Chapter 1 The Countdown "I can always tell when it's about to rain," I said, turning to Emily. "Really? That's very impressive," she replied. "Yeah, the clouds give it away. Also, my tablet showed me the weather this morning." I flashed my tablet at Emily and smiled. "See? Tuesday, rainy." "Makes sense." Emily chuckled as she slid into the bus seat next to me and carefully started organizing the contents of her book bag. "I can't believe your birthday is coming up in a few weeks!" I enthusiastically shouted to Emily. "I know! I can't wait!" Emily exclaimed as she straightened up and pulled a piece of lint off her shirt. "And yours is next! Are you excited?" she continued. "Definitely. I'm counting down the days!" I replied. "Amazing!" Emily said. "I always count down important dates too. Want to see?" I gave her a smile. Emily knows that she can be herself around me. She pulled out her planner and showed me her perfectly neat calendar with stickies, highlighted words, and to-do lists. "Are you doing anything special for your birthday?" she asked. "Well!" I snapped my fingers together. "I'm so glad you asked! My parents had a friend from Brazil over the other night, and they brought the most delicious chocolate treat ever! It was like a party for my taste buds. Wanna guess what it was? I'll give you a hint. Not cupcakes," I nudged playfully. "Hmm. Chocolate treat. Not cupcakes. Double chocolate chip cookies?" Emily guessed. "Nope, but now I'm craving them! Okay, okay, I'll tell you... they're called brigadeiros ," I said, trying to use my best Portuguese accent. "Brigadeiros!" Emily repeated. "Oh wow, I've never heard of them. What are they? What do they taste like?" Em leaned in closer to listen. "It's a chocolate dessert that's popular in Brazil. It's like a truffle. They're always at birthday parties in Brazil!" I told her. "That sounds so good--and, like, the perfect birthday treat!" Emily smiled. "Yep, and the best part is that they don't require too many ingredients. You just need condensed milk, unsalted butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate sprinkles!" I said gleefully. " Brigadeiros sound delicious!" Em said as the bus stopped and we walked off together. Just thinking about brigadeiros had me hungry for some, but now was not the time to think about soft, delicious, out-of-this-world desserts. I had to get to homeroom and read over the lyrics to my big solo in chorus that I'm practicing in class later today! Excerpted from Natalie's Sprinkle of Light by Coco Simon All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
