The Candymakers Read online

  “Did you find out anything to disqualify the ice cream candy?” Philip asked as they ran. They all shook their heads. They couldn’t go back into their stairwell, because the crowd would just follow them. But Daisy seemed to know exactly where she was going.

  Which turned out to be the men’s room! She opened the door a few inches and called out, “Anyone in here?” When no one answered, she opened the door the rest of the way and pushed Philip inside. Logan and Miles slipped in after them, and Logan locked the door.

  “I’m pretty sure there’s a strict no-girls-allowed policy in here,” Philip said, leaning against the wall. His cheeks were flushed, but the rest of his face was unnaturally pale. His usually hidden freckles had popped out again.

  For a split second, Logan had a strange feeling, almost like déjà vu. But it quickly passed. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Philip closed his eyes. “I’m just a little freaked out. I’ve never… played in front of anyone before.”

  Daisy stuck her hands on her hips. “Philip Ransford the Third! Here’s what I would like to know. How could you make fun of my father for being a violinist when you are obviously one yourself?”

  “But your dad isn’t actually a violinist, is he?”

  “Well, no,” Daisy sputtered. “But that’s not really the point, is it? You didn’t know that at the time.”

  Philip rolled his eyes. “I refuse to feel guilty about lying when you were lying, too. And first, I might add.”

  Daisy opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again with a sigh. “Fine.”

  Philip stepped over to the sink and began splashing water on his face. It splashed onto his suit, too, but he didn’t seem to care. Not like the time he’d spilled powdered sugar all over himself. He had really changed.

  Someone knocked hard on the bathroom door, but Daisy yelled, “Use the one downstairs!” and whoever it was went away.

  When Philip was done drying his face, he turned to Logan and Miles. “Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

  “Like what?” Miles asked.

  “Like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

  Logan glanced at Miles and then said, “You were just really, really good. Like seriously good. Like monster good. It was just a little, um, unexpected.”

  “Right,” Miles agreed. “What he said.”

  “How did you learn to play like that?”

  Philip shrugged. “It’s like Bach said: it’s easy to play any musical instrument. All you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.”

  “Trust me, it’s not that easy,” Logan said. “Your dad must be really proud of you.”

  Philip shook his head. “He doesn’t know that I play. And trust me, if he did, he wouldn’t be proud. He’d think it was a waste of time.”

  After a pause, Logan said, “Maybe he’d surprise you.”

  “Doubt it.”

  “We’ve got a situation,” Daisy said, springing into action and unlocking the door. AJ squeezed in, looking like a real grown-up in a suit and tie. He locked the door behind him.

  An official-looking badge hung around his neck, and they all leaned closer to read it:

  BO DINKLEMAN

  CONFECTIONARY ASSOCIATiON

  NEW CANDY CONTEST COORDINATOR

  They all laughed at the name he’d chosen for himself. “I won’t ask how you got the badge,” Logan said.

  “It’s best you don’t.”

  “So what’s the problem now?” Daisy asked.

  “Old Sammy wants to ask Logan if he’ll change his product description.”

  “Huh?” Logan asked. “What do you mean?”

  AJ turned to him. “He told the other judges that if you’re willing to take out the part about the ChocoRocket turning back into chocolate, he’ll declare you the winner. They sent me to find you.”

  Logan stared. “But that’s not fair to everyone else. Why would they do that? I mean, Old Sammy is a friend of my family’s…” He trailed off as another thought occurred to him. “It’s not because they… they feel sorry for me, is it?”

  AJ pulled at the collar of his shirt. It was enough of an answer.

  Logan’s head swam. He reached out for the wall and barely registered its coolness against his palm.

  “I’m really sorry,” AJ said earnestly. “I didn’t want to have to tell you.”

  “Are you all right, Logan?” Daisy asked, taking his other hand in hers.

  After the initial shock faded, Logan found that he wasn’t really that surprised. “I’m okay. It’s just… so strange. I mean, I’ve wanted to win this contest my entire life. But not like this. Not with a candy that isn’t ready yet. I don’t understand why anyone would feel sorry for me. Some people have scars on the inside, and other people’s are on the outside. It shouldn’t matter.”

  “I don’t think everyone realizes that,” Miles said. “I think they just care about you.”

  AJ nodded. “Old Sammy thinks you deserve to win for being so brave.”

  “Brave?” Logan repeated, confused. “How am I brave?”

  “You’re brave,” Daisy said, “because you never stopped being you. And a lot of people would have.”

  Logan’s eyes stung. “Really?”

  She nodded. Philip and Miles did, too.

  “So what should I tell them?” AJ asked.

  Logan took a deep, shaky breath. “Tell them I appreciate the thought, but one day the Bubbletastic ChocoRocket will do what it’s supposed to do. Turn from chocolate to gum… and back again!”

  “You got it,” AJ said, slipping back out.

  Now it was Logan’s turn to splash water on his face. He felt the scars as his hands brushed over them. Why was everyone else more bothered by them than he was? The faucet wouldn’t turn all the way off, and the water dribbled into the metal sink.

  “Time to go,” Daisy announced. “AJ said the judges are coming out.”

  “Does he know who won?” Philip asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s in a sealed envelope.”

  “If I lose,” Philip said, “I promise I’ll do my best to keep my father away from Life Is Sweet.”

  “You could say they’ve got rats!” Miles suggested.

  “Whatever it takes,” Philip promised.

  They reached the main room to find it even more crowded than when Philip had been playing his violin. Word of the judges’ arrival had spread fast. Rows of folding chairs had been set up, and they were all filled. People leaned against walls and sat in the aisle. Logan spotted AJ in a chair near the podium. Someday he’d have to explain how he’d gotten the judges to believe he was part of the Confectionary Association. He really was an excellent spy.

  “There you are!” Mrs. Sweet said, appearing before them. “We heard the strangest rumor downstairs.”

  “Really?” Logan glanced uneasily at the others. He hoped they hadn’t heard about the judges’ offer… and that he’d turned it down.

  She put her arm around Philip’s shoulders as they walked toward the rows of seats. “We heard that one of the contestants—a young man—just played the most beautiful violin concerto. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

  “I never listen to rumors,” Philip replied.

  They joined the Candymaker and Max and Henry, who had saved seats for them in a row near the back. Logan sat down next to his father, and the others filed in after him. The Candymaker dug through a canvas bag full of candies and pulled out a grape Blast-o-Bit. He offered it to Logan. Never one to turn down candy, Logan accepted. The familiar flavor was comforting. He felt a pang of homesickness for the factory, as he always did when away from it even for a few hours.

  “We had thirty-one outstanding entries,” Judge Edgar said from the podium. The buzzing of the crowd instantly stopped. Logan knew the people in his row weren’t the only ones holding their breath right now. He wondered where Alex Gruber was sitting. If only he could have figured out what that fin