belle’s daughter gave Duchess to Grace!

“Here, Sophie. You take Penny,” Tallulah said. “She’ll be perfect for you.”

Penny? Perfect?
Sophie the Zillionaire did not think so.

She cleared her throat. “Um, do you think I could have Duchess instead? You might not know this,” she said softly — she did not want the other girls to feel bad — “but I have a fifty-dollar bill at home. I’m almost the richest kid in my class. So a horse named Penny doesn’t seem right.”

“I see,” said Tallulah. She turned to Penny’s stall. A reddish brown face was peeking out. It nodded two times. Then it blew and made a soft, shivery horse sound.

“Too bad,” Tallulah went on. “I think Penny really likes you.”

Really?
Penny liked her?

The pony nodded again.

“Do you still want to switch?” Tallulah asked her.

“No, that’s okay.” Sophie shook her head. Tallulah was right. Penny did like her. And she liked Penny, too, now.

Plus Penny was not a small pony at all. She was big. Much bigger than Sophie. So big, Sophie wondered how she would ever get up on her back.

“Is there a ladder?” she asked Tallulah. “I’m ready to go!”

“Yeah!” cheered the other girls. They were ready, too!

But they learned that this was not how it worked.

They learned that before you rode a horse or a pony, you had to groom it. And that meant lots of brushing — which was fun.

It also meant cleaning the pony’s feet — which was hard if he didn’t want to pick them up (like Kate’s pony, Joker).

Joker whinnied as Kate kept trying.

“He’s laughing at me,” Kate groaned.

They also learned that before you rode, you and your pony both had to dress up. The pony had to put on a bridle and a blanket. Oh, and a saddle. Of course. The riders had to put on hard hats. They were a lot like helmets, but very plain. (Sophie decided when she was a zillionaire, she would buy a fancy one.)

Then the riding part came. Finally! That was when the girls learned other things.

Things like:

You didn’t use a ladder to get on the pony. You used a big box called a mounting block, instead. And you always got on from the pony’s left side. And you had to be fast, or he would walk off.

Also, the ground looked really far away from the top of a pony! Sophie was glad to be wearing her hard hat then. She did not care at all that it was plain.

Once the girls were on their ponies, they rode around a ring. Kate got to be first. Sophie was in the middle, as usual. But that was fine with her. Steering a pony was not easy.

“Just follow Ringo,” Sophie whispered in Penny’s tall ear.

And she did. The whole time. Penny was such a smart pony!

Then they learned that an hour of riding went fast. Even when you were just riding around … and around … and around.

And all that grooming you did before you rode? You had to do it all over again after.

And they also learned that there were pony treats — like dog treats, but much bigger. And that pony teeth were big, too. And that pony drool was not too bad. (Pony poop, though, kind of was.)

And Sophie learned one more thing. This was probably the most important: A horse’s name did not matter. They were all great, no matter what!

In fact, Sophie knew what she would buy before a fancy hard hat or a fast car when she was a real zillionaire: a horse farm and lots of ponies just like Penny.

And lots of air freshener, too!

Sophie had more reasons than ever to be a zillionaire now. She had to buy all those things. And pay someone to do her chores. And she had to have more money than Mindy VonBoffmann, of course.

Sophie did not think the first thing could happen before Monday. Pony farms were pricey, she bet.

But the next two things might happen fast — if her bake sale went well.

Sophie told Kate about her amazing bake sale idea as Kate’s mom drove them home from the farm.

Kate wanted to help. “But if I help, do I get to make some money, too?” Kate asked.

Sophie thought about this for a second. Kate had a good point.

Plus if Kate made her own money, Sophie would not have to buy her gum. Kate could buy it herself.

Sophie grinned and shook Kate’s hand. “We are now business partners!” she said.

O
n Sunday afternoon, Kate came over.

“So, what are we baking?” she asked.

Sophie smiled. What else? “What is the alltime best-ever bake sale treat?” she said.

Kate rubbed her hands together. Her eyes got very big. She licked her lips and smiled back at Sophie. “Rice Krispies Treats!”

Huh? No.
Sophie shook her head.

“Chocolate chip cookies!” she said.

Kate’s eyes got normal again. “Oh. Are you sure?” she asked.

“Sure I’m sure. Besides, I already made a sign,” Sophie said.

She held up a big piece of cardboard she’d found in the garage. She had written big words on it in Magic Marker.

BAKE SALE TODAY!
CHOCKLIT CHIP COOKEES!
#5 – CHEEP!

Kate scratched a freckle on her chin. “Are you sure you wrote that right?” she asked.

Sophie studied her sign. “Maybe that’s not the way you spell ‘chocolate.’ But it’s close enough,” she said.

Kate shook her head. “I don’t mean that. I mean the price. Five dollars for one cookie?”

“Well, yeah!” Sophie nodded hard. “Don’t you want to make as much money as we can?” she asked.

Kate shrugged. “I guess so. It just seems like a lot,” she said.

Sophie looked at the sign.
Hmm.
Maybe Kate was right. Maybe that was a lot. For one regular cookie.

So she added two words.

DEELISHUS!

and

SPESHUL!

“Better?” Sophie asked Kate.

Kate grinned. “Yes,” she said. “Uh … but are you sure you spelled
those
right?”

“Who cares?” Sophie waved her hand. That was not important when there were cookies to make!

The girls headed into the kitchen. Sophie put on an apron. She gave Kate one, too.

Then Sophie pulled out her cookbook. It was the one just for kids. She turned past the Stone Soup. And the Easy-Cheesy Carrots and Peasies. But she stopped at the World’s Best Rocko-Chocko Chips.

Yes!

“Okay,” Sophie said. “We need some butter….” She opened the fridge.

Just then, her mom walked in.

“Guess what? Dad took Max to the playground. So I’m all yours. How can I help?” she asked.

Sophie waved her mom out of the room. “You can’t,” she said.

Her mom looked surprised. “Are you sure?”

“I am very sure,” Sophie said.

She was very sure that she and Kate could make the cookies all by themselves. And she was very sure that she did not want to split the profits with anyone else. Not even her mom.

“Okay …,” her mom said. She used that voice that sounded like she did not really mean it. “But call me when it’s oven time. You girls do need help with that.”

“Fine,” Sophie said, blowing her bangs off her forehead.

She rolled her eyes as her mom left.

“Moms,” she and Kate both said.

Then they got baking.

They mixed everything the book said to mix, step by step by step. They also mixed in some
eggshells. (That was an accident. They got them out, mostly.) Then all they needed were chocolate chips!

“Hey!” Sophie said, poking all around the pantry.

“Hay is for horses,” Kate joked.

“No, hey is for ‘Where are the chocolate chips?!’” Sophie said.

She poked around some more. Kate poked, too. Where could they be?

Sophie checked all the cabinets. And the drawers. And the fridge. But there was not even one chocolate chip!

“What do we do?” Sophie cried.

“Well … I guess we could put in something else,” Kate said. “Do you have any other kind of chips?”

Sophie shook her head. She did not.

She guessed she could use some of her money to buy more chocolate chips at the store. But she really did not want to.

One thing was for sure: When Sophie was a
real zillionaire, she would always keep chocolate chips around. A whole cabinet full!

“I know! How about we put in gum?” Kate suggested.

Sophie shook her head again. “I don’t have any. And besides, you’d have to keep chewing the cookies forever then. That might be sort of gross.”

“We should have made Rice Krispies Treats, I guess,” Kate said.

Sophie started to sigh. But then she stopped. “Hey!”

“Hay is for —” Kate said. But Sophie held up her hand.

“Horses. I know,” Sophie said. She grinned. “But listen to this. We know Rice Krispies are good in treats. Do you think they’d be good in cookies?”

“Yes!” Kate’s eyes lit up.

They ran to the pantry and grabbed the cereal box. They dumped a few Rice Krispies into the dough. Then they dumped in a lot. Then they stirred and stirred until they couldn’t feel their arms anymore.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kate asked.

“I think so,” said Sophie. “It’s oven time, Mom!”

W
hile the cookies baked, Sophie fixed her sign. She crossed out CHOCKLIT CHIP and wrote RICE KRISPEE. And she added TOP SECRET RESSIPY across the top.

She tried to taste one cookie right out of the oven. It was so hot that it burned her tongue.
Ouch!

She waited for another to cool. Kate did, too. Then they tried again.
Yum!
The Rice Krispies were good! Sophie missed the chocolate chips, but not as much as she thought she would.

They piled the cookies high on a plate.

“Ready to make some money?” Sophie asked.

“You bet!” Kate said.

Kate grabbed the plate, and Sophie grabbed
the sign and an empty baby wipes box. That was for keeping the money they made in. She hoped it was big enough.

Their plan was to get the folding table from the garage. They would set it up on the sidewalk out front and sell and sell until every single delicious cookie was gone.

But before they got to the door, Sophie’s dad came in with Max. Sophie stopped and stared at them. They looked like they’d been swimming — in their clothes!

“It’s raining cats and dogs out there!” Sophie’s dad said. Then he shook his hair. A puddle was forming under him. Max jumped down and splashed around.

Sophie’s jaw fell.
No, no, no!
It could not rain! Not now! Not on her bake sale!

“No, no, no! It can’t rain! Not now! Not on my bake sale!” she cried.

“Sorry, Sophie,” her dad said. “I think that will have to wait now.”

He took off his coat. Then he sniffed. “Mmm,
smells good!” He grinned. “Hey, can I have a cookie?”

“Hay is for horses. But yes,” Kate said. She held the plate out.

Sophie’s dad reached for it. But Sophie quickly stopped him. She held up her sign. “That will be five dollars, please!”

Her dad’s jaw fell open this time.

“Five
dollars
? For one cookie? That seems like a lot,” he said.

Sophie shrugged. “It’s for a good cause, Dad,” she said.

“Really? What?” he asked.

Sophie raised her chin. “So I can be a zillionaire!”

“And so I can buy gum,” Kate added, smiling wide. She held out the cookie plate again.

Sophie waited for her dad to take out his wallet. But his wallet stayed in his pocket. “I might have to think about this,” he said, rubbing his chin.

But Max did not have to think. He just grabbed a cookie in each hand. Then he ran.

“Hey! That will be ten dollars!” Sophie yelled after him.

S
ophie had really hoped to make a zillion dollars at her bake sale. Or at least another fifty. But that did not happen.

She and Kate still set up their bake sale table. But they set it up inside, in Sophie’s front hall.

And they waited. And waited. And waited.

Sophie had hoped the mailman, or a neighbor, or even her Aunt Maggie would stop by.

But then she remembered that it was Sunday. The mailman did not work. And Aunt Maggie went out to eat with the other old ladies at her church.

At least her dad bought one cookie. Finally. After she let him “test-drive” some.

Soon it was time for Kate to go home. Sophie counted up what they had: one five-dollar bill in
the wipes box and two aches in their tummies. One for each of them.

Sophie wished they had sold more cookies. And eaten fewer.

“I guess there’s just one thing to do,” she told Kate. Then she stood up. “Going-out-of-business sale! Everything must go!” she yelled.

Sophie’s mom popped out of the kitchen. “I’ll give you ten dollars for the whole plate,” she said.

Kate held her stomach and nodded.

“Deal,” Sophie said.

That meant fifteen dollars total. Seven fifty for her, and seven fifty for Kate.

Kate was happy. She could buy lots of gum.

But Sophie was not. $69.30 plus her $5.00 allowance plus $7.50 equaled $81.80.

Sure, it was better. But it was still not enough to make Sophie a zillionaire!